17 – 07 – 2021,   Vielle-Aure – Bourisp (Saint-Lary-Soulan)   97 km

My lower left leg is full of scratches, but my left knee seems okay. Hurray! Breakfast is great! I have booked a bed for tonight in a gîte d'étape 1 km from my present location "as the crow flies" (today of all days the gîte opens for the summer season), and decide that if they don't provide breakfast over there, I will ask if I can come back for breakfast here tomorrow morning. When I look out I see a very bright day for the first of five mountain stages in the Pyrenees, starting with the highest rated pass of this tour, also the highest in altitude: the Col du Portet. When I 'sneaked out' on the last morning of my second Tour des Pyrenées, in 2000, I saw the road for the first time, in real life, but being focused on le Pla d'Adet did not give it further attention then. Now it's the biggest addition to my 'all cols list' of this trip, my fourth Tour des Pyrenées. The circumstances are simply ideal: a clear blue sky, no wind to speak of, and at this early hour not much motor traffic either.

Le Pla d'Adet

Excellent conditions

What's in store		Excellent conditions!
I'm not alone		Soulan

Many cyclists, that's for sure; apart from being summer it is also weekend. High up there, Le Pla d'Adet is blinking in the sun; my destination, not visible from the Neste, is even 600 meter higher. Of course Le Pla d'Adet is a famous challenge, but another explanation of the popularity might be that only three days ago the Tour passed by: Pogachar, in the yellow jersey, which he kept till the Champs-Elysées, won the stage, as well as one day later the étape to Luz-Ardiden (which I visited only once, when I was half my present age ...). I make some photos of the first sign with route info, change to t-shirt only, and then decide it would be nice (and possible) to do the climbing – 1400 m up in 16 km – in one stroke. And .... I manage! It is a steady, regular climb, one that is 'easy' to handle with a good physical condition, the right gears, and, most importantly, the right mind set. I possess all three of those, so it is two hours of slow cycling (still 45 minutes less than the time estimated by Google Maps), two hours of fun! The steepest part is during the first half, with a steepest km à 10.7%, and a steepest 5 km of 9.9%. There's enough to see: the big mountains all around under a perfect blue sky, the road up, the road down (after a hairpin bend), the road on the other side of the valley of the Neste (my route for tomorrow), the many cyclists that pass me, also young people (< 18 years), which is quite exceptional, the village of Soulan (how impractical to live there), the village of Espiaube, and shortly after that the junction Pla d'Adet/Portet.

Getting above Le Pla d'Adet		Getting above the cows
More cows!		The end in sight

Shortly after Soulan the col is already visible from time to time, but that I only realize afterwards. I turn right at the junction just mentioned, and after 1 km am positively surprised to find that over the last seven kilometers the road is closed for cars. I'm a very lucky guy indeed: this regulation is in force between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m, and only between 16 July and 22 August! I have not spilled my energy, so turn after turn I get closer to the summit, all the while enjoying the great views to all sides. Le Pla d'Adet gets so low! Shortly after 11 I reach the 'roof' of my Tour. Great! A good photographer immortalizes the moment. I make some pictures to all sides, and then start the long, long descent.

View to the other side

Mission accomplished

First view back down

Second view back down

More pix of the descent from Col du Portet

Back between the cows		Back to the level of Le Pla d'Adet
Lacet		Kuchen (D) in Guchen

The first part is tricky: the road surface is a bit beaten, there is a short tunnel (no light needed) where one or two cows seek shelter (against the sun?), and later on I have to slalom through a herd of cows. The views are terrific. From Espiaube the road condition is perfect (like many 'main' climbs I will come across this year), but already since many years I have got over the urge to set speed records. Because of the smooth tarmac it is a lovely descent. I skip the bar in Vielle-Aure and expect to find opportunities in Guchen, from where I will 'attack' the Hourquette d'Ancizan. There is none to speak of (I can get a coca cola, poured from a 1 litre bottle, but nothing to eat 😕). To my luck there is a pâtisserie with delicious dough products, coffee, and a tiny strip of shadow. It is warm today! The next 'project' is another highlight. I remember my wonder about such a beautiful unknown road one early morning in 1991. Now there's again much to admire: the tiny road, beautifully constructed against the slope, alternating between open and wooded sections, the steady 6-8% grades. It is a bit windy, and there are quite a few noise makers (motorcyclists).

Views over the Neste valley

During climb to Hourquette d'Ancizan

More pix of the climb to Hourquette d'Ancizan

On the other side of the Hourquette: quite a different environment. There is much more room along the road to park a car, and many people (and cars) do fill that room. Also, much cattle around, more woods, and lastly, a much more volatile rate. There's even a km where the road rises 70 m.

Hourquette d'Ancizan, views to the north side

It's too late for a warm lunch, but on a very warm terrace I can have a sandwich and a lot of coca cola. The guy that is serving is obviously carrying too much weight (where I'm not referring to his tray) and has difficulty adapting to the heat. Well, halfway through my sandwich I feel it's better for me too to take shelter from the sun under a parasol. I decide to add the short detour via the Col de Beyrède by the side I climbed it from in 1991 (during a stage with both the Tourmalet - with luggage - the twin Beyrède/Aspin, completed by the lightweight climb to the Lac de Cap de Long. Those were the days!) The tarmac to the Col de Beyrède has seen better days. It's a climb of 3.5 km, and I don't recall it was SO steep (there's a kilometer of more than 13%; how did I ever do that with luggage!). Today I just manage to keep riding, I pass the Auberge du Col de Beyrède and reach the desolate crossroads at the summit, only populated by cattle. Well, some hikers are coming from the east.

Time for a belated lunch break		On my way to steepest km of the trip

Four roads come together, two of which unpaved. One of them seems to bend off too much back to the west, one must be the descent to Beyrède. There's no route info, there are no people to ask, so I choose the route forestière that seems the most probable one to lead me back to the D918. There are only vague remains of asphalt. And it turns, and it lasts, I'm beginning to doubt (though I cannot really get lost). And then, fortunately an older couple (the man in front, with a dog in the childrens' seat on his luggage carrier) comes riding up, and they finally confirm that I'm on the right track. Whoosh! 500 m further I hit the D918 again, and from there it's only 1 km till the Col d'Aspin.

Unsurfaced descent		From Col de Beyrède
Back on the tarmac		And past the Col d'Aspin
Descent from Col d'Aspin		View back up to Col d'Aspin

Excellent descent

From Col d'Aspin to Arreau

Follows one of the prettiest descents I know, and this year with an impeccable road surface. Very, very, VERY pretty (also, a VERY nice climb from Arreau). Back down along the Neste I turn right and once more enjoy a favorable tailwind. I pass the location of yesterday's accident without noticing. I grab my bags and a beer at Hotel Aurélia (the friendly woman that checked me in yesterday seems not to recognize me) and ride the last 2 km to the gîte d'étape in Bourisp. The entrance is a bit unclear, but I am warmly welcomed by the 'lady of the house', a lady of some 70 years, I would gather. I'm the second (and last) guest for tonight and decide to 'make' my own (cold) dinner. The 'low' of this day is the visit to the Intermarché (or whatever) in Vielle-Aure. Saturday evening between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. appears a case of unforseen bad planning. It is SO crowded, people load their shopping carts SO full, it's plain terrible! And, not for the first time, I end up with too much stuff as well. The other guest, Julien from Bourg d'Oeuil, is halfway his ravioli dinner (from a can; smart guy!). He is supposed to meet a group of eight hikers tomorrow, a group that he will assist on a one week's trip from refuge to refuge. Tomorrow he has to be at the Col du Portet before 10 a.m. He goes to bed early, and I, after some writing in one of the comfy chairs around the fireplace, act accordingly. Great day!