Today was 16°c with warm sunshine so I took the chance to ride my first big col of the year. The Col du Soulor is a 21km climb from Saint Savin with the last 7km the most difficult, all 7 and 8% to the summit with a max of 20%. It is a good road surface most of the way, but I think the last kilometer will need resurfacing before Le Tour gets here.

Check out the route on Ride With GPS:

Col du Soulor, 2km from the summit.

Two kilometers from the summit.

Col du Soulor, Summit.

At the summit.

Col du Soulor, road to Col d'Aubisque.

Road to Col d’Aubisque will be closed until June.

Col du Soulor, Cirque du Litor, road to Col d'Aubisque.

At the summit of the Col du Soulor the road to Col d’Aubisque is closed from November to June. It is called  Cirque du Litor, Litor is the Gascon word for avalanche, a warning to all cyclists in the spring, many of whom ignore the barrier, if it is closed it is for a reason which I think this photo and it’s name make clear.

Pro bear graffiti

There is a lot of graffiti on Col du Soulor from the pro bear and anti bear (sheep farmers) lobbies. It is a real hot issue here in the Pyrenees. It is estimated that the population of brown bears is 20 to 30 individuals. There has been some introductions by the government of bears from slovenia, much to the annoyance of the sheep farmers, who would like to see all the bears dead, something they almost achieved in the early 1990’s when the population was down to only 4 or 5. A viable population is at least 50 bears so there may be more introductions in the next few years. This graffiti is pro bear and it sums up how I felt when I reached the summit. In July with the Etape du Tour and 2 stages of Le Tour passing this way, we can expect a frenzy of road painting by both sides.

Profile, St Savin - Col du Soulor.