What's new Archive:
31-August-2009
Hautacam-Col du Tramassel.
I was off the
bike for a couple of weeks, long story, but have
been riding the last few days. Today I went up
Hautacam. I hate this climb, it is just torture. Its
only saving grace is the fantastic views from the
top.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/12183312
21-August-2009
Hubert Arbes.
Two of our guests Jim Fanning & John Traynor from Laois,
Ireland, pictured with Hubert Arbes (Center). Hubert now
runs this bike shop in Lourdes, from which we hire road
and mountain bikes for guests. Hubert was a professional
racer from 1975 to 1982 and rode Le Tour de France 5
times, once for Lucien Van Impe and 4 times for Bernard
Hinault.
Hubert Arbes & Bernard Hinault in the 1982 Tour de
France.
19-August-2009
Happy
Birthday to me.
Today is my 40th
birthday, must be time for a midlife crisis.
17-August-2009
Fete du Village 2009.
Its been a great few days in Saint Savin for the
festival.
500 people had a meal in the Place du Tray. Melon,
paella, cheese & bread, cake and coffee, all for
€10.
My favourite part was the Toro de Fuego
(Bull of Fire). Basically 2 men had a mockup of a
bull attached to their head. The bull was covered
with fire works, the mayor lit the fuse and the 2
loonies ran around the village mooing with the
fireworks exploding. Great craic!
Toro de Fuego.
This tractor and trailer was going round the village
for 3 days. The idea is that if it stops at your
house you have to give them beer. You can also jump
on board if you are that way inclined.
13-August-2009
Raid Pyrenees September 2009.
Our Raid Pyrenees trip is in 3 week time, there are
still some places available, So book now.
Raid Pyrenees page with the full itinerary for the trip.
710km across 18 cols through the French Pyrenees with 11000 meters of accent and a time limit of 100 hours( Start at 9:00 Monday and must finish by 13:00 Friday). The ultimate cycle challenge, started in 1952 by Cyclo Club Béarnais from Pau, the Raid Pyrenees can be ridden any time from June to the end of September.
View Larger Map
It is a difficult cycle over 4.5 days across the famous high passes of the Tour de France.
13-August-2009
Boules.
After cycling up the Col de Tourmalet today, our
guests relax with a game of Boules after dinner.
John, Jim, Senan and Peter are work friends from
Portloise, Ireland. This weekend is the festival in
Saint Savin, the four lads are entered into the
Boules tournament which starts on Friday. The Boules
Drome is right at the front of our house so it
should be an interesting few days.
Yesterday we
cycled up Luz Ardiden. Check out the ride on the
Garmin:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/11108008
05-August-2009
Tour des
Pyrenées.
Went up to the Col de
Tourmalet to see the Tour des Pyrenées. It is a UCI
2.2 race. Today's stage was from Ibos to Cauterets.
It was a beautiful day, about 20c at the summit.
See the race website here:
http://pagesperso-orange.fr/tourdespyrenees/
There were 20 teams in the race, 9 of
which were professional. Each team has 7 riders.
Spanish amateur rider
Israel Perez Rodriguez with 500m to
the summit, this is what real suffering looks like.
See more photos here:
Pic du Midi.
This is the road from Col du Tourmalet to Pic de
Midi. It will give you an idea of what it was like
for the riders in the tour 99 years ago when they
first came over the Tourmalet. I am going to cycle
up here this month, will be making my first attempt
on Saturday, 24km average 8%. Sorry I didn't try
today, weather was perfect. I'll keep you posted.
04-August-2009
Heat Wave
in the Pyrenees.
Temperature in Saint Savin today.
Meteo France
has issued a heat wave warning. For the next 4 days
we will have temperatures of 35c.
Saint-Pastous
Steepest climb I know.
This farmhouse is at the summit of the 30% incline
at the top of the col. It is a typical farmhouse of
the Lavedan valley.
Went for a quick ride around the Lavedan Valley
yesterday, was supposed to be easy but took a detour
to a village I had not been to before. Saint-Pastous
is on the slopes of Hautacam, it is a very pretty
little village, off the beaten track and while the
valley is full of tourists, it was deserted except
for some donkeys a chicken and an old dog, who was
clearly finding the summer heat too much. The climb
to the village is 4km long and the last 2km are
definitely the steepest 2km I have found, not just
in the Pyrenees but anywhere.
I have an album of
photos of Saint Pastous on picasa web.
Profile of the ride from Garmin.
There were
sections up to 30% where my front wheel was lifting
off the road, on one such section it wheeled right
up and I just managed to balance long enough to
unclip and put a foot down before tumbling
backwards. I then had to walk a bit to get a section
where I could get going again. At one point I
remember thinking "great it's eased off", only to
look down at the Garmin which was reading 16%. Right
at the top it is unbelievably steep the Garmin read
30%, this time I wasn't quick enough and when the
bike wheeled I came off. I got going again by
leaning on a tree, clipping in and pushing off, just
made it. The first km took me 2:24 the last was
16:39. It ends in a farm yard by a very beautiful
old house with fantastic views of Lavedan.
Profile of the climb.
I then encountered a
problem I have never had before, getting on the bike
to descend on a 30% gradient is just as difficult as
for ascending. Left foot clipped in ok, front break
held on and the rear wheel just wants to lift and
face splat me on the road. Back break held on and it
is completely useless, the bike just slid downwards.
After falling off a couple of times I walked for
about 20 to 25 meters where the grade eased off a
bit and I was on my way.
Profile of the last 2km in 100m sections.
Check out the ride on the Garmin:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/10447884
02-August-2009
Le Tour 2009.
This is my favourite photo from the tour. Fumy Beppu
celebrates being the first Japanese rider to finish
the tour by doing a wheelie. Wow.
Photo from
www.pezcyclingnews.com
01-August-2009
Cabaliros.
I took a leisurely ride today to Cabaliros. It is
15km from Saint Savin and I had not been there
before. However at 10.5km at 1140m Alt the road runs
out of tarmac, so I went back down and on to Lac
d'Estaing. On the climb to Cabaliros the only
traffic I met was a 4X4 Fiat Panda, they are very
popular with the farmers here.
Check out the ride on the Garmin:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/10305649
The road to Cabaliros.
Lac d'Estaing.
See more photos here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/velopeloton.com/CabalirosLacDEstaing?feat=directlink
28-July-2009
Le Tour.
I'm having withdrawal symptoms for Le Tour, it's
terrible, no cycling on TV in the afternoons.
On the plus side the weather is fantastic, I'm
really enjoying the sunshine this week.
Here are some photos taken by Steve Jefferies from
Warwickshire, on the Tourmalet.
Mark Cavendish, man of the race for me, 6 stages and
robed of the Green Jersey.
Jens Voigt, one of my favourites. Hope he makes a
quick recovery and gets back to doing what he does
best. ATTACK!
Nicholas Roche just going out of shot followed by
the Yellow Jersey and Lance.
21-July-2009
Its been a strange few days weather wise, we had
everything from hail and snow to 37c, but now it is just hot hot hot.
3 college buddies from Calgary, Canada, met up at La Lanterne Rouge for a few days cycling. John Pappas, Arizona, USA, John Impey Perth, Australia and Doug Meckelborg, Cork, Ireland. They are now relaxing on the beach at Barcelona.
18-July-2009
Le Tour.
The tour has gone and all the visitors we had for it as well. It was a great week here and the memories will last a long time. Still hoping Nicolas Roche can have a good finish and Bradley Wiggins gets on the podium.
One of our guests, Tom Judson from U.S.A. has a blog about his trip to France: http://web.me.com/twjmath/France_2009/Blog/Blog.html
And a photo gallery:
http://web.me.com/twjmath/France_2009/Photo_Albums/Photo_Albums.html
8 Years Old.
This 8 year old boy from Belgium had just ridden up Luz Ardiden for the 2nd time in a week.
I rode up the Col d'Aubisque yesterday in glorious sunshine, check it out on the Garmin: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/9017514 Le Tour Gang 2009. All set for the Tourmalet on Tour day.
Hannah (England), Warren (England), John (Scotland), James (Scotland), Alec (England), Tom (USA), Chloe (Kenya), Paddy (Ireland) and Steve (England). 12-July-2009
Le Tour de France
Rode up the west side of the Tourmalet to see the stage at the summit. Great day.
Check out the ride: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/8643428
Nicholas Roche leads the peloton over the Tourmalet, with the yellow jersey beside him and Lance Armstrong behind.
Tom Judson from Colorado and myself at the summit.
Photos: 10-July-2009
Raid Pyrenees September 2009.
I have updated our Raid Pyrenees page with the full itinerary for the trip.
710km across 18 cols through the French Pyrenees with 11000 meters of accent and a time limit of 100 hours( Start at 9:00 Monday and must finish by 13:00 Friday). The ultimate cycle challenge, started in 1952 by Cyclo Club Béarnais from Pau, the Raid Pyrenees can be ridden any time from June to the end of September.
It is a difficult cycle over 4.5 days across the famous high passes of the Tour de France. 09-July-2009
Race Around Ireland.
If cycling in the Pyrenees is too easy for you, try the Race Around Ireland. 2173km non stop around the island, from main roads to things that don't look like roads at all. The race is organised by my old club, Navan Road Club.
Course designer Joe Roche at Cummeen, county Kerry, Ireland. This road is on the route. 08-July-2009
Col de Spandelles
I did a 90km loop today, over Col de Spandelles and back through Saint Pé and Omex. Perfect cycling weather, dry and not too hot.
Check out the ride on the Garmin: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/8237290
This view is from Col de Spandelles looking at Col d'Aubisque on the horizon.
Tom Judson from Colorado, USA and Larry Smith from Oregon, USA. Larry runs cycling tours all over Europe with his company www.veloski.com. 02-July-2009
Dan Martin out of tour with a knee injury. I changed my team to Tony Martin. Fantasy Tour de France.
I have a team for the Tour de France game on www.velogames.com. My team is called velopeloton.com. The usual thing here, you have 100 points to spend and each rider has a value. My selection adds up to 100 exactly and is a good mix of young and old. I also have a mini league, the code is 02090627. TEAM ROSTER| | Rider | Pro Team | Credit Cost | Score |  | Christian VANDEVELDE | GRM | 12 | |  | Cadel EVANS | SIL | 20 | |  | Cyril DESSEL | ALM | 8 | |  | Robert GESINK | RAB | 14 | |  | Mark CAVENDISH | THR | 20 | | | Jose Luis ARRIETA | ALM | 6 | |  | Fabian CANCELLARA | SAX | 8 | |  | Amaël MOINARD | COF | 6 | | | Dan MARTIN | GRM | 6 |
|
