Col du Soulor, Col d'Aubisque and Col du Marie Blanc
Today we climbed three Cols: Col du Soulor, Col d' Aubisque and Col du Marie Blanc. The Soulor is really the first part of the Abusique in the direction we came. We had bright sun for the first two climbs which was great because unlike the Alps, the Pyrenees have less forest and more expansive, rugged views. As I've noted before, this also lends itself to open pastures so it's common to find a farm animal near or on the road. When on the road, they don't move because you're coming their way. You are the visitor, not them. The Soulor was the toughest climb of the day since it was the bulk of the Aubisque. The remaining 5k or so to the Aubisque was the most spectacular as the road hugged the mountain as it went through a few short tunnels. The top of the Aubisque was unusually busy with cyclists. In addition to our small groups the several others as well as three large bike sculptures painted to represent the jersey colors from the tour (see pictures)
Some had snacks at the top of the Aubisque while others grabbed water refills and bars and headed off quickly as the weather looked like it was shifting. That's normal for the mountains and what it looks like and what happens are not often synchronized. The Marie Blance started steep but was the first Col where there was a respite with a kilometer near the top that averaged dead flat. Average grades can be tricky. Today there was a short section that exceeded 16% though the average for that kilometer was 8%. Whenever we see a grade sign and find we're on something less than the average we know we'll have to pay for it with something over the average. The main challenge after descending Marie Blanc was finding the road to the small town where our hotel was. Our hotel is a former chateau that has been renovated so the rooms are far better than the last two nights. At one point today I forgot to restart my bike computer so the actual totals are greater than recorded. As recorded we rode well over 62 miles as we climbed over 6725 feet. Pictures from today will be in two batches as we are wifi limited.