Raid Pyrenean – a brief account
It’s been an aspiration of mine for some time to haul my lardy backside over some famous climbs of the Tour de France. Coupled with my obsession with endurance events and a jackdaw like need to collect shiny cycling medals, the Raid Pyrenean seemed too good to be true – an official route organised by Pau cycling club that offers a certificate and medal (under the auspices of the French equivalent of CTC) if you can cycle 720km from the Atlantic to the Med, keeping as close to the France/Spain border as possible (regardless of whether a mountain is in the way) in less than 100 hours.
Rather than make it too tough for myself, I booked my place on an organised trip with Marmot Tours. Essentially they lug your bags from hotel to hotel and provide food/drink en route, leaving you to concentrate on pedalling those miles. Very good they were at it too – helpful but not intruding.
Starting in the port town of Hendaye on 2 September, 12 riders from around the UK dipped their feet in the Atlantic, mounted their steeds (mainly up market carbon racing bikes, apart from my traditional steel audax bike) and began the journey. The first day was straightforward – 180km with only one Col of note. A mere 500m of climbing with an average gradient of 5%.
Day 2 was a beast. Within 20km, I was ascending the lovely Col d’Abisque which had mesmerising views all the way up and all the way down. Seriously gorgeous. A 50km blast along a valley floor and then I was confronted with the highest climb of the ride – the famous Col du Tormalet. The ascent was more than 1200m (close to the height of Ben Nevis) with gradients over 10% in places, but more usually around 7%. This was a toughie, but thoroughly enjoyable. Beats Leith Hill hands down! The descent was rather hairy as it was into thick fog – I could have done with windscreen wipers on my glasses.
Day 3 was possibly the toughest day. It had the same amount of climbing as the Day 2, but more climbs and an bonus 70km. I don’t have the eloquence to convey how drop dead gorgeous the descent from Col d’Aspin or how enjoyable the descent on wide, clear, perfectly surfaced roads from Col du Peyresourde was. Just imagine me with a big grin at the memory and multiply by 10. The Col de Parque d’Aspin was also on this stage – infamy proved by the memorial to Fabio Casatelli – which was the toughest individual climb of the route, due to where it appears (legs tired by this stage) and the gradient (10% average, touches 15% on the way up) over 4km sweat soaked, gear griding effort. That said, the 25km of easy riding/freewheeling afterwards was good compensation!
Day 4 was a bit of a slog. The morning wake up call was the handsome Col de Porte followed by a long stretch of “illusory flat” before reaching a 30km climb that dominated the day (up Col de Poymorin). It was also the only day with less than ideal weather – rather than the usual mid 20s with cloud cover (perfect) the valley floor after this long climb was baking in temperatures in the 30s. I was thankful of the support vans as they offered the chance to slap on suncream and top up water bottles. The final major Col (de la Perche) of the Raid came at 150km this day, with the last 32km completely downhill (only 5km of which needed any pedalling!).
The final day was a blast to the coast – downhill for 2 hours and then a lumpy coastal road through Port Verde to Cerberes where the Raid ended with a glass of champagne and a dip in the Med.
This is a truly memorable ride and if you are looking for a hilly challenge then you should seriously consider undertaking it. A tourist version (slightly longer and no time limit) is also available for those hoping for more time to soak in French culture, local wines and delicious regional food.