After riding the first day I asked Mike (who had already offered the day before) to change my cassette to give me a lower bottom gear. I was struggling to maintain my cadence (pedal speed) on the steep parts of the climb…which in the Pyrénées is actually most of the climb! So with a lower lowest gear I set out on Day 2 to conquer Luz Ardiden!
The climb is 13.4 kilometres at an average of 7.8% taking us up to an altitude of 1720 metres above sea level. A tough climb in other words!
Many people (non cyclists I mean) would think we were mad, putting ourselves through the pain of a climb like this. But it is not just a physical challenge, it is much much more than that. It is hard to put into words the sense of satisfaction you feel, standing at the top of one of these climbs, completely spent, sweating and struggling to catch your breath in the thin mountain air and look down at the road that you have just ridden to the summit. Then raise your eyes and see the unbelievable beauty that surrounds that peak…and that you have got there using your own power!
After the climb Mike talked to us all about fast and safe descending and demonstrated some of the essential skills. It must have sunk in as I managed to follow Mike closely down the amazing descent. I got down quickly by following the line that Mike skilfully carved through the 30 plus hairpin-bends reaching speeds of over 70 kilometres per hour. It felt so fantastic that I, genuinely, had a tear in my eye as I arrived at the bottom.
Once we got back to the house we had a couple of hours to chill before the team cooked home made pizza in the outdoor oven.
As everyone knows I am a ‘Ninja Turtle’ when it comes to pizza. They were delicious so needless to say I didn’t go to bed hungry!
A shorter day tomorrow for those who opted to be shuttled to the climb (me included). I need to save my legs as the following day we are taking on the legendary Col Du Tourmalet.
A bientot!
Sounds like a very moving experience succeeding against the odds. Views are unbelievable, beautiful and somewhat overwhelming. Take care on those descents!