Syd Stelvio Day 5 – Vielha to Pau – 368km

If we thought we had seen mountains up until now, day 5 would show us that we hadn’t seen anything yet. The theme of the day was Col’s, lots and lots of Col’s. I could fill the text listing the various names and altitudes, but so numerous were they, I can’t remember half of them. The route did reach its highest point though, with an ascent of the famous Col du Tourmalet up to 2115m. It’s all downhill from here, baby.

Of course, French cols bring out the cyclists, each intent on replicating their Tour de France heroes, and there were some areas where you almost couldn’t see the trees for the Lycra, especially on some of the busier inclines, such as Tourmalet and Col d’Aspin. If nothing else, it was an incredible insight into what those athletes conquer each year, though the pace of some of the pedallers today was more tortoise than hare, in fact I am sure that some of them may still be trying to reach the various summits.

Sadly, we learned today that it had been a Col too far for Peter and Kit Moore, with the boys unable to source another wheel, the Austin Healey Tricycle had to be retired, though they will of course join us for the party tomorrow evening. Elsewhere there had been more problems for Porsches, with the silver machine of Dick and Harry Baines keeping the sweeps up burning the midnight oil trying to plug a mystery oil leak. Still, at least there was plenty of oil to burn as it seeped out of the engine at will. The mechanics were covered in oil; Harry was covered in oil and Dick was covered in oil. But they did get it fixed.

For everyone else there was a short run back over the border into France from Spain to begin the day, with the sun not quite high enough to get down into the valley floor. It would do everyone well to enjoy the cool of the morning, as the day would get hot, with a few machines suffering from overheating issues as time ticked on. The scenery was stunning, but just like the heat, the beauty of that would also increase throughout the day, and the best was certainly yet to come.

Compared to the previous day the miles seemed to clock up quickly, with a productive morning on the hills. Aside from waiting for gaps to pass cyclists, the kilometres clicked by relatively fuss free, though there was a bit of a blockage caused by some capacious cattle. The Cows, and the farmer blocked the road, and the Heifers were not for turning. They must have been in training to blockade a port, or a fuel station or some such, they were French Cows after all, more “Francois Juane” than Red Angus.

Cows cleared and more Col’s awaited, with another selection of switchbacks to work the arms of the drivers. The Col de Spandelles was just such a workout, but with super smooth roads on the climb, on a ribbon of tarmac that elevated the drivers up above the pine trees, to a plateau at its peak that offered a hint of the tremendous views to come.

Before this, there was another dive into the valley, with some interference from some errant Horses, this time blocking the path of the TR8 of Malcolm Dunderdale and Anita Wickins. Of course, it wasn’t really the fault of the Horses, as the green of the car blends in with the grass and trees, and the doe eyed fillies probably couldn’t see it. If anything, they were lucky they didn’t try munching on it, thinking it a patch of lush grass, though a quick blip of the throttle would soon set them straight on that, as the car has a growl that is probably the finest sounding exhaust note on the trip.

The climb out of this valley would set up one of the finest roads of the week, with the peaks of Les Troits Dents towering above the road that circumnavigated their slopes, offering panoramic views in all directions.

There were more mechanical dramas later in the day, with more than a few steering and brake related funnily enough, no surprise given the constant working of the wheel and brakes. The Ford Escort of Danny Siddle and Dom Easterbrook needed a broken steering wheel fixing, with one spoke of the wheel snapping under the hammering the boys were giving it. There was also a loose steering column on the Datsun of Tom and Rachel Woodcock to fix, that luckily began showing symptoms on the way into the afternoon coffee halt, rather than on the twisty navigational section beyond. One of the most dramatic fixes came at the end of the day, at the Berdery Kart Circuit, when Michael Moss burst a brake pipe on his VW Golf. I’ve heard of lead boots, but that is ridiculous!

Everyone else though was running well, including Oily Dick who had suffered no more leaks, with his and Harry’s 911 running and sounding sweet up the Col’s all day. Tomorrow is our final leg of fun, with a shorter day on the road, but still, plenty of Col’s to finish off the week.

Syd