Like all my high mountain rides, this one came from winter dreaming. In the grey days of February I was casting around for something suitable when I chanced upon a tour called the 'Pro Strength' Coast to Coast, offered by a company called Pyractif. The route is from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean taking in many classic cols linked by decent road mileages. Not as hard as last summer's Raid Dolomites, but a good ride nonetheless. Internet reviews were good, and for me it had the advantage of being an entirely commercial offering. So if I were to get a bit lazy and hitch a lift in the van on a hot day then I wouldn't be disqualified, as you would be on a proper Raid. An exchange of emails, a deposit paid and the deed was done.
A week ago I flew to Toulouse where I met Henk, Sam and Craig, three of my fellow riders. We were picked up by Helen in one of the support minibuses and taken to Pyractif's base at Bertren. We assembled our bikes, picked up Peter, another member of the support team, and drove to Biarritz. Here we met Chris, the ride leader, and the rest of the party. Substantially British, but with Australian, Canadian, Dutch and New Zealand riders, there were seventeen of us. The rest of them looked unreasonably fit, and unreasonably young too. All were experienced mountain riders and all had ridden in the Pyrenees before. Hard ride coming.
Next morning we set off to the seaside for a departure snap, then the ride began; 103 miles and about 9000 feet of climbing on the first day; more to come as we hit our stride. In all I clocked about 450 miles and 48,000 feet of climbing before we arrived at the Mediterranean on Friday morning. We did most of the classic cols - Marie Blanque, Aubisque, the Tourmalet-Aspin-Peyresourde 'Circle of Death', Portet d'Aspet, Port de Pailheres and plenty of others. A very good ride, and good weather too. We had a bit of drizzle for a couple of hours on Wednesday morning, but otherwise it was a blue sky ride, which is a blessing in the Pyrenees.
Support arrangements were good, as I have come to expect on these trips. Two vans, mechanical support, a lead rider on many of the passes and convenient and enjoyable alfresco lunches. Decent enough hotels - truth to tell, there's not that much choice if you're crossing the Pyrenees. If you run a hotel that's good for cyclists you'll have plenty of custom in the summer season, and I've stayed in several of them before. They know their business.
My riding companions were a great bunch and touchingly considerate of an old man; I had a great time. There were some very fancy bikes, but few problems. One set of carbon rims repeatedly caused punctures - mainly heat blow-outs on the descents - but another pair (Zipp 404) were trouble free. There were a number of sets of electronic gears, Campag and Shimano, no problems with them, and most people were running 11 speed. All frames carbon, all light builds. I took my Condor and all I had to do was wash it. Great bike.
So, if you're looking for a hard ride in the mountains that's a little out of the ordinary, give this one a shot. You won't be disappointed.
Mark
Author: Mark G
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