Description: If you are looking for a great holiday in France then look no further thant Les Sorbiers in the village of Bareges in the French Pyrenees. Les Sorbiers is a fine period Napoleonic building in the heart of the village, which has been sympathetically restored and modernised to the level expected of high quality family run hotels throughout the Pyrenees.
Site visited: Summer 2008 and 2009.

As seen on the blog: Cycling in France
We have been staying elsewhere in Bareges, but have enjoyed the hospitality of Rob and Rachel at Les Sorbiers for two years in a row. We come down for dinner every night and an after dinner chat with the other guests. Simply because of the quality of the food and the great company
From what we hear from the horse’s mouth e.g. from the other guests at Les Sorbiers, we know that the rooms, service and breakfast are simply the best. The other guests can’t stop saying good things about this place, just like we can’t stop talking about the food. Always the right amount for a needy cyclist or walker, that is to say, lots. :)
With Les Sorbiers located in Bareges you are simply spoiled for …

.. the sun.
We got up early and went down to Les Sorbiers, for us to help out with the cleaning up. Only to find Rob in full control. So I ended up watching a DVD about Paris – Roubaix cycle race with Dave, well Rob made us, e.g he put it on the player.
While Peli was running around reminiscing about her days working at Les Sorbiers, so well that she ended up smashing a pot of yogurt on the floor.
 
We could only get to rent some MTB’s in the afternoon, so the big day out MTB’ing didn’t happen. Though we did have a couple of hours of fun in the hills behind Bareges.
 
 
I have never ridden off road with any kind of suspension and both of us didn’t have our clip less pedals on and Peli couldn’t get a bike that fitted her. So riding was well hard, our feet kept coming off the pedals. Peli couldn’t reach the floor when she was on the MTB, so she didn’t have as much fun as us others but still had a go at it.
 
I kept expecting that big hit and only to find the suspension to take the rock …

… no gain.
Well I’m definitely a cyclist not a hiker. Bad knee yesterday and stiff legs last night and today the legs were better but still painful to walk. And when I do I look like a someone out of Monty Python’s Ministry of silly walks.
Give me a 50-60 miles ride, heck even 135 miles in one go, I’m tired after but not incapacitated.
 
So I had a sleep in, to rest my old bones for tomorrow’s mountain biking, while Peli pegged it up the Tourmalet in 1h21m and then back.
Click on image to see a bigger version
 
 
We then all headed out up to Le Lienz for Peli and her sister and their dad to go for an hours horse riding. And me and Peli’s mum had a small walk up to a old ski jump. And then a sit in the shade in a bar next to the stables while nattering away :)
Click here to see more images

… me, to call someone something not nice.
We got up with sore legs but very keen on getting going. Peli’s really wanted to go take me over to see the Col de Spandelles and the Col de Soulor. We met up with Dave and Rob from Les Sorbiers, and headed down the Tourmalet to Luz.
The local supermarche did not have any energy bars we wanted, so we stopped in Luz. I spend 10 or so minutes walking up the aisles ummng and arring. Because they didn’t have what we wanted and they for some reason had the bars in different 2 places. Peli came in and told me to get a move on, I showed her the best one I could find, and we agreed that we will be alright with what we had. Only for Peli to find a 3rd place where they keep their energy/snack bars and we got some fuel.
Out of Luz down the gorge we went, my legs felt just fine on the flat and down hilly bits. Just before the gorge starts for good there is a little hill and I decided that I would stay in the higher gear and push on through up …

… sleeping tonight, part II.
 
We went to sleep and woke up again around 02:00, because the nature called. It would be pitch black if it was not for the clear sky and the bright stars. We could easy see around us and didn’t need light to find out way to the ‘facilities’. It was only made hard because we both were looking up at the stars and not where we were going, not an good idea when camping on a rocky shelf. We saw a very clear Milky Way, a few satellites and a very bright Saturn just over Pic de Neouvielle (Peli’s favourite lump). Peli, in her half-awake state, said the stars were ‘flabbergastamatory’, well she was a bit sleepy still :)
 
 
 
We woke up again around 07:00 and started to pack, well I did the most while Peli went to get some water from a small waterfall. Clean mountain water is just the best drink.
 
On our way back down through the Bolou Valley we saw a sign saying that it would take 2.45 hours to walk back down to Bareges. Hmmm we are not seasoned hikers but by all means we are not slow. And when we got down …

… sleeping tonight?

We had a nice sleep in, because of Peli’s folks arriving late in the afternoon. And in their car would be the last bits we needed for our hike up to 2400m.

Peli’s dad gave us a lift up the La Glere, well as far as his car could take us up the gravel track. And then we started to walk up the valley.

There is a small railway line running straight into the mountain, Peli’s dad did see a little engine on it last year. But no one is quite sure where it goes and what it does.

We passed the Refuge de la Glere, which had a very full terrace, and Lac de la Glere.

We had planned to camp there for the night but the place we wanted to use already had a tent pitched, and we didn’t fancy having neighbours when wild camping, so we plodded on into the Neouvielle National Park, a beautiful area of the Pyrenees with views up to the Pic de Neouvielle at over 3000 metres.
click on image to see a bigger version
We slept roughly here, link to google maps. At the Neouvielle lakes, enjoying the sunset with millions …

… shit in the forest, like the bears?

We loaded up Rob’s (from Les Sorbiers) mini bus, with our bikes plus Richard (a guest at Les Sorbiers), Pingu, Mrs Pingu, Dave, Peli and me, hmm this rings a bell, like I typed this before.

We then drove over the Tourmalet down to St Marie de Campan, where we parked the mini bus. Rob then led us up along the road to the Col D’Aspin, then turned off to do the lesser known (but very worthwhile) Horquette D’Arcizans, the first col of the day.

The ride was beautiful, rolling green pastures, lovely views of huge peaks, and not too hot. The route was littered with left overs from the cows. Why on the road and not in the trees, like the bears manage to? Is it a form of demonstration, I wonder. Hmmm, are they trying to tell us something?

We passed a group of kids hooked up to husky dogs! We’ve no idea why, but it made an interesting photo.

We all posed for the obligatory group photo at the top, with the Pic D’Arbizon (>3,000m) in the background.
Pingu, Mrs Pingu, Peli, me, Richard, Dave.
Click on image to see …

… and back from Hautacam.
We set off at 9:30 with Rob (from Les Sorbiers), Richard (a guest at Les Sorbiers), Pingu, Mrs Pingu, Dave, Peli and me.
 
We had a great ride down the gorge into the head wind which were nice to know since we would be heading backup the gorge again later. We joined the Voie Verte which pretty much took us to the start of Hautacam.
 
We had a little crash, Dave not seeing Peli where she was standing, then a ginger moment. Since Peli wasn’t feeling all ok and we have a massive ride booking in for tomorrow. Peli and me headed back. The others headed back up the Hautacam, will report back about how far they managed.
UPDATE: They all managed it all the way up and the cafe was open so they all got fed up there.
 
We then went up the gorge, with the tail wind :) and did a little detour to the Chateau de Luz. Which was a bit interesting for Peli to walk up to in her cleats, though not such a big problem with me and my very warm Lakes.
 
After a little rest where we enjoyed the view both up the Tourmalet and …

… on today’s ride for the others but not me.
We meet up with the Pingu’s and Dave at 09.30 and was soon off down the Tourmalet. The new tyres rolled very nice and fast, but I was a bit shy on the downhill for various reasons.
1/ It has been a few days since I last rode Chutney.2/ I’m on new tyres and not sure how they handled.3/ I didn’t want to over heat the wheels and end up with a p*nct*re.
We arrived in Luz and started to climb out of town towards Gavarnie. And that was the first place I had to pedal and I could feel the left pedal was a bit loose. So I stopped to tighten them up and set off again, only to find that the pedal was still loose so and other stop was due andthis time I used my tools. And keep turning and turning and turning, the thread was dead :(
After a quick call to our tour guide (Peli) and a swap, sun cream for credit cards. The peloton continued up and I was heading back into Luz to meet up Rob from Les Sorbiers, who luckily was heading to town to his …

Description: Bicycle Sales France. Charly opens his shop doors on the roundabout in the middle of Argelès-Gazost. He is proud to offer his clients, who are enthusiastic about all types of biking, only the best.
Shop visited: Summer 2009

As seen on the blog: A good start …
My thread on my left crank arm broke, and Rob at Les Sorbiers took me down to Sport Loisirs Diffusion to see what they could do.
They did have a left crank arm in the right lenght but not the right fitting to the bottom bracket. So the mechanic said that he could fix the thread. We where a bit worried that this would take some time, and I will miss out of a few days cycling while waiting.
Not to worry said the mechanic, if you go and have a coffee for 20-30min, I will have it done for you today. As he would just let Chutney jump the queue, simply brilliant service.
We came back around 40min later, and everything was just fine. 20.50 euros for a new thread, some drilling and some glue/cement and the crank arm is as good as new. I just had to let the bike rest for a night …