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Paddy's blog.
Archive September - October 2009.
01-November-2009
Col
du Tentes:
Col du Tentes is 46km
from Saint Savin and climbs for 43km to
2270m altitude. High in the national Park,
it dead ends at the Spanish border.
Agrandir le plan
The road zig zags up the last 10km from
Gavarnie.
Half way up the main climb from Gavarnie.
Near the summit looking back towards Pic du
Long and Pic du Midi
A rock fall 100m from the Spanish border.
At the summit looking into Aragon in
Northern Spain.
28-October-2009
Col du Soulor.
After the
cold snap last week we have returned to hot
and dry weather. The last 3 days the
afternoon temperature has gotten above 25c
and the snow has mostly melted from all but
the highest peaks. It if forecast to last
into next week before we return to colder
and wetter weather with some real and
lasting snow fall.
This photo taken on the Corniche de Cirque
du Litor shows part of the climb of Col du
Soulor, that will be on stage 17 of Le Tour
2010 and Etape du Tour. It is about 4km from
the summit.
Beautiful autumn colours on the Corniche de
Cirque du Litor. This road will be on stage
16 of Le Tour from Luchon to Pau. This
is probably the last time I will cycle
across here this year. The next fall of show
will see the closure of the road until late
May or early June. The name Litor derives
for the word for avalanche (Lit) in the
Gascon language.
From the Cirque de Litor looking down the
vallée de l'Ouzom towards Ferriéres.
The café on Col d'Aubisque is now closed for
the winter but this one on Col du Soulor
remains open all year. As you can see the
omelettes are very fresh.
21-October-2009
Winter is coming:
After no rain for nearly 3 weeks, it rained
for most of last night. As you can see above
2500m it fell as snow. This photo was taken
from the toilet of one of our bedrooms in
La Lanterne Rouge.
Have a look at the
webcam on the Pic du Midi, the one to
the south east and south west overlook the
Col du Tourmalet, it won't be long now until
it is closed for the winter.
18-October-2009
Sunday Cycle:
Beautiful
sunshine today but very cold, I think it
never got warmer than 11c in Saint Savin and
would have been freezing at the summits. At
70km my cycle was not very long but it was
challenging and took 4:20. From Saint Savin
down to Argeles and then the 16km climb to
Col du Couraduque
at 1367m altitude. It was warm in the
sunshine on the way up but as soon as I
stopped at the summit I could feel the sub
zero temperatures.
Col du Couraduque summit.
The next
challenge was the decent from the summit for
4km on a gravel road. This side of the
mountain is shaded from the sun and was well
below 0c. You drop 167 meters on this decent
so not very steep apart from one section. At
1200m I was back on tarmac on the climb to
Col de Spandelles at 1378m.
This section is at -14%.
Ice in the potholes.
Col du Spandelles summit, looking at Pic du
Midi on the horizon.
Col du Spandelles beautiful autumn colours.
The descent is very steep, in 10km you drop
down to 527m which is 8.5%, the road never
gets any wider than a car.
From
Ferriéres it is a 12 km climb to Col du
Soulor. This is the climb that will be used
by
Le Tour and Etape du Tour in 2010. It is
12 hard km to the summit which average 7.6%.
Sign at the start.
Col du Soulor summit, looking towards home,
with once again the Pic du Midi on the
horizon.
By this time is was 18:00
and the sun had gone behind the Pic du Ger
and it was once again below freezing. It was
49km to this point with 2150m of accent.
Thankfully it is a 21km decent to Saint
Savin. I was showered and sitting down to
roast pork and spuds by 19:00.
Check
out the ride on Garmin Connect:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/16601092
16-October-2009
Autumn in the
Pyrenées.
As you can see from
the photos below we continue to have nice
weather here in the Pyrenées, it's not very
warm but it is dry and sunny, perfect for
cycling. Afternoon temperatures are still in
the high teens but the nights are getting
cool, I think we will be turning on the heat
or lighting the fire soon, which we have not
done since the first week of April.
This photo was taken
on Col d'Aubisque looking over Col du Soulor
to Hautacam, Pic du Midi and Col du
Tourmalet on the horizon.
Evening sun at Le
Tech, this is a 27km climb from Saint Savin,
the
Pic du Balaïtous on the horizon
is on the border
with Spain. It is the first 3000m + peak in
the Pyrenees from the Atlantic.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pic_du_Balaïtous
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14-October-2009
Le Tour de France 2010.
The official site
http://www.letour.fr
Stage 16 Tuesday 20 July 2010: Luchon -
Pau.
Added a page on
Stage 16
Luchon - Pau.
Stage 17: Etape du Tour 2010 : Pau - Col
du Tourmalet.
Stage 17, Thursday 22 July.
Etape du Tour,
Sunday
18 July.
Added a page on
Stage 17 -
Pau - Col du Tourmalet and Etape du Tour. (I
will be adding to it over the next few days)
Etape du Tour official site
http://www.letapedutour.com/2010/ETDT/presentation/us/index.htm
Route on Bike Route Toaster.
http://bikeroutetoaster.com/Course.aspx?course=88060
Stage 17 Etape du Tour Route on
Google Earth:
Cols/2010tour/Le Tour Stage 18 2010.kml |
13-October-2009
Raid Pyrenées Route.
I have
updated the
page
about Raid Pyrenées with more route info from
Bike Route Toaster. |
13-October-2009
Le Tour 2010.
Final route
prediction. Can't wait to see if he has any
surprises for us.
17 July: Stage 14, Rodez - Revel
18 July:
Stage 15, Revel -
Ax-3 Domaines
19 July:
Stage 16, Pamiers -
Luchon/Super
Bagnéres (Portet
d'Aspet, Col de Menté, Port de Balès)
20 July:
Stage
17 Luchon -
Pau
(Peyresourde, Aspin,
Tourmalet, Soulor & Aubisque)
21 July: Rest
Day
22 July: Stage 18 Pau -
Col du Tourmalet (Marie Blanque, Soulor,
Bordéres, Tourmalet). This will also be the Etape de
Tour on Sunday 18th.
23 July: Stage 19 Salies de Béarn -
Bordeaux
24 July: Stage 20 Bordeaux - Pauillac ITT
25
July: Stage 21 Paris Champs Elysées |
12-October-2009
Col du Marie Blanque.
I have
added a new
page about Col du Marie Blanque. I believe this
climb will be used in the Tour and Etape next year.
Col du Marie Blanque Profile.
10-October-2009
Site Update:
I have updated the
page
on Col d'Aspin with new photos.
07-October-2009
l’Etape du Tour Mondovélo
2010.
l’Etape du Tour Mondovélo 2010 will be
on Sunday 18th of July from Pau to Col du Tourmalet.
Remember you heard it here first. I think there are
2 likely routes for it to take.
The first is
Marie Blanque, Aubisque, Soulor,
Bordéres, Tourmalet. 161km with 5000m of accent.
See it in Google Earth.
Cols/Etape2010/Etape du Tour Route1.kml
Bike Route Toaster:
http://bikeroutetoaster.com/Course.aspx?course=86938
The second is
Marie Blanque, Soulor from the north,
Bordéres, Tourmalet. 174km with 4800m of accent.
See it in Google Earth.
Cols/Etape2010/Etape du Tour 2010 Route 2.kml
Bike Route Toaster
http://bikeroutetoaster.com/Course.aspx?course=86939
06-October-2009
Updated prediction.
Local paper
confirms
Ax-3 Domaines.
http://www.ladepeche.fr/article/2009/10/06/687484-Tour-de-France-2010-ca-se-confirme-pour-Ax-3-Domaines-et-Pamiers.html
17 July: Stage 14, Rodez - Revel
18 July:
Stage 15, Revel -
Ax-3 Domaines
19 July:
Stage 16, Pamiers -
Luchon/Super
Bagnéres (Portet
d'Aspet, Col de Menté, Port de Balès)
20 July: Rest Day - Not sure about could be 20th or
21st.
21 July: Stage
17 Luchon -
Pau
(Peyresourde, Aspin,
Tourmalet, Soulor & Aubisque)
22 July: Stage 18 Pau -
Col du Tourmalet (Marie Blanque, Aubisque, Soulor,
Bordéres, Tourmalet, or Marie Blanque, Soulor from
the north, Bordéres, Tourmalet)
This will also be the Etape
de Tour.
23 July: Stage 19 Salies de Béarn -
Bordeaux
24 July: Stage 20 Bordeaux - Pauillac ITT
25
July: Stage 21 Rambouillet - Paris Champs Elysées
06-October-2009
Le Tour 2010
With just over a
week to go for the official announcement, I have
revised my prediction to this. If it is right the
Tourmalet will be used 3 times. Although there are
many other rumours persistent that it is only twice.
17 July: Stage 14, Rodez - Revel
18 July:
Stage 15, Revel - Luchon/Super
Bagnéres (Portet
d'Aspet, Col de Menté, Port de Balès)
19 July:
Stage 16, Bagnéres de Bigorre - Col du
Tourmalet ITT? ( many rumours about this, some say
yes some say no) It maybe that stage 15 is from
Revel to Ax and then a different start for stage to
Luchon, so no ITT.
20 July: Rest Day
21 July: Stage
17 Luchon - Col d'Aubisque/Pau
(Peyresourde, Aspin,
Tourmalet, Aubisque)
22 July: Stage 18 Pau -
Col du Tourmalet (Marie Blanque, Aubisque, Soulor,
Bordéres, Tourmalet)
This will also be the Etape
de Tour.
23 July: Stage 19 Salies de Béarn -
Bordeaux
24 July: Stage 20 Bordeaux - Pauillac ITT
25
July: Stage 21 Rambouillet - Paris Champs Elysées
Wednesday, 14th October, at 11:30 at the Palais des
Congres in Paris all will be revealed.
04-October-2009
Autumn.
Autumn is here and the leaves are
starting to turn, in another 2 to 3 weeks the colours
will be spectacular. The weather is still warm and sunny
and could remain so for another month, today was 25c
here in the Lavedan valley, but the nights are getting
cool and the evenings short. It is dark here at 8
o'clock now.
This photo is taken at the lake on the Gave du Pau river
in the Lavedan Valley about 2km from Saint Savin. The
peak in the middle is Viscos, Luz Ardiden is just the
other side of the peak. The valley on the left would
take you to Luz and the Col du Tourmalet.
24-September-2009
British
magazine Cycling Weekly has also heard the rumour of
Col du Tourmalet ITT.
http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest/398367/tourmalet-time-trial-set-for-2010-tour-de-france-route.html
22-September-2009
Le Tour 2010
The rumour mill continues
apace. Based on what I have heard in the last week
it now looks like this.
17 July: Rodez - Revel
18 July: Revel - Luchon
19 July: Rest
Day
20 July: Luchon - Col d'Aubisque
21 July: Col
du Tourmalet ITT
22 July: Pau - Arette
23
July: Pau - Bordeaux
24 July: Bordeaux ITT
25
July: Paris
A TT on the Col du Tourmalet, could it be
true?
21-September-2009
Vuelta, Stage 21, Madrid.
I drove to Madrid to cheer on the lads on Sunday.
Took 7:30 hours from
home but
worth it. Left home at 6:30 and was in Madrid at
14:00. Stayed over night and home today. We were at
the start of the circuit as the riders arrived, got
a wave from Philip Deignan when he seen the Irish
flag. I raced
against Philip in Ireland years ago when he was a
Junior and I a senior. He was a class act then and
he proved on Thursday that he is now.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CK-3poBr2KI&feature=related
Philip Deignan
Alejandro Valverde
Paddy Sweeney & Dan Martin
Philip Deignan & Paddy Sweeney
For more photos click here.
17-September-2009
First
Snow.
Cycled up to Gavarnie with 11 lads from
Leeds in northern England.
The Wharfedale Bog Monkeys- Road division!
JD Cycles
Ilkley, West Yorkshire, England.
It was a beautiful sunny
day with 23c in St Savin, but cold by the top of the
climb. As winter approaches the nights are starting
to get cold and as you can see from this photo last
night we had the first snow of autumn. Gavarnie is
at 1400m, the peaks in the photo are over 3000m. The
waterfall is the highest in Europe and falls for
422m, in winter it freezes solid and is popular with
climbers.
Had a great Lunch in Luz on the way back.
Check
out the ride on the Garmin:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/13460217
A
very enjoyable climb that gains 1000m approx with a
max of 8%. Over the 32km it averages 3%
12-September-2009
Le Tour de France 2010.
No evidence but some strong
rumours here.
Stage finish on Col
d’Aubisque on 21st July after crossing Peyresourde,
Aspin, Tourmalet and Soulor. Tour crossed same
mountains on 21st July 1910.
The week will
look something like this.
17 July: Rodez -
Carcassonne
18 July: Carcassonne - Plateau de
Beille
19 July:
Foix- Bagnéres de Luchon-SuperBagnéres
20 July: Rest day
21 July:
Bagnéres de Luchon - Col de
Aubisque.
22 July: Pau - La Pierre St Martin
23 July: Pau - Bordeaux
24 July: Bordeaux ITT
25 July: Paris
That's 4 mountain top finishes in
the Pyrenees.
Others still talking about Luz
Ardiden and Col du Spandells and Argeles-Gazost.
A lot of hotel bookings for 20, 21 ,22 in and around
Pau.
14-September-2009
Le Tour
de France 2010.
The route of the 2010 Tour de
France and Etape de Tour will be announced on 14th
October. It is starting in Rotterdam on 3rd July and
will have stages through Holland, Belgium and into
France. My guess is that it will go through the Alps
and on to the Pyrenees in the last week, 18th or
19th of July. It will be
100 years since the tour first passed through the
Pyrenées and a big celebration can de expected
with some classic stages here. Perhaps a mountain
top finish on Luz Ardiden or Col de Aubisque.
Octave Lapize on the Col de Tourmalet in 1910.
Octave
Lapize won the 1910 Tour de France. When
passing tour officials on the Col
d'Aubisque having already been over
Col de Peyresourde, Col d'Aspin and Col du
Tourmalet, he yelled, "Vous êtes des
assassins! Oui, des assassins!' (French for
'You are murderers! Yes, murderers!')
This is the bike he rode in 1908.
12-September-2009
Raid Pyrenees.
08-September-2009
Raid
Pyrenées Day 1.
Roly Hudson from Bath, England, on the 13% gradient
of Col du Marie Blanque. At the end of 185km in 32c
temperature he might have been starting to suffer
just a little.
More photos here.
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2009
Jan-April
May-June
July-August
September - October |
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