Col d'Aspin and the Col du Tourmalet

Never really seen the Pyrenees and I am impressed. Like the alps used to look I suspect, before they put in motorways and large towns.

I set up base in St - Lary Soulon in the Haute Pyrenees department, good acces to a load of climbs.

The weather was iffy, loads of rain bourne clouds bundling over from Spain, so I decided to head the other way and take on the Col de Tourmalet, but the only way to get there was over the Col d'Aspin....and back.

Anyway...as I cycled the major difference between here and the Alps is the number of animals wandering around. It's like a giant farmyard half the time with mountain versions (more hair and horns) of familiar english farmyard animals, just doing their thing.

In some places, normally high up (which is where I usually head on the bike) there are 'zones pasturelle' which basically means expect to find the road blocked by goats and cows etc.

I got to the top of the Col d'Aspin to find a bunch of goats lounging around and shoed away some cows to continue on the route to St Marie de Campan. This little village is famous for a particular incident involving bike racer Eugene Christophe. I won't repeat the full story here, you can read about it

here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugene_Christophe but needless to say it passed into Tour de France and sporting legend as the ultimate in perservering but ultimately failing (due to a jobsworth marshall).

The road continued up into rain clouds and as always in the mountains I had my eyes regularly glancing at my altimiter to check what progress I was making.

After I passed two other riders who shouted 'courage !' as I passed them I entered the rather ugly ski station of La Mongie where a certain Texan won a memorable stage a couple of years ago. Typically there was a cow in the shot of the sign.

The top past the last few hairpins to 2100 metres was pretty nippy and I donned all my layers and retreated into a mountain restaurant where I got stuck into some tasty Basque flan and a beer.

The descent back down was uneventful apart from a herd of cows had taken up residence in an avalanche tunnel and refused to move.

The Col d'Aspin for the second time was also a little easier from the West...and I was soon back in the town of St Lary Soulon.

Nice ride, not so far but quite a lot of climbing and I had bagged two more famous cols.