Col de l'Aubisque - dal Soulor

Col de l''Abisque is a MUST DO for any cyclist who is in the region! You can see it in most Tour de France races, but the tv can never show the beauty of the countryside or the majesty of the mountains. From Argeles-Gazot and back is not severe and you can cheat by driving out of the village and starting half way. If you are hard you can do the Solour, then Abisque, then drop down, do Col de Marie Blance, then loop around and reclimb Solour from the north, THEN drop back to town. (leave early for this one!)It is best if you have some time and walk around town or do the flat ride down the river if the weather is qestionable. It''s not a fun place to be in any kind of weather even with all the clothes in your pack!

My personal climb rating:

A really beautiful climb. Starting from Argeles-Gazost, it starts with a pretty steep climb, but after a few km its a beautiful road with mild up and down hills and through some picturesque french villages. From Arrens its a tasty Pyreneean climb again for 8km to the Col du Soulor. From there the road goes down and the views are stunning. The climb to the Aubisque is only 300m with beautiful views of surrounding peaks and valleys. Id rate it 4 stars for difficulty and 5 stars for countryside, views and overall enjoyment.

My personal climb rating:

The road climbs steeply out of the pretty village of Argeles Gazost for 5KMs and then 9kms of relatively easy riding. The wind mild dry and pleasant. Leaving Arrens-Marsous the climb starts properly and in places is steeper than the Tourmalet. Soon engulfed with low lying cloud, head down and just grind away, 5mins/Km. With a poor road surface, now raining, attention to detail was vital. A herd of wild horses on the road what a surprise. The hill was eerie, silent, cold, wet but literally euphoric. Dangerous at 2000m on a narrow road without road barriers with a vertical drop off. Cyclists and campervans began to appear out of the cloud coming down from the Col and travelling fast on greasy wet roads with a lot of road debris. A fantastic tunnel in the rock appears, completely dark inside. Out of the tunnel, I had to weave through a herd cows with massive horns and no comprehension of drive on the right. My euphoria still at 90% I topped the Col! Back to our accommodation in Bonnefont, dip in the pool, a refreshment. Our proprietors Rob a cyclist himself and well versed on the local Cols Liz is a Nigella Lawson with attitude, totally understands how to feed cyclists. w ww.lajoiedevivre

My personal climb rating: