Day 19 and 20

Day 19

Today was our last morning in Munich as we had a plane to catch at 10am to Toulouse via Barcelona.

We organised a taxi the night before and at 7:40am we were advised it was ready. The driver was a well built guy who could understand English but not speak it very well so conversation was minimal on the 40 minute trip. The taxi was a really nice leather interior Audi, the driver had a Russia mafia feel too him ie not one to be messed with, quite polite though.

As has become the custom we tipped him generously which he was very appreciative. We found our airline and checked in and went to find our gate. I tried to get us a coffee but the line was so long that we were calle to board before I even got to the front.

The flight to Toulouse was uneventful and we were greatfully met by one of the Bikestyle team (the cycling tour company were were going to spend the next 7 days) at the airport, Natalie. She took us to our hotel where we checked in and got straight into setting up our bikes, here was my beautiful steed.

She was a perfect fit and a joy to ride. We were taken out for a beautiful 25km ride along the river, sorry no pictures but don't fret there are some corkers coming. :)

We then had dinner with the Bikestyle team with a set menu and met the other members that were joining the tour half way through.

It was then to bed for us as we had our first ride in the morning.

Day 20

The Bikestyle crew organise a daily itinerary so that you know what riding options there are, they also rate them. This is the one I picked, it was a 4 out of 7.

"Option 1: 50kms. Saint Bertrand des Comminges – Port de Balès – Col de Peyresourde – Bagneres de Luchon

We will head down the valley from Saint Bertrand to Mauléon Barousse and begin the long climb of the Port de Bales. It stands at 1755m with an ascent of 19 kilometres and an average percentage of 6.3 %. However it is very beautiful and a joy to climb (if that can be said). Once at the top it’s down the narrow descent to Col de Peyresourde, descending down to meet the bus in Bagneres du Luchon for the trip to Lourdes."

Before we could do the ride we had to travel to the town that we would be staying in for most of the time on the tour, Lourdes.

They give you an elevation profile for the whole ride.

And also a profile of the major climb.

Now to give you some idea of what was instore for me, this climb is categorised as HC, basically means it's too high to categorise!

We set out on the ride to get to the base of the climb but needed to refuel first, this means we needed a bakery, here is one.

Le Tour de France passed through this tiny town the day before to do this exact climb, hence the flags.

And here was the beginning, see the top of that mountain, yep that's it I was to ascend to there, I seriously didn't know what I was getting myself into.

So this single climb to put it in perspective for anyone that rides in Brisbane is 9 times the size of the back (steep) side of Mt Cootha. So the riding ascent was around 1200m (yes that is 1.2 kilometres straight up). Spring brook in the Gold Coast has a similar height but you travel 40kms (ie double the distance) before you climb that high.

Suffice to say I was a broken man, mind, body and soul but basked in the glory of the climb at the top thanks to the help of Pete from Bikestyle, riding with me for the last 2 kilometres. Here is the proof of my achievement.

Here are some pictures at the top

The deceant off of this monster was also a challenge and not for the faint hearted, when they say narrow they mean it, no barriers so if you lose control you are off the side of a huge mountain.

We met up with the others (Kelly did a not so insane ride) after they saw some of Le Tour de France, here is a selfie for good measure. :)

The night ended with dinner with a bunch of people that rode with us which was nice. This is what the night time view looked like. 

A couple of interesting buildings.

Got to bed around 11pm.

My back was so sore after the ride, you don't know how important your lower back and core are when you climb up a 19kms monster, that I decided to take a rest day tomorrow and we became part of the support crew. Bikestyle had a dedicated van driven by a dude of a guy called Jan (pronounced Yarn), he is Belgium and worked as a masseur for 16 years for a couple pro cycling teams he will feature tomorrow a little more.

Until then.