PedalDancer.com is a bike blog for travelers and cyclists. Intended as a free educational source for the public, with stories from Colordo, California and France, with bike event calendar lists, bike race dates, bicycle and travel stories, cycling and bike race photography, bike routes, recommended bike climbs, cycling travel tips and maps. With France road sign and tollway travel tips.
Pla d'Adet is a climb in the Vallée d'Aure in the Pyrenees, France
My friend Paddy Sweeney of VeloPeloton climbed Pla d'Adet today (Plah-deh-day). He said, "Overall it's not a particularly hard climb as it is short and would be easier than Luz Ardiden or Hautacam." That is because the Hautacam is in Paddy's back yard and he climbs it (what seems like) every other day. I think Pla d'Adet is kind of hard. So much so, that I remember distinctly saying out loud after the last time I descended that mountain in 2010 on Bastille Day, "well I don't need to do that again." Once was enough, plus the 10-hour day we spent on that same mountain in 2005 to watch the Tour de France mountain top finish at the ski station. Do not get stuck in a traffic jam on Pla d'Adet. Still that mountain has epic memories for me. Just knowing that it looms over the Vallée d'Aure is magical. In 2010 I climbed a hill opposite simply to photograph it from different angles. Down valley is the city of Saint-Lary-Soulan. I totally disagree with Phil Liggett who claims this town to be one of his favorites in the Pyreness - "What? He needs to get out of that small broadcasting trailer more," I always scream at the TV.
The town of Arreau, north (up or down valley, it depends which way you are riding, because the road feels sort of flat) of Saint-Lary-Soulon, is a lovely town with a patio outside the Hotel de France and a pleasant river to picnic along. I like this valley a lot, it's beautiful. The climbs of Col d'Aspin, Hourquette d'Ancizan, Col d'Azet, and Pla d'Adet line the sides of this valley. Col de Peyresourde, Port de Bales, and Col de Tourmalet (east side) are close by.
All photos by Karen Rakestraw of Pedal Dancer®
The climb of Pla d'Adet is on the right of the Vallée d'Aure
The climb begins with a massive switchback.
You climb and climb above the valley
Looking down on the town of Vignec below.
Steepness of the climb
So steep (Paddy) that the houses are perched in stone on the side of the hill.
Before my friend Paddy Sweeney headed off to guide another group of hardy cyclists from coast to coast across the Pyrenees mountains, he was posting photos daily on his Pyrenees Cycling facebook page of the floods in the valley near his home in Saint Savin, France.
Myself and a number of friends have now visited Paddy in the Pyrenees at his La Lantern Rouge Cycling Lodge. We think of him daily as he reported first on record-level late snowfall and then on the destructive floods which last week angrily raged down the valleys into populated towns below, causing major destruction.
When a friend, Bill, whom I had
met at Paddy's place in 2010 wrote to me to suggest
that I post something about the floods because "not much had been written in mainstream cycling news," I realized I had been
so wrapped up in watching Paddy's daily posts I had forgotten to
tell the story myself.
Cyclists pepper the well-known climbs in this area. The climbs of the Tourmalet, Aubisque, Hautacam, Luz Ardiden, Soulor, Aspin, and others are out the back door. The Tour de France typically stays in this area for 3-4 stages every year, but in some great twist of good luck, this year the 100th route will only include 2 days in the Pyrenees mountains.
The recent floods have been devastating. The main flooding period took place between June 18-20, 2013. But the clean-up and repairs will take many months. Roads have been wiped out with major damage to the west side road leading to the Col du Tourmalet, plus many small villages along the borders of the regions rivers.
Nearby, residents and tourists were trapped up the road at Cauterets where the one road in and out was washed out.
The road to Cauterets, June 2013. Photo from BicyclingWeekly
Three days of very hot weather preceded the floods.
Pyrenees Floods
Notice the towns of Lourdes, Argeles-Gazost, Pierrefitte-Nestalas, Cauterets, Saint-Saveur, and Bareges. click image to enlarge
Below, Paddy took this photo on June 21st of the town where Paddy, his wife Olive and their son Sean live in Saint Savin.
Read Paddy's update here: The Great Flood and see more of his photos or follow his FB page for cycling photos and updates on conditions in the Pyrenees.
If you are a cyclist - you will not be able to ride to the top of the Col du Tourmalet from the west side. Yesterday Paddy and his group of cyclists were successfully able to ride to the top of the Tourmalet from Campan / Sainte-Marie-de-Campan, on the East side. Paddy reports the city of Bareges, on the west side, well-known to many of us who have traveled in the area, was devastated and was evacuated by the Army. Repairs will take months. Lives and businesses have been changed.
The washed out road 3km from Bareges, on the west side, between Luz Saint Sauveur and the top of the Col du Tourmalet. Photo from Paddy Sweeney of VeloPeloton.com
See video of the town of Pierrefitte-Nestalas, a village between Luz Saint Sauveur and Lourdes. Watch as the helicopter flies down the valley near Saint Savin, where Paddy lives up on a small hill safe from this devastation.
See video of Lourdes, 1800 Tourists and residents had to be evacuated from Lourdes and the Pilgrimage site was closed. (http://youtu.be/9jc5KZgRFrE)
Stage 9 of the 2013 Tour de France has been affected by the floods
Flooding occurred in some areas planned to be featured in Stage 9 of the TDF on July 7th. The town of Luchon (Bagneres du Luchon) was under water but most of the roads and bridges remained intact. The nearby town of St Mamet was badly hit. It is unknown at this point whether organizers will need to reroute Stage 9 if repairs are not completed; these repairs are a priority and the towns are confident of the route and that the Tour should not be affected.
Stage 9 of the 2013 Tour de France will travel through some of the affected flood areas. Click any image to enlarge
Stage 9 of the 2013 TDF is 1 of 2 big stages in the Pyrenees this year.
You can see that Bareges and Lourdes are just to the west of the stage
route. The town of Luchon is marked as a Sprint points location on the
Stage 9 route map above. Video footage in St Beat, down valley from Luchon, and directly on the route, show high waters flowing through the streets. The city is receiving rapid attention as it is a major gateway to Spain.
Some of the photos Paddy has been posting are featured in the article including this one of the damage in Luz Saint Sauveur. Luz is a village I have very fond memories of passing through on a bicycle over the years. It is so hard to see the damage and imagine the townspeople uprooted.
Big Mountains, Valleys, and Big Rivers
The Pyrenees mountain range separates Spain from France, with some of the highest points along the border. To understand the French Pyrenees is to understand that a series of almost parallel valleys run north from the mountain peaks, with high flowing rivers of snow-melt reaching into the lush farmlands below. Paddy lives near Argeles-Gazost in the Valley Laveden down valley from the Cauterets Valley labeled on this map.
Some of my favorite photos from a week in Colorado.
We finally had a big snow storm in Denver. This was the view of my local Washington Park as I drove into downtown Denver on Sunday afternoon to visit the NAHBS. Attendance at the bike show was dampened this year because of the winter storm, but the show was interesting and I learned lots. On a side-note, can I just mention - I love Facetime - how fun it was to take my Mother, sitting in California, on a visual tour of the snow accumulated outside my house this weekend.
I attended the handmade bike show (NAHBS) in Denver this weeked, and yes, I did site Brian Worthy all 3 days (I forgot to take a picture!). However the highlight of the weekend for me was overhearing Mark Niemeic of Mavic say, "That would be my take home bike, if I had a choice." "Which bike?" I interupted, "Which one would you pick?" "The real bike from Breaking Away," Mark repeated. Whaaaa. It's here?! "Yes, I'll take you to it." And so he did. And I want it too.
The Breaking Away movie Masi bike
Mark explained that the owner builder of Gangl bikes was the owner of this treasure, one of three bikes used in the movie. Although I would like to think I could get on this bike and ride 60 mph behind a semi-truck, my favorite three wish I could take home bikes from the show were:
1. This Cielo bike outfitted with Shimano Ultegra, Tanner custom leather saddle bags, Continental Contact tires, and a Brooks saddle. Not over the top yet functional, although far too nice to leave chained to a bike rack.
2. This prize winning work of art urban bike by Cherubim by Shin-Ichi Konno.
3. And the Breaking Away Masi "Mamma, Pappa" bike. Of course I had to come back to this bike, wouldn't you want this bike sitting among your collection!
A bit of Trivia: Although the movie was filmed at the track where Wayne and Dale Stetina (Uncle and father to Peter Stetina of Garmin-Sharp) raced a similar lap format race in college called the Little 500, the movie was filmed while the pair were off racing in Europe. Their younger brother Jole and Father Roy were extras in the road race segments of the Breaking Away movie. Wayne's IU college roommate Gary Ribar filled in as double for the main character in the movie and was the actual rider on the Masi behind the semi-truck. Today Wayne Stetina is a V.P. with Shimano.
More Trivia: Andy Hampsten was not in the film, although he was born in nearby Columbus, Ohio, and was only 17 years-old at the time the movie was filmed. The Stetinas grew up in Cleveland, Ohio but attended Indiana University. The movie was filmed at the University and the final track race was filmed at Memorial Stadium on the IU campus, where the well-know Little 500 was held. The stadium was demolished 4 years after the filming of the movie (summer of 1978). Wayne Stetina disclaims the movie was based on his story.
More Trivia: John Vande Velde, father of Christian Vande Velde (Garmin-Sharp), and a three-time national champion in
the individual pursuit and a two-time Olympian on the
track, was also an extra in the movie Breaking Away. He was one of the bad guys on the fictional Italian Team Cinzano.
On second thought, I'd also like to take home Andy Hamspten's Giro winning bike. And Andy Hampsten. I hear he can cook Italian food and I bet he can tell some good stories.
A smiling Andy Hampsten and his Giro winning bike at NAHBS
Or ride one of these wooden bikes:
Handmade wooden bikes on display at NAHBS
The NAHBS had a really fun party at Blake St Tavern on Friday night hosted by Gates Carbon Drive and Oskar Blues to benefit Bike Denver and Trips for Kids. I witness my friend Scott Christopher (of Bicycle Colorado) put together a bike in about 10 minutes during a competition among mechanics. The place was packed to capacity with a fun mix of so many friends I have met over the years and many more new friends I met that night. It was fun to see everyone at a party versus a race.
Even Brian Worthy was in this crowd. promise.
But before going to the party I had an excellent beer 1-block away at River North Brewery because sorry, Oskar Blues makes terrible beer. Best Beer Pubs and Breweries in Denver
Delicious beers in a row that night at River North Brewery
Europe got lots of snow this week as well and Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne in Belgium was canceled due to so much snow the road were deemed unsafe for riders. It was only the third time the race had ever been canceled in it's 68-year history (1986, 1993, 2013).
This was my favorite photo taken by someone else this week. A photograph by Paddy Sweeney of Velopeloton of the church in Saint Savin, France, just down the road from the Col du Tourmalet (and so many other great climbs):
Click through to see it's majesty: Cote de Saint Savin by Paddy Sweeney
Up that valley to the left - Col du Tourmalet; Up that valley to the right - Luz Ardiden; Straight to the left - Hautacam; Hang a sharp right - Col du Soulor; Stay put - heaven.
Two years ago I was lucky to find a wonderful place to stay in Saint-Savin, France. In the heart of one of the richest cycling valleys in the Pyrenees, you will find Paddy and Olive who run La Lanterne Rouge Cycling Lodge (VeloPeloton). They welcome cyclists from around the world to stay and cycle to their hearts content. I stayed for two nights, two nights is definitely not long enough. There are climbs galore, excellent food and good company - why leave? Paddy and Olive (and young Sean) have become friends, it was so good to return again to see them. But leave I must, tomorrow will be my last day cycling in the Pyrenees before I depart from Toulouse. Awwwh shucks. But look at all the fabulous sights I saw during my stay in Saint-Savin ....
I arrived last night and took a walk around the tiny town on the hill with a distinctive church (which caught quite a bit of Tour de France air time. So did La Laterne Rouge which was mentioned on TV - so exciting).
Tourmalet and Luz Ardiden are up valley
Church in Saint Savin
town of Saint-Savin near Argeles-Gazost
local homes
Saint-Savin town square
Lavendon Valley
View across to the Hautacam
My corner room at La Lanterne Rouge
Today I cycled to Gavernie. A nice easy road which definitely ranks as a "destination ride".
I got to cycle this road to the Cirque de Gavernie
Gavernie
hiking to the Cirque
I sat by this creek for a long time with my feet in the water
hiking families came by (love the baguettes in the backpack)
local school boys were fishing for trout
Grandpa was watching
These souvenirs kept whistling (crack me up)
The Napoleon Bridge on the road back to Saint Luz Sauveur
We had a delicious dinner tonight and Olive made Katie (their niece) and me a birthday cake. There are two other guests at the Lodge right now, Jonathan from England who is riding his bike (and eating cakes) all over France for 6-weeks and Audrey who just arrived from Singapore, another Aussie guest left yesterday after staying for 10-days.
Tonight after dinner I sat out in the yard and chatted with Paddy, always good conversation with Paddy around, it was nice to relax as the sun was setting. If you are a cyclist, La Lanterne Rouge is a nice place to stop by for a few days, climbs in the area (out the back door) include the well known climbs of the Tour de France - Col du Tourmalet, Luz Ardiden, Hautacam, Col du Soulor, Col d'Aubisque. Plus fantastic riding to and hiking in the areas of Cirque de Gavernie and Cautarets. Would you believe La Lanterne Rouge is already booked up for 2 weeks around the 2013 Tour de France by a large group from New South Wales, Australia.
