Persistence--Hautacam

I grew up with a quote stuck to our refrigerator which read, “That which ye persist in doing becomes easier. Not that the nature of the task has changed. But your ability to do so has been increased.” That about sums up the last ride of the trip. Instead of following the flat route of the Tour today, we “spun” our legs out on a 54km ride with an hors categorie climb--the threatening Hautacam.

Hautacam is 13km, almost 4,000 feet, avg. grade 8%, with a max of 15%. I actually felt stronger on this ride than any other, even though it was at the end of the week--probably because the last two days were so miserable, riding in decent conditions felt easy. We climbed from the valley floor near Argeles Gazost, to the top of the Col in a little under an hour and a half. One of the memorable points today on the ride up was I noticed a small rock, probably 1/4” round on the left lane near the exit of a turn. I remember thinking that you probably wouldn’t want to run over it on the way down. Sure enough, I hit that exact rock and heard it ping off my tire. No flat, and I laughed at the coincidence of it all. I guess when my life is reduced to thinking of pebbles, it is time to go home.

What to think of the week? Sublime. It was an amazing experience, full of incredible highs and real emotional and physical lows. I didn’t expect such a range of emotions from riding my bike.

Jess and Marko were great riding partners. Happy 40th Jess--thanks Mary Alice.