Orthez to Gourette
Morale: 6/10
Climbs: >17,000 feet of climbing!!!! 2 Cat 1s, 2 HCs, 1 Cat 3
Time: 10 hours, 10 minutes riding time!
Stage 16 has been in my head from the moment I flipped through Velo New's Tour de France edition. I distinctly remember sitting on the couch at my dad's house in Colorado and showing him the climbing profile, and thinking if anything stops us from completing the Tour it will most likely be stage 16.
The first climb of the day, Port de Larrau, had us all asking some serious questions of our legs and our ability to complete the stage. It's not often that I look down to see my computer showing anything under 5 mph. I consider 5mph to be my desperation speed. Climbing up one section of the Larrau with a headwind that must have been ~30 mph, I saw 3.2 mph!!! The legs were barely turning over, and I was on the first climb of the day. The summit of the climb crosses the Spanish border. I was greeted with a 'que bueno' and 'de donde eres?' from la policia at the top of the climb. How nice to be in a country where I speak the language- if only for a couple of climbs.
It was well after 7 pm when we started the final climb- Col d'Aubisque. A thick fog had appeared as I slowly made my way to the top focusing on the dotted white lines in the middle of the road. It was a bit eerie and motivating at the same time. Just me and the elements- the sound of the wheels & my heavy breathing. My arms were covered in white dew that almost looked like snow. My vision was limited to about 5 feet. Greeted once again by the camper van, I quickly put on warm clothes, thankful that our final climb was in such a pleasant temperature. Darkness was quickly approaching and we made our way down the climb to our campsite- arriving after 10 pm!
Morale: 6/10
Climbs: >17,000 feet of climbing!!!! 2 Cat 1s, 2 HCs, 1 Cat 3
Time: 10 hours, 10 minutes riding time!
Stage 16 has been in my head from the moment I flipped through Velo New's Tour de France edition. I distinctly remember sitting on the couch at my dad's house in Colorado and showing him the climbing profile, and thinking if anything stops us from completing the Tour it will most likely be stage 16.
The first climb of the day, Port de Larrau, had us all asking some serious questions of our legs and our ability to complete the stage. It's not often that I look down to see my computer showing anything under 5 mph. I consider 5mph to be my desperation speed. Climbing up one section of the Larrau with a headwind that must have been ~30 mph, I saw 3.2 mph!!! The legs were barely turning over, and I was on the first climb of the day. The summit of the climb crosses the Spanish border. I was greeted with a 'que bueno' and 'de donde eres?' from la policia at the top of the climb. How nice to be in a country where I speak the language- if only for a couple of climbs.
It was well after 7 pm when we started the final climb- Col d'Aubisque. A thick fog had appeared as I slowly made my way to the top focusing on the dotted white lines in the middle of the road. It was a bit eerie and motivating at the same time. Just me and the elements- the sound of the wheels & my heavy breathing. My arms were covered in white dew that almost looked like snow. My vision was limited to about 5 feet. Greeted once again by the camper van, I quickly put on warm clothes, thankful that our final climb was in such a pleasant temperature. Darkness was quickly approaching and we made our way down the climb to our campsite- arriving after 10 pm!
1 comments:
Amy,
I heard of your adventures through a good friend at work, Debbie Riemersma.
I am very proud of you, catirita!
Enairo
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