Day 11 - Last hard slog

Tracey translating Jeremy with asides and a confession from John H.

The team have rechristened last night's stop-over town. Ax les Thermes is now Axe les Thermes. Apparently it's mostly dominated by a big "neon nasty" Casino and has a generally tawdry air. The Hotel L'Auzeraie didn't improve matters with difficulty getting access to the building and rude staff when you got in. Oh - and mediocre food (big sin in a cyclist's eyes!). The town does have one saving grace - various "paddling pools" around the town fed by thermally-heated water which were great for soaking cycle-worn feet in (though you need to make sure you're far enough away from the inlet not to poach them instead!).

Sounds like today made up for it though. Beginning cool, but sunny, it provided great conditions for the first monster col (Porte de Pailheres, 2001m). It took almost 20km of climb to reach the top - tough but steady to begin with, then flattening out as the came to a new ski resort. Finally the last 7km were at 9%+ which got tough. Some of the party found it really hard, though they all said it was still enjoyable. John H called it the second best climb after Tourmalet, and confessed that he is in danger of actually starting to enjoy climbs! The views at the top were apparently truly amazing, especially as the "col" is actually almost the top of the mountain, but for a tussock - which of course the guys stood on. They could clearly see the rest of their route, and down into the plains.

Going down, they found a great lunch spot at beginning of Gorge d'Aude - next to an old ruined chateau. This gorge was "a proper one" with steep, cliff sides and very beautiful, but the team had to eventually turn off it, up to the last big climb of the trip - Col de Jau. As they started the ascent, they crossed paths with cyclists on a guided tour - mostly British and some of our guys were very courteous and "let them pass". This, of course, had nothing to do with some being female cyclists, or this causing an improved view... This climb got tough quite quickly because the temperature had really got up, and they were cycling right into the sun. They discovered that you can't cycle and drink on a steep climb, as you end up unable to breathe enough, so they had to spend a while at the top rehydrating. The sea was supposed to be visible from top, but the haze made this a bit of an 'eye of faith' view . The descent paid back the slog up, winding through really picturesque villages, one of which made the perfect stop for a well-earned coffee and hot choc break. They then resumed the long descent, eventually reaching the plains with olive groves and a backdrop of mountains making for some stunning views. The only low point was where they had to join a main road for a bit, but fortunately tonight's stop, in I'Isles sur Tet is on a side-road and much quieter.

The group are currently enjoying staying in an auberge set in a grand old house, with lots of old paintings, statues and drawers full of knicknacks. The hosts are cooking for the boys as well so they plan to be on best behaviour.

After today's 112km slog, the guys will hopefully enjoy a relatively easy day tomorrow as they cross the last bit of the plains to the Med, though 40mph on-shore winds are forecast on Saturday, so let's hope they don't arrive early, or they may get blown back up to the last col!