Day 1 - Gourette - presque la Pierre Saint Martin

The route called for 78km and 2300m of ascent+, which might have been a bit much for me even if there hadn’t been any technical problems.

The day started easily with a long descent to Bielle before starting the climb to the Col de Marie-Blanque. I was in better shape than the day before and climbed the pass well. When I got to the top, a group of Belgian cyclo-sportifs were with me in a van containing my travel gear, food and everything I needed to deal with any breakdowns. They offered to re-inflate my tyres, which surprised me - I’d put air in the rear tyre two or three days before and hadn’t noticed anything. I was worried when they inflated it, because I only had 1 bar left at the rear... Well re-inflated, I quickly went down some nice slopes. But after the first part of the descent my rear tyre was punctured. I dismounted the wheel and saw that the tyre was worn right down to the cord. I repaired it and applied a puncture-proof tape to try and limit the damage. All this took me quite a while because I had to understand how to apply the puncture-proof tape... I set off again and was riding well.

From Osse en Aspe, the climb to the Col de Hourataté begins. I’m beginning to breathe a little, as the climb is less dynamic than the previous one. But I reach the top and take a good break. I’m a bit behind schedule. But on the short descent that follows, I have another puncture at the back. The condition of the tyre has deteriorated considerably in the twenty or so kilometres since the puncture. The tyre has opened up and so has the puncture strip. The hole in the chamber is on a patch that was sticking out and rubbing a bit more than the rest... I fixed it again and started looking for alternatives. I’d like to reach the Labays pass, which isn’t far away, to get to a better-used road. Unfortunately I burst again very quickly and I could see the clock ticking. I’m tired and I’m convinced that if I repair it, it won’t last. To make matters worse, I’ve got no signal... And there’s hardly anyone on this road. In short, just as I was beginning to despair, several people stopped : a motorcyclist who told me that he had a bit of a signal to make a call and two car drivers who offered to help me ! One of them will take me and my bike to La Pierre Saint Martin.
Now I have to find a tyre. My friends from the chess tournament I’d come to see weren’t available... The bike hire company at the resort, which sells a bit of cycling equipment, has run out of tyres. I had to go down to Arette and Denis, the father of two young players, was kind enough to take me. After all, Arette is 23km from the resort... But when we arrived, the bike shop was closed just this week ! Denis took me as far as Oloron, where we found a shop at the entrance to the town. Phew, I can fix it and set off again the next day.

Second Day : the station, the pass of la Pierre Saint-Martin, Oloron Sainte Marie

On Thursday morning, once the morning fog had cleared, the weather was quite fine and I decided to climb the 200 metres or so that were missing up to the pass. It’s a fairly pleasant route where you pass above the clouds. I can make out the Pic d’Anie, a little further on, rising above the clouds.

The descent is in fog, then rain. I don’t even see the Col de Labays, which I’m bound to pass. Then, on the plain, the rain stops and the temperature rises. I buy a delicious sandwich like you won’t find anywhere else in a bakery near the station. And that’s the end of my tour of the Pyrenees.le part dans une boulangerie près de la gare. Et c’est la fin de mon périple dans les Pyrénées.