My Biking Blog: 100 Cols Day 11 Pau to Larrau

Today was really the first of the big mountain passes in the Pyrenees. Leaving Pau we headed west to re-join the route of the “100 Cols”. Weather was great but the day didn’t start well for me with a puncture at 2km from start. Rob (who has replaced Wilbert as tour leader) was able to help me change a tube and get going again. Unfortunately this meant I missed the group and was left on the road alone for most of the day. Nobody waits for you on these trips – it’s literally ”survival of the fittest” out there! However this didn’t worry me as I had the Garmin working OK to navigate the route and I could just ride at my own pace taking lots of pictures along the way. There was a very pretty bike path leading out of Pau and taking riders along the river.
After following the flat bike path it was off into the hills again with a few short climbs and some lovely views over the valleys of the foothills of the Pyrenees. Heading west was strange as we will eventually be taking a route back towards the Mediterranean. The loop from the city of Pau for “100 Cols” requires us to head west and then east as we make our way up into the mountains. They came into view as the clouds lifted and it was possible to see some of the snow above 1500m in the high peaks. This is the Basque region of the Pyrenees and each of the towns and villages have two names on the signs – one in French and the other Basque.
The first major climb was that of the Col d’Osquich at approx. 600m elevation and the lunch van was waiting at the top. Because I was delayed due to puncture I was last to leave the lunch stop so set about the job of catching up with the group. Great riding through this area as the roads are good. And the views are magnificent.
The next climb was the Col de Gamia which again at 600m wasn’t too high. But it was very steep 11-13% and for most of the 5km of the climb. After meeting several other riders and picking up a stamp for my “100 Cols” booklet at a coffee shop in St Jean-le-Vieux I headed out toward the major climb of the day.
This was the Col de Burdincurutcheta, the most difficult of the tour so far. With gradients of 15% sustained for 5-6km at the start of the climb my knees started to complain. I think the English translation for the name of this pass in Basque is Col of the “dual knee replacements”, because that what I needed by the top. The top of the climb was cloudy so not much in the way of views but there were some great valley views on the way up. Some riders were too tired to complete the climb and jumped in the lunch truck. Ype had the truck at the top and a few more riders decided to travel in the truck for the balance of the journey (about another 20kms). After a brief stop for a photo at the top it was off to the Col de Barargi, which although only short was still quite steep in parts. The descent down to Larrau was quite steep so the brakes were on most of the way.
I arrived into camp at about 545pm and my legs really felt like they had done a hard day’s work.Camping here in Larau is very basic although it's very pretty alongside a mountain stream (creek).
Tomorrow some more difficult and steep climbs including the Col de Soudet and the Col de Marie Blanque. Garmin Connect details here
Pau Cycling by peterjkemp at Garmin Connect - Details