With Mont Ventoux added too Steve’s palmares, we headed out on our way to the Pyrenees. We did make one planned stop on the way. We drove into Arles to see an ancient Roman amphitheater that we had seen in some literature we had reviewed.
The amphitheater is right in the middle of town and is still used to this day. It was built about 2000 years ago, but has been retrofitted with modern seating and hi-tech lighting. 2000 years ago was just around the same timeframe as the building of the Pond du Gard aqueduct. It must of have been the golden age of the Roman occupation of France.
After visiting the amphitheater and having some lunch at a persian restaurant, we set out for the Pyrenees. We drove near Montpellier and actually briefly saw the Mediterranean Sea. We arrived in Saint Gauden in the early evening, just is time to grab some food for dinner.
The next day, we headed for the base of the Tourmalet, the most climbed mountain in the history of the Tour de France. As a matter of fact, the riders of the Tour would be riding over it in two days and the crowd was already starting to accumulate along the route.
After the summit and a few photos, we headed down the other side to Luz Saint Sauveur. We parked in the parking lot of the Carrefour grocery store and got some lunch. Parking anywhere in Europe is always an adventure, but we got to draw on my previous experience here. I had parked in the Carrefour parking lot before and knew right where it was and that it was free to park.
Tomorrow would be Steve’s last summit ride of his trip. He would ride the Hautecam in the Pyrenees. It has some history in the Tour de France, but to me, it where Bjarne Riis earned the nickname Mr. 60%. Bjarne Riis won the Tour de France in 1996 but was proven to have cheated by using the banned drug EPO. He looked like he was on a training ride as he ascended the Hautecam when I watched videos it. Note: 50% is consider high, but an acceptable level for a hematocrit level. Steve would have no such advantage tomorrow!
The Hautecam is a ride I had not ridden before so both Steve and I would discover it together. Usually, there are A LOT of riders on the climbs in the Alps and the Pyrenees. Maybe it was the weather or the fact that the Hautecam has not been featured in the TdF as much as the other climbs that we have planned to ride, but Steve would climb this one without much challenge from other riders.
But there were some other challenges to overcome on the ride. Like horses in the road!….Which Steve managed to maneuver around without any difficulty.
And like all of the other climbs, Steve was able to reach the top, with panache of course!
Once the Hautecam was under Steve’s belt, I talked Steve into doing another ride. I thought he still had gas in the tank after the Hautecam and Steve readily agreed. It did not take much much persuasion on my part. So we drove back to Luz Saint Sauveur to get some lunch and plan for Steve to ride to the ski station at Luz Ardiden. Luz Ardiden has some Tour de France history. Greg Lemond secured his third Tour de France victory there in 1990 by burying his main competition. He still trailed by 5 seconds to the leader but all acknowledged that he would easily make that up in the final time trial. He may have won the Tour there, but he only finished second on the stage, losing to Miguel Indurain in the last few kilometers. Anther famous Luz Ardiden stage occurred when Lance Armstrong was contesting the stage when he hooked a musette bag from a young spectator and took a tumble on the pavement. He recovered and eventually won the stage, but that was later expunged from the record after his fall from grace due to his EPO doping.
Steve rode Luz Ardiden with almost no problems. It is a fun climb (if climbing steep slopes is FUN) with a lot of switch backs to zig zag the way to the finish. The only problems for this ride was the constant swarm of flies that drafted Steve to the top of the climb and the fog that rolled in and continued to the summit.
Now, it was time for a break from the bike for Steve. Luckily, tomorrow would offer a fun alternative to riding. The Tour de France! It was Stage 8 and we would be there!
We arrived fairly early and planned to ride to the top to be there for the summit finish! Well, live and learn. We thought that if we started up too early that we would have to wait forever for the race to arrive, so we stayed in the car for a while. Well, the police and security closed the road while we were in the car so we had to walk and could only get up the the 5K to go mark. It was still a good spot to watch. We were on the climb so when the first riders arrived, they were actually accelerating up the hill. Mere mortals like us hope to survive these climbs and they were accelerating! At one point before the racer arrived, I told Steve we should text our friends back in the USA that we were right at the 5k banner. Someone took a photo of their TV during the race and saw us! Not US TV, Worldwide TV!
Word was that an American, Nielson Powless had crested the Tourmalet in the lead of the race and had taken over as the King of the Mountains leader. I was yelling for Nielson as he raced past us! After the race passed us, reality set in. We were able to walk back to the car right away, but had to wait FOREVER in the car to drive down the mountain. Hours! C’est La Vie as they say in France.
Now, it was almost all over but the shouting. We would head back to Chambéry the next day, but stopped in Nïmes to see an old Roman coliseum. It was is quite good shape for it’s age, again about 2000 years old.
Once back in Chambéry, I talked Steve into one more ride to again help me get some more saddle time. We rode out through Aix-les-Bains and out to a village named Albens. Along the way, we stopped to get up close and personal with the classic sunflowers fields of France.
Back on the road, we arrived in Albens and this is where Steve would make a final and lasting mark on my trip. Steve bought me an Eclair! Well, Steve pretty much had to buy it. I entered the patisserie without my cycling shoes on and was unceremoniously told that I needed to wait outside the shop.
After that, I had a hard time passing up any opportunity to buy and enjoy an eclair! I’m not saying addiction, but….Well, thanks Steve.
With all the riding over with, Steve’s time in France had come to an end and was all set to go home. I enjoyed Steve’s company so much on this trip. Both admiring his cycling ability, but mostly his comradeship. We’ve known each other for a long time and I see no reason for that to ever end. À bientôt mon ami!