The road surface was so smooth it made for a totally unfamiliar sound as we steadily but cautiously negotiated the switch backs at first, then passed the ski resort, then the avalanche tunnels and finally three or four heavily wooded switchbacks till we decided our turn around point would be a small service station at the bottom of the Col de Tourmelet. By now it was quite hot, but we were looking forward to this for months and thanks to Andrew, mom and dad, a dream was coming true. Once we'd passed through the wooded switchbacks we could get a good view of Piqué du Midi, one of the highest in the Pyrenees. While we were on the velo, carol and Caitlin were on a 3 hour hike towards the summit from our camp at the top of the Col. The Kenyan cycling team were training on the mountain that day and their coach and the riders had a few polite things to say to us as they passed us several times. We had passed a comment such as, “Go Africa!"
Or something like that, anyway. Gus was showing really good climbing ability and most off all he was in a really good frame of mind. He has matured enormously as a cyclist, in fact both children have shown remarkable stamina in so many ways. In fact, we've had several 7am to midnight days, some on a trot, and they've never complained or lowered the moral of the unit!
As we continued up the massive climb to the Col de Tourmelet, we were so often reminded by the Tour de France, names of riders and teams painted all the way to the summit at regular interact. You could just imagine throngs of fans lining the roads, motor homes almost impossibly tucked into tiny layby's and screaming enthusiasts cheering on the riders. The gradient of theroad road strangely increased dramatically through the ski resort of la Mongie where Gus and I popped into a smart hotel to fill up our water bottles. We were, however, nearly there and the best part to come. Short little switchbacks, the road a lot narrower now, with beautiful grassy banks, and of course the Lamas, a signal we had almost completed the dream! I got ahead to take a photo of Gus crossing the white line marked on the road. Immediately the road begins its descent! Andrew, Gus and I sat at the quaint old restaurant, with all it's cycling memorabilia, and tucked into the legendary almond tart and blue berry tart. Gus's mouth and tongue was proof of the pudding, he'd conquered the Tourmelat, in under two hours, 1hr 48min! Carol and Caitlin thought we'd take a lot longer so were enjoying their 3 hr hike on the tops of the dramatic Pyrennes, giving them stupendous views of the plains below, stretching towards Pau, and Pique Aneto on the other-side in Spain. We'd left a bit of tart for the girls! Gus and I took the opportunity to ride down the otherside to the town of luz st Sauveur, a glorious descent that made us wonder if we'd done the more pretty and more difficult side of the Col or not. It was special!
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