Myself & Alison are just back from a couple of fantastic weeks road (cross-bike) riding in thePyrenees.
We were based at the aptly named La Lanterne Rouge Cycling Lodge (http://www.lanternerougecycling.com/la-lanterne-rouge-cycling-lodge/). This provided us with a fantastic base to explore classic climbs and stages of the Tour. Tourmalet, Aspin, Peyresourde, Aubisque, Soulor, Hautacam were on our doorstep and other fantastic riding was also very close. In fact some of the lesser known climbs were actually tougher and more enjoyable. Our base at St Savin offered us good very flexibility to allow us to do overnight mini tours to Luchon and Bielle.
La Lanterne Rouge Cycling Lodge is owned and run by Paddy and Olive, a friendly and helpful Irish couple who provided us with plenty of good grub and chat. Many of the other guests at the Lodge had travelled a fair distance – from the USA, Canada, Italyand the UK. It is also possible to do a PyreneanCoastto Coast Raid with them (http://www.velopeloton.com/pyrenees-cycling/forum/7-cols/) in either 100 hours or 7 days. They also have a 6 Col Challenge to be ridden in 1 day from St Savin, which I reckon is just about within grasp for my next visit.
We both rode our cross bikes, but made sure we had mtb cassettes pre-fitted to allow comfortable gear ratios. I rode with mini v brakes and this was sufficient to prevent the front brake judder commonly associated with cross bikes. Most other folks around were riding carbon fibre triples.
In general, climbs are not much tougher than what we have on our door step. If you can ride Tak,Crow Roadthen a few climbs upStation Road(Lennoxtown) then you are just about there. I am not ashamed to say that good gear ratios (preferably a triple) is the best way to enjoy several long days in thePyrenees. Also, you are never that far from Thermal Spas and these are great after a few long hard days. However, I am glad that I invested in some good quality ¾ bib shorts before I went out. I am now actually convinced that they were worth the money (and it took a lot of convincing).
Thanks to Simon Simpson for his route suggestions and gear ratio advice (plus patience) before we went.
Future stuff to dream about now that the summer is coming to an end: Mtb routes in Portugal, Alpe D’Huez, Ventoux, Bealach Na Ba (I have been wanting to do this for years), Northern Lights (2013 is predicted to be the best by NASA in the last 50 years), Audax Snow Roads (in spring/summer), 7 ferries (with an overnight somewhere), 2 day mtb Cairngorm Loop.
After this weekend, looking forward to catching up on some local trails followed by tea and cake in Bullands.
