Riding up through the centre of Pierrefitte, the cycling cafe Scapavelo is run by local cyclist Nicolas Garcia who designs and sews great looking jerseys you can buy in-store.
Cycling Route
Tourmalet > Hourquette > Aspin > Tourmalet
About the route
This challenging route covers 164km with +4690m of vertical climbing. Starting from Cycl'in Pyrénées in Argelès-Gazost, the route begins with the climb to Col du Tourmalet (2108m) via Sainte-Marie de Campan. Continuing on, the route takes you to Col du Tourmalet (2115m) via Luz Saint-Sauveur. Continuing on, the route takes you to Col d'Aspin (1477m) via Arreau. Finally, you'll tackle Hourquette d'Ancizan (1548m) via Lac du Payolle before returning to Cycl'in Pyrénées in Argelès-Gazost to complete the route.
Depart: Cycl'in Pyrénées
Beyond the hydro-electric plant in Soulom, you'll come to the round-about where the traffic can be a little heavier.
"The gorge road" heading towards Luz Saint-Sauvier is pretty road that can be spoiled by heavy traffic. The running water of the Gave (river) is often drowned out by large trucks and cars zooming past you.
If you want to beat the traffic, do this route very early in the morning.
When heading up the gorge in the morning, you're almost guaranteed to have a headwind as you battle up a gentle gradients most of the way.
If you're riding in a large group, don't be afraid to spread out into smaller groups and always ride single file to make it easier for traffic to pass you. You can always re-group at the bottom of your first climb.