Le Tour de Pau

I've been doing a lot of cycling in Pau this summer. Today I got a chance to do a ride I've been thinking of doing for quite a while - a big circle around Pau. I had set myself a simple rule that my ride had to stay outside the 'rocade' (or ring road) around Pau. But the river (or gave, as rivers are called here) complicates that, because there are very few bridges across it. So I knew I was in for some interesting route finding and a long day in the saddle.

I headed out of town to the east and headed south. I crossed the river and was in the coteaux de Jurançon; these are steep little hills where they grow the grapes for Jurançon wine; I do a lot of cycling there and know the roads well. Later on, well to the west of Pau, I was on flatter roads I knew much less well. Eventually I got back onto familiar - and more hilly - roads near Morlaàs before completing my ride. 

At the end of the day Google Maps worked out my ride must have been around 110 km. I counted 8 non-trivial climbs, but - although some were steep - none were very long, so overheating was never a problem. More of a concern was water - in this area there are a lot fewer fountains in villages than in the southern alps, so long summer rides need some planning. But I found a new refueling stop just where I needed it, which I'm sure will help in future rides.

Le Pic du Midi d'Ossau

I first saw the Pic du Midi d'Ossau over 20 years ago at the end of a short family hike in the Pyrénées and it made a big impression on me. Most mountains are really just big hills that can be easily walked up but this looked like a real mountain that required technical climbing. It was a lot higher and more spectacular than the surrounding mountains.

Now I'm living nearby and, of course, have to climb it. Its distinctive profile is visible from Pau and it dominates most of the Ossau valley. The easiest route up is a proper alpine route graded PD (Peu Difficile or 'a little bit difficult') with three technical pitches where a rope is often used (sometimes just for the descent). It's an hour and a half's drive away and can be climbed in a longish day or you can stay overnight at a refuge to reduce the strain. I choose the single day approach but (typically) set off a little later than I intended. 

The result was that when I arrived at the first technical pitch there were already a couple of parties roping down it. When you're climbing without a rope you really don't want to be bumping into other climbers, so I let them clear the pitch before I set off. The climbing was interesting and steep enough but pretty straightforward and on excellent rock. Eventually the angle eased and there was a fairly dull scree section before the rocky summit where I joined three Spanish climbers for an extended lunch with a view. The summit is pointed and at 2,884 meters (around 9,500 feet) there are great views in all directions.  

The summit!

Of course, what goes up has to come down again, and I descended by the same route, passing a couple of parties in the process. Once I was below the technical climbing I could relax and I realized I was pretty tired. By the time I was back at the car I was about as tired as I've been after a day's climbing but glad I'd finally got round to climbing the Pic du Midi d'Ossau!

A few pics.

Lourdes to Pau

The Pyrénées are still in the clouds

Grande Randonnée is French for big hike and is normally shortened to GR. Their length varies a lot, but they typically take several weeks to hike (e.g. I did the GR5 in 2015 over about 4 weeks); they are big undertakings. On moving to Pau I realized that I had a GR that wasn't really very G at all and was actually doable in a day - the Chemin Henri IV or GR 782. It's basically a hike from Lourdes to Pau (or vice versa) along a roman route, following the crest of a long, low ridge. I've been looking for a chance to do it, and selected today - a cool, dryish day in an unsettled period of weather. 

So I took the 7.30 train from the station in Pau to Lourdes and found the trip a bit sobering - it seemed like a lot of terrain to cover on foot in a day; what had I let myself in for? It was drizzling in Lourdes and I loaded up with sandwiches for the 40+ km hike back to my house. The weather cleared up pretty quickly and I had pleasant hiking conditions as I ticked off the kilometers. After nearly 10 hours hiking I arrived home - tired but satisfied - just managing to beat a shower; great timing! A full GR in a day! Some pics.

Idris

We have several interesting birds that visit our garden for food but (so far) Idris is the most exotic. Idris is the name we have given to a Eurasian Hoopoe (or maybe a couple - I think the male and female look alike) that comes and feeds on our lawn most days. He's got a long beak and pecks away at the grass and normally flies off with a tasty morsel in his beak. He's only a summer visitor, he winters in Africa and our full time residents (e.g. blackbirds) don't seem to fight with him.

Le Grand Prix Historique de Pau

Passing move in Bugatti race

The weekend after the Pau Grand Prix is the historic grand prix (more info here) and it's a very different atmosphere - much less intense and more of an exhibition than anything else. While the cars are obviously slower, they offer a better spectacle on the circuit; overtaking is possible (thanks to longer braking distance, no aerodynamics and cooperative drivers) and slip angles are a bit higher. 

Parked outside the Palais Beaumont

Anyway, my wife and I went along on the Sunday and watched a few races and soaked up the atmosphere and we both enjoyed it. Like most of the locals we've talked to, I thought it was the better weekend as a spectator. Some   pics.

The Pau Grand Prix

We've seen all the preparations - signs, fencing, guard-rails and diversions - for the last 6 weeks or so and, finally, the Pau Grand Prix was held this weekend. The race is held on a very narrow, twisting street circuit and overtaking is very difficult (in fact, almost impossible in modern racing cars); the circuit is very like Monaco's, but actually narrower. The race has been held since 1930 and this was the 77th edition; previous winners include Jim Clark. Now, it's a Formula 3 race and the highlight of a whole weekend of racing for different types of cars. 

Formula 4 race

I went and saw a few of the races on the Saturday, including the 1st of 3 F3 races over the weekend. It's very impressive for a number of reasons. First, there are a lot of logistical challenges - e.g. the circuit is 2.7 km long and has to be protected by twin layers of fencing. Second, all motor racing involves accidents and, on such a narrow circuit, they have to be dealt with very efficiently; generally the damaged car is retrieved by one of the strategically placed huge cranes as the safety car neutralizes the race for a lap or two, before racing resumes. Third, the circuit is obviously a huge driving challenge; you wouldn't be allowed to design a modern circuit with so many blind bends, undulations and kerbs and with such a narrow track. For the drivers, it must be a pretty high pressure event, especially when they have 3 races over a single weekend.

But, in terms of a racing spectacle, it's spoiled by the virtual impossibility of overtaking. The race is won or lost in qualifying and at the race-start. This doesn't take anything away from the event's challenge or the skill of the drivers, but it certainly reduces the spectacle. Some pics. 

Hiking in the clouds

Into the clouds...

I set off for a shortish day hike on Le Layens, a 1625 m high mountain in the Pyrénées that is used as a paraglider launch. Everything went very well until I joined the final ridge, and saw that clouds were moving in from the North. Hmmm, this wasn't in the forecast I saw. Very quickly I found myself in the clouds hiking along a long, indistinct ridge without any real paths. Finding the summit wasn't that hard (just keep going up) but after that navigation became more difficult. For the next hour or so I spent most of my time looking at my compass and peering into the mist, hoping to recognize the few landmarks on the map. Even as a hiker, the mist can be very disorienting - at one point, I thought there were a group of sheep 200 m away, only to realize it was a bunch of daffodils about 15 m away!

Anyway, I followed the intended route, even if it was a little more stressful than I expected. Near the end of the hike, I popped out of the clouds and pretty much the first thing I saw was my car, 750 meters directly below. Maybe next time I'll pack a GPS for my hikes...

Some pics.