I would like to dedicate today's blog and bike riding to my good mate John (Mig) Lock. For those of you not aware, Mig is my cycling buddy, and pretty every weekend for the past 7 years or so we cycle together. We had talked about this trip numerous times, and unfortunately the day after we booked the trip in February he had a bad accident in a social game of soccer and ruptured his Achilles tendon. This is not a light injury, and it takes 6 - 8 months (longer for those not fit) to recover. After training and planning for months already I decided to proceed ahead with my trip, and told John I will do recon for our next trip once he has mended and is back in fighting fitness. This one is for you Buddy.

So today I was greeted with the most glorious Blue skies that Monet would have been proud to paint. I was going to attempt a super ride........put simple a double Hors Categorie endurance test.

On the menu was the giant of the Pyrenees the Col du Tormalet (2115 metres) and then to follow that with a climb to the ski station at Luz-Ardiden (1715 meters). Both these climbs will be completed at the back end of Stage 12 of this years TDF. I was going to ride the last 55 km of this stage to see where my cycling "Mojo" stood.

Before I could hit the climbs, I had to cycle about 30 km South of Lourdes arriving at the beautiful postcard Spa Resort town of Luz-Saint-Saveur (try saying that with a mouthful of peanuts)!!!

I had been warned about the Tourmalet and the sheer fact that this is a colossus of a climb stretching 18 km up at a thigh busting 7.5 % grade. Well in first few KMs the mountain threw everything at me, but today I had come to play ball. Aside from having some reasonable physical condition before undertaking this trip, the most important muscle for me is the 6 inches between the ears. A strong mind is needed when you know that the first climb was going to take the best part of 2 hours.

Anyhow I got into a good tempo and before too long was halfway up the hill. It was hot and I consuming vast quantities of water to stay hydrated. I estimate I would have drank around 6 liters of fluids today to try and replace the sweat that just keeps pouring out of you.

Once I hit the top I was as happy as a pig in the proverbial. I took some pics, drank some ice cold Coke and ate the Cherry pie from the Chalet (highly recommended). After refueling I then took off down the hill like a Pro and was back in Luz-Saint-Saveur in 25 mins.

From there I then started on the 13 km summit of Luz-Ardiden. This climb is pretty famous, as it is where Lance Armstrong crashed in 2003 when climbing the last part of the stage. He got his handlebars caught up in a spectators hand bag and hit the deck like a sack of spuds ( you can see on You Tube "Lance Crash Musette Bag").

Anyhow enough about the Texan, this blog is about a proud Victorian!! The 13 KMs took me a little over an hour, and I bad a quick rest at the top. I shot some video and pics and hopefully they covey the savage incline near the top.

The decent down is an absolute cracker, and it's fast, furious and require a little nerve ducking in and out of the multiple corners. Once at the base I continued on back to Lourdes. All up it was just under 130 KMs, in 6 hours and 25 mins of some of the best cycling I have even done. I am not sure what the French word is for exhausted and exhilarated, but that is how I felt upon completing this marathon day.

After a couple of beers I sauntered down to the local restaurant for some Paella. While not a culinary highlight on this trip, it was a decent serve to replenish the spent fuel from today........... as was the Banana Split!

Cycling Foodie

Posted from

Lourdes, France