Hautacam

What a day!!

Left the hotel in Saint Lary and drove over  Hourq d’Ancizan and Tourmalet and to Saint Savin, to sit in 35 degrees in the shade to eat picnic lunch on the balcony of the hotel.

Hautacam
Hautacam is a ski station above Argelès-Gazost in the Pyrenées. It has appeared 4 times as a mountain top finish in the Tour de France (’94, ’96’, ’00, ’08)
If you like steady gradients to get a rythym, then you will hate Hautacam. Every time there is an easy stretch it means a 10%, 11%, or steeper stretch is imminent.
At the top is a sign indicating the finish. But continue because at the FAR side of the big parking lot is a sign for the offical Tour de France finish.
And still, don’t stop there. Recently, the 1.2 km continuation to Col de Tramassel has been paved. You’ll see the sign. A nice restaurant at the end of the paved road.

Little did we know what was coming  -yes some thunder clouds on the horizon but no concern.  So to the Hautacam  (we hooked into a Italian express down the valley) to the bottom and then we are on the climb, winding up through some low villages at 3 and 5 % - no problem. But trouble to come - up to 10% and 13 on corners. A couple flat sections and then back to 10%.  The top ease's in grade but not in pace with Simon and Dave off the front.

The storm is letting us know it is around with giant claps of thunder overhead.  No mucking around on the top - find a newspaper and start descending just as the storm unleaches hail and huge rain drops.

Soon the road is obscured and the brakes are not working on full pull.  We scurry as hard as we can to get below it but it chase's us and increases in intensity briefly before backing off. Is the road wet or dry? Can we push or should we still be careful?

Its a long way down on unfamilar roads and it is a team regroup in a bus stop to recover. After 15mins shivering in 18 degrees temperature (cold for us in France) we decide to push off.  Thinking that the worst may be over

How wrong we are.!  Just a minute down the road it unleashes again and the rider ahead is all but hidden by the rain and the spray from the tires. At one stage we are riding through several inchs deep water with cars passing us sendng waves of water over us (Al was scared he would be washed off his bike)  The road turns to a river with rolling stones and still we maintain over 35kms hr. Amazing? a very surreal experience.

The small 3km climb home turns into a uphill sprint - to warm up / or to get home quick or ?????

https://www.strava.com/activities/350870045