It rained three out of five days in the Ariège Pyrenees. However, the two days that I did ride were great. I did the Col de la Core, the Col de Latrape, and the Col de Saraillé (from both directions). I enjoyed some great food and great company at Les Deux Velos, where I stayed in Biert. If you ride in the Ariège, this is the place to stay.
The Drive to Marseille
I left Biert Tuesday morning around 8:30 am to drive to the Marseille Airport. It’s about 500 kilometers and a 5 or 6 hour trip. The first 30 kilometers took almost an hour because I had to drive over the Col de Port in the rain. The rest of the trip was on the autoroute with only two minor incidents. The first was with a tailgating driver, and the second was a 5 km traffic jam.
Normally, I think that the French are extremely polite (once you leave Paris). In fact, I think that people in rural France make the people living in east Texas look like they are New Yorkers—and people in east Texas are very polite. However, France does have a few tail-gaiters. Their modus operandi is to pull up about 10 feet from your rear bumper, if you are in the left lane. They want you to pull over so that they can pass. I can usually see these guys coming and pull over to the right lane. However, this is not a practical solution of you are behind a line of other cars going 130 km per hour speed limit (80 mph) and passing traffic on your right.
Well, one !@#$ pulled up to 10 feet off my rear bumper at autoroute speeds, so slowed down a bit and touched the brakes. The guy motioned for me to get out of the way. There was no place to go, and I decided that I had enough of this. So I gave him the one finger salute, which is something that I don’t do very often and NEVER do in France or any other foreign country. I finally had an opportunity to get back in the right lane, and the guy passed and then did the same thing to the next car up the road.
Airports
I finally made it to Marseille, returned the car, and began the long wait to checkin for my flight to Amsterdam. I got to the Marseille airport around 3 PM, but my flight to Amsterdam didn’t leave until 8:05 PM. There was a bit of confusion when I finally checked in. First, there was the bike. I finally convinced the gate agent that two bags were okay, and that the bike should fly for free. Thank you Delta Silver Medallion! He also gave me a middle seat on the flight from Amsterdam to Houston, but I decided not to argue this one thinking that I might be able to change it once I got to Amsterdam. As it turned out, the seat was in economy comfort. So I gave it a shot, and it worked.
Schipol is a rather large airport. I didn’t get here until about 10 PM last night. Once I found it, I stayed at the Mercure Schipol Hotel, which is right in the terminal. I didn’t even have to go through security again. The room was small but it was worth the 85 euros to get a reasonable night’s sleep. Wednesday was a long one. My flight to Houston left at 10:45 AM and was scheduled to arrive at 2 PM but was 30 minutes early. I made it through customs, picked up my luggage, and was at my car in under an hour. I arrived home before 5 PM.
Worse Parts of the Trip
- Tail gating French drivers.
- Airports and parent with small children on planes. The kids are okay, but some of the parents should be locked away.
- Two flat tires on the car on the Col de la Madeleine.
- Rain in the Pyrenees.
Best Parts of the Trip
- Riding in France.
- The best rides? Really all of them, but a few stand out. Col du Granier, Col de l'Izoard, Col de l'Aravis, Col du Mollard, the Cévennes, and the Circle of Death in the Pyrenees.
- Staying at the Lanterne Rouge and Les Deux Velos.
- IFALPES and staying with the Caracos in Chambéry.
- Watching two stages of the Tour in the Pyrenees.
Finally, who's up for Summer 2012?
Start thinking about it now. I will organize something this fall.
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