Day 7 Pau to Bordeaux

Day 7 Pau to Bordeaux

This was a rest day however I had some work to do as this was the day that really got things going with organizing this trip. Last year I approached Steve Bauer about putting together a TDF bike tour for a small group I might be able to bring together. To get things kick started last summer, we auctioned off 6 spots at the Ride with Lance team dinner’s in Kitchener and Mont Tremblant. A total of $135,000 was raised for the local charity’s through these three donors successful bids. Lance was kind enough to raise the ante by offering the lucky winners an opportunity to sit in on the team meeting on the team bus prior to the start of a TDF stage. It worked out that this morning in Pau I was to bring the guys by the RadioShack team bus to hear Johan Bruyneel share what the strategy was for the day on the road by Lance and the Shack boys.

We woke up to pouring rain however by the time we got down to the TDF Start area and the VIP village, the rain had subsided and things were all good. 

The start area is like a circus with cars/police/tents/fences/spectators all squeezed into a narrow park area. The actual start time of this stage was at 12:15 and the team buses roll into the start area from their hotels about an hour before the scheduled start.  Right on cue a long convoy of brightly colored buses started to enter the compound with team cars with bikes on top following closely by. Within minutes things unfolded with each team setting up shop with their bus and team cars positioned all together ready to get things organized for the day on the road and the stage start. Since we were given some VIP passes by  the BMC team  (David Cohen and Och-thank you!) we have free access to all the teams and other than the chaos in front of the RadioShack bus, all the other team buses you could walk up to and engage in conversation team officials and riders. We had a good visit with BMC’s George Hincapie who is such a gentleman as well as Garmin’s Ryder Hesjedal who was very approachable and friendly.

I received word via a text it was time to round up the guys going on the RadioShack bus as the meeting was to get going in 10 minutes. I walked everyone over to the bus and now it was 6 deep in front of the bus. However through technology got word inside to Mark Higgins that we were outside and within seconds Higs was at our side and escorted our two donors on to the bus for this rare opportunity. 

Everything worked out great and Lance even came out of the bus for a quick moment and signed a bike for our major donor from Cape Town. With the “work” obligations over for the day tit was time to hit the road before the traffic would be an issue and head to Bordeaux and the Hotel Le Saint James our home for the next three nights. We arrived at our Hotel just before dinner and we were lucky to get one of the rooms that backed on to the vineyard at the back of the Hotel.

Enjoyed a relaxing and casual dinner with the group at the Hotel and had an early night in preparation for riding out to Saint Emilion in the morning.

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Day 6 Col De Tourmalet

Day 6 Col de Tourmalet

After yesterday’s struggle with Col Soulor, I vowed I would try to have a better day today  riding up the Pyrenean giant of Tourmalet. Steve Bauer told me to expect even tougher work today once we reached the base of the climb. Col de Tourmalet is basically straight up hill for 18km with grades anywhere from 5% to 12% in places and the average in the 7% range. During the climb you travel through three small villages before a series of tight switchbacks above the local ski station.

Like the previous day we drove just over an hour to an area outside Lourdes from Domaine De Bassibe  to start riding for the day. Although we all started off together, quickly groups formed and I was with pals Dave and Lois and Francis and Linda. We rode for about an hour before reaching the small village of Luz-Saint-Sauveur our first rendeaz vous point where we were going to meet up with the other group and have a coffee before starting the hard work. 

The first red flag of the day appeared when the Cafe we were to meet everyone could not be found probably through translation issues and the town was extremely bust with car and cyclists all trying to navigate the road to Tourmalet. The five of us decided to for get the coffee and carry on on our bikes to the base of the Col and the start of the 18km experience.

Two things that struck me about cycling in France over the week was how well the signage is on the roads and for the most part how courteous the drivers are sharing the road with cyclists. The start of the Col de Tourmalet climb is indicated by a small sign indicating 18km in distance, elevation and grade. Each kilometer on the climb a sign formatted the same appears providing current information.

It was a long climb but I think all of us road much more sensibly this day using a steady very controlled pace. For example, I was 160+ bmp heart rate the day before on Soulor but today on Tourmalet I was averaging below 150. Things were going well for me and I found myself leading the pack up towards the end of the climb and actually found myself alone as the top of Tourmalet was 1KM away. 

The last 500 meters of Tourmalet is essentially one big switchback and once you turn the last corner a short but steep climb jumps out at you but excitement and satisfaction easily solves any issues and suddenly you are at the top and on this day I would estimate several hundred cyclists were all in small groups celebrating their achievements from their day on the road. Soon after I arrived I was joined at the top of Tourmalet by the Francis and Linda then Dave and LOis. We took some pictures and took in the sights before the mist and clouds started to roll in and it was suddenly time to descend and head back to the vans. After coming up in a short sleeve jersey I added for the ride down arm warmers, vest and jacket and believe it or not I still found the return trip cold. We encountered some rain and hail on the way back but fortunately wet roads really did not become a factor until after the steep portions of the road home. When we finally connected with the Vans we were all ready for some heat and dry clothes and one thing that struck me about the trip down off Tourmalet was that the 48 km that we rode the one way in the morning was literally uphill all the way with the final 18km a steady and evenly steep climb - all in all a great ride with a feeling of hard work but not beat up like Soulor handed out.

A side bar to the day was meeting She and Joanne on the way down and the 3k marker to the top. With a little encouragement both girls carried on with Chad from Steve’s team in tow and headed up to the top of Tourmalet. Happy to report all of our group that day  managed to make it to the top and back safely and we all looked forward to leaving the Cols of the Pyrenees the next day for the gentle roads of Bordeaux.

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Day 5 Col de Solour and Col d”Aubisque

Day 5 Col de Solour and Col d”Aubisque

Little did I know when I woke in the morning it was going to be an epic day in terms of challenge and perseverance. Plus we were going to watch from the route a little Tour de France action

Breakfast was early and we were in the vans by 8am for the 1 1/2 hour drive to a start point near Lourdes where the Mountains suddenly appeared in the distance. Today we would tackle two famous Pyrenean cols, Col de Soulor and Col d’Aubisque in sunny, hot and humid conditions.

The ride started with Steve Bauer leading just She and I down an awesome river side bike path to get to the start of our climb. The 17k along this incredible scenic path was literally the calm before the storm as we about to enter hell in less than half an hour.

The Col de Solur is a 10 k climb that is literally straight up hill with grades from 7-10+% with the average indicated on my new Garmin 500 GPS bike computer around 7.5%(even though I saw very little of the Garmin display with the sweat pouring off my forehead/glasses). 

The rest of our group managed to get a little lost on the ride to the base of the Col so Steve left us to start the climb while he went to find the others. Suddenly we hit our first switch back and the pain was on. Its weird riding and seeing the next challenge directly in front and above and thats what it was like for the next several hours. Both She and I had only two rings on the drive train and 26 gears - boy could we have used that third big ring for Solour!!!

As the ride progresses the temperature went up as the sun reached its mid day position. The road was busy with other cyclists and spectators as the TDF peloton would be on the same climb three hours later. The longer we rode the tougher it got and literally you were up off your saddle more times than not to keep momentum going (sometimes the bike computer indicated speeds of 2 K/hr) - this in 32C heat and heart rates 160+ bmp.

It took everything we had that day to battle the heat and climb of Solour but we made it and it was a real sense of achievement reaching the top. Once we got off our bikes, we inhaled a coke and a sandwich and almost 2L of H20 before finding a strategic point at the crest of the summit to watch the TDF peloton arrive. While we waited the arrival of the break away group (including this day Lance) we were entertained by three Basque musicians who were feeling “no pain” and the TDF caravan circus.

It was exciting to see Lance arrive first in a group of 7 as they headed for the finish followed about 5 minutes by a chase group of 12 or so then the main peloton about 15 minutes later with a small group of 20 bringing up the rear a few minutes later. The crowd on the mountain was full of energy and in a party mood and this was clearly what the TDF is all about. I wish I could have joined in by having a few beers but I knew the 27k decent to our vans was dangerously steep, tricky and very technical. 

It was a fast trip down but a lot of it was full on braking just to keep the speed in check. A guy in front of me crashed going around a sharp corner when his bake wheel hit some loose gravel. He got up right away so other than some road rash memories he was fine.

She took the Van down so I was alone on the ride back to the Van and somehow I missed a turn at the bottom and ended going down a rolling road about 5km before getting my bearings and turning around to get back to the van so the return trip was nearly 40k.

The van trip back to Bassibe seemed to take forever as we were all ready for a big dinner. We ended up at the restaurant of a beautiful Inn near our Hotel at 9:15pm and on the menu was perhaps the best fish I have ver tasted - Monk fish with a light creamy sauce. Some nice vino to celebrate the day on the road and then it was back in the Vans to Bassible to get some sleep before the climb of Col de Tourmalet in the morning.

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Day 4 Segos

Day 4 Domaine de Bassibe - Segos

After a great sleep in, She and I just made it downstairs before the 10:30 breakfast finish. Fresh plain yogurt with honey, cheese and bread, muesli, OJ, Cafe au Lait -how good is that breakfast!!

Finished packing up when Francis and Linda called to say they had arrived late last night and they could see our Hotel from their room 1/2 block away.

Francis had come to France over a day earlier to ride the Etape du Tour race which is the actual 181K stage the TDF will be using several days later. Francis is not only a terrific guy but an exceptionally strong rider and completed this brutally tough course with three difficult Col’s in roughly nine hours (the TDF peloton does it somewhere around 5:30 proving their ability is mind boggling).

Josee, Steve Bauer’s partner picked us up in Pau in the early afternoon for a short drive to Le Domaine de Bassibe, our Pyrenees country Inn for the next three nights. We arrived and met the rest of our tour group which totaled 18 riders and six guides/staff. We had two riders from Montreal, one from Kitchener, eight from Calgary and seven from Vancouver. While we enjoyed a great get to know one another lunch, Steve and his staff got our bikes organized for a 50 k ride before dinner to make sure our machines were all dialed in. About 1/2 the group brought their own bikes and the others including She and I brought our shoes and pedals and were using beautiful Argon 18 Helium loaner bikes provided by Steve. Argon is the supplier of bikes to Steve’s pro cycling team SpiderTech.

The nearly two hour ride was up tempo and it was clear we had a strong group for the next six days of riding. A glass of champagne pool side back at Bassibe and then a very nice French country dinner before early to bed in preparation for the next day’s surprise.

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Day 9 Bordeaux

Day 9 Bordeaux -

We got a  slighter later start to the ride today and left the Hotel at 945 am for the bike ride to Margaux for lunch at a restaurant situated adjacent to the tour de france time trial course.

We ended up doing 102 km along some beautiful back country roads circumventing Bordeaux. We got to Margaux at 1:30 and the TT was already underway with riders going by our street side table every two minutes. 

It was a gorgeous sunny and warm day - after a cold beer upon arrival it was time to sit and enjoy the afternoon ringside to all the racing.

Our table was literally three feet from the street where the TT action was unfolding. We ordered a nice still rose bordeaux and settled in for lunch service which featured a three course meal including a full rack of lamb entree!!

The TT action was awesome watching the guys fly by at 45-50km

We all got up and waived Canadian flags when Lance went by as well when Garmin’s Ryder Hesjedal went by.

The last five riders all had low level flying helicopters following them along with cars and motorcycles. The loudest cheer along our area was for Andy Schlek.

Once the TT ended we headed back to Bordeaux by van and got back to 

the Hotel at 530pm in time for some pool time before dinner at 8.

Our last dinner together with the group was casual relaxed and some fun toasts.

Off to bed early before an early train the next morning for Paris and the Tour de France finish line.

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Day 3 Eze to Pau

 Eze to Pau-

Out of respect for She whose passion is not flying, the train was the method of transportation for this day-long traverse of south France. 6 1/2 hors from Pau to Toulouse (which we are renaming ToulooseShe - more on that later), then a change of trains for a 2 1/2 hour ride into Pau (pronounced PO).

For whatever reason our ticket indicated a 20 minute gap for the change of trains in Toulouse however it ended up to be about 6 minutes when our SNCF train rolled into Toulouse. She has never experienced the Europe train action so I knew we needed to be ready to go into high gear for the change of trains. Since you essentially travel with your bags about 10 minutes out we got our bags off the storage racks and headed to the exit door to be the first off however when we got to the door we were beaten there by an elderly couple with 7 bags and a small dog. When the door finally opened for disembarkation, even with assistance, it seemed like 5 minutes before monsieur and madame were off the train and it was our turn.

First order of business was to find out what track the Pau train left from and She took care of that by running immediately into a porter and asked where to we go for “POW”  (that after countless briefings on how to pronounce Pau)!!! 

We arrived on track 4 and needed to go to track 3 we learned so I said to She we needed to cross tracks. Like a gun, She was off, rolling her bag along the platform through the masses-one mistake though-She was doing the end run around the cue to go downstairs. So zoom in/zoom out here I am now at track 4 looking for She and of course she is nowhere to be seen and the conductor is at the train door saying the train departs in deux minute- in my best french I asked cinq minute sivoul plez monsieur? Madame is lost!!! I bolted down the platform with the fear that she was already on the train and it would leave while I was on search patrol. Any ways I carried on and decided to go down to the level that you crossed tracks thinking she may be looking frt he right stairs to track 4 - still no sign off her so the last place I could look given the time was back to track three where we had arrived and so I ran up the stairs and lo and behold there she was like a deer caught in the headlights. Without saying a word we both bolted down the stairs along the hallway and then up the stairs to track 4 and thankfully the train was still there and all the conductor could do was shake his head. We loaded the bags and got to our seat and collapsed in a pool of sweat (and She’s tears!!).

The good news is that when we finally arrived just before 7 pm in Pau the silence had been broken and happily we found a taxi to our Hotel and dinner in a nice Italian outdoor cafe for a carbo load. Early to bed in preparation for the start of our cycling week the next day.

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Have Internet Now

Blogs to come-could not connect in Pyrenees - now in Bordeaux

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Day 2 in France

Day two in France was spent in Eza. After a good long sleep and feeling no effects of jet lag, we enjoyed breakfast on our room’s balcony with it’s stunning views. Already it was very warm and humid. Fresh fruit, plain yogurt, ham/cheese, pain du chocolate strong coffee with warm milk-how good are European breakfasts!!!

The night before we had decided not to spend the coming day at the beach but rather explore the local village and go for a up tempo walk/run. Leaving Chateau Eza after breakfast, on the short walk down to the village, we came across a dirt trail with a sign inferring a 45 minute distance down to the coastline. So off we went and made it down in about 30 minutes although as you can see from the picture She was a little worse for wear, bonking near the bottom due to the sun and heat (32C and 90% humidity) and not enough H20! Like a true Ironman that she is, a 1.5L of water and a coke a short time later, we were ready for the return trip and at this end of the trail, the signed indicated a 1 hour estimated journey back up to Eza. Immediately as we set out I knew the coke had kicked in for She as I was off the back end and in a “spot of bother” with the pace that was being set. However being the Ironman I am, I quickly regrouped and alternated leading the charge to the top in a brisk 35 minutes. We were drenched in sweat but decided a cold beer was the first order of business and found an outdoor cafe and spent the next hour enjoying our cold ones and watching all the action on the sidewalk and road before us.

The rest of the day we just chilled and enjoyed Chateau Eza and watched the TDF finish on TV before having an early (?) 7:30 dinner back down in the village at a fun and casual outdoor restaurant where we both decided to swear of bread as we had our fill of bread, rolls and baguette’s to last us the rest of the trip, so dinner for She was a salad and I had a steak.

Early to bed as we had a 6:30 wake up call in advance of our all day train ride across France to the Pyrenees and the city of Pau.

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Day 1 in France

Thursday/Friday July 15/16-

We had an easy 9 hour flight over to Frankfurt on Air Canada even though She and I were at the back of the bus in 40 K&F but surprisingly  we had a comfortable flight and the inflight service was fine. After a five hour sleep and a quick breakfast we were landing. 

We had a 90 minute layover then it was off to Nice with Lufthansa. This flight was just over an hour and the picturesque approach into Nice is along the coast line and over the Mediterranean

32 C and humid when we arrived in Nice. We took about a 30 minute taxi ride to our first  hotel of the trip, Chateau Eza 

We had a beautiful evening eating dinner outdoors at the Hotel. Started with a a glass of champagne on one balcony then they moved us to a smaller private balcony for our dinner service. Food and wine was outstanding and both She and I said, if we had back in Canada, the bread//rolls like they do here in France, we would weigh about 500 pounds! Off to bed feeling like we were off to a terrific start to our France adventure.

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