Friday was our last day of training. Two mountains were lined up - the Col de Spandelles at around 1400m, followed by a long descent and the climb up another side of the Col du Solour, which we had climbed on Wednesday. It was around 16km up to the first summit. It was a very warm morning when we set off, and the road was 'agricultural' - full of potholes (really rough ones), gullies, and a real variety of gradients - from downhill sections to 17% inclines. When I got to the top of the Spandelles, I decided I'd had enough. The rest of the group continued, and I sat and marvelled at the view for a few minutes before negotiating my way back down the mountain. Not an easy task, as the bright sun through the tress obscured the potholes - so it was a case of having my hands on the brakes nearly all the way down (achy, achy arms!). However, I wasn't completely done. I got myself onto a wonderful cycle lane that uses a former railway line, and I went from Argelès to Lourdes, and back, leaving me with a total of 60km done for the day. A few others were a bit knackered when they got back from their full day in the saddle. I'm glad I didn't do the whole route - as it was, I was kinda tired, and I didn't want to over cook myself for the big day...
Saturday was a rest day. We had a session together in the morning, making sure our bikes were in top condition. I changed my tyres (puncturing a tube along the way - d'oh!), and I got help from a great guy called Jay, giving me practical tips and general guidance. Then we took the trip to Pau - a bus journey of 2 hours - to register for the Étape, and get our numbers. We got back to Argelès for an early pasta dinner in a lovely restaurant. We were booked in for 5 - tons of pasta, and a few glasses of wine, and that was that.
We all went to bed at around 9.
And tried to sleep.
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