UKC

I drove over the Col de Tourmalet yesterday instead of the valley route from Luz to Lourdes, after a couple of days walking/backpacking. What a sorry sight! I lost count of the number of cyclists who looked on the verge of death, either on their machines or spread-out on the ground, waiting for the vultures ! They came in all shapes and sizes and from every generation. Having done it myself on a few occasions I know only too well the effort involved, but some were surely putting their lives at risk, as they were clearly obese ! It was really quite a fascinating experience !

In reply to Pyreneenemec:

On the plus side, its good to see obese people making a good effort to do something about it rather than queing in the chipshop. Perhaps a bit more realistic goals are in order early on

In reply to Pyreneenemec:

how long is the climb P?

In reply to Kimono:
From memory about 1400m of height gain from Luz st Saveur and about 18km . 200m less on other side. Took me 2 hrs fully loaded a few weeks back.

In reply to balmybaldwin:


Spot on - and who cares if they are overweight. At least they're getting out and doing it. And lets face it it's harder than if you're 59 kilos.
I've had a few "incidents" on the Ventoux with people who, lets say, weren't the fittest, but the sense of achievement at the top makes it all worthwhile.

E