As we prepared ourselves for the additional miles to make our way around the Portillion the hotel advised us that the road was passable by bike albeit we would have to carry them through the road works. A quick vote and we all agreed that the Portillon was a better option than the additional 30 k. We set off on a glorious sunny morning with the road to ourselves and a few lonely walkers who shouted out the occasional "Allez, Allez, Allez" in support.
An 8km climb with a few sections of 12% and we were at the top on the border with Spain. Farewell France and welcome Spain.
We all met up for coffee outside a cafe in Vielha and lunch by the river as we prepared ourselves for the 23km climb up the Puerto de la Bonaigua. Little did we know that this was on a par with some of the French Cols. It just went on and on and on with sections that were 11/12%.
The smiles of relief at the top were on everyone's faces!
However those smiles got wiped off as we made the descent. The Spanish don't close roads when they do roadworks, they leave them open and expect you to cycle through them. For three miles we had to endure the worst road conditions we had experienced ANYWHERE. Between us we had seven punctures!
Eventually we arrived in Rialp by 6.00pm where we found ourselves booked into a lovely hotel. What's more they had a television so that the football fans could watch the Champions League Final.
1 comment:
Allez Ian Miller, Allez! Dig deep! Looking forward to hearing all about it next week. Cheers, Steve Lake.
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