Recovery day. If you can call 70km of riding with 1635m at 10% gradient recovery. We left the chintzy alleys of Lourdes with innumerable candles and statues of Mary. We rode along a picturesque bike path, following a crystal clear river. Unfortunately, one of our party hit a bollard, executing a forward flip off the bike. Luckily, he was not hurt (except for his ego). Even more luckily, Rossitini managed to capture the entire event on his GoPro camera.
We reached the base of Hautacam with some trepidation. Another hot day was forecast. The sun cream and caps didn't make us feel any cooler. We set off, winding through medieval villages with narrow alleys for streets. The locals watched us, some bemused, some encouraging with an "Allez, Allez!!" as you passed. Finally, the melodic cowbells indicated to us that we were nearing the arid plains that drape the top of the Cols. A perfect cloudless sky greeted us at the top, which we celebrated with lashings of the Black Doctor.
Hautacam - 1635m elevation, 17.3km with average 6.8% gradient
The pros showed us how to descend, letting the rear wheels get a little loose around the corners. We reassembled at Argelès-Gazost for a nice spin back into Lourdes. We caught the rest of the day's stage in the bar, sipping Heinekens while watching the french broadcast on TV. We caught some free Wi-Fi, enabling us to use our Tour Trackers to decipher the race strategy.
That night, we watched as thousands of wheelchair-bound invalids were pushed to the Grott for the healing waters. Naturally, we took some of our own version of holy water:
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