The hills are alive with the sound of panting

It was hot today (very hot) and it was hilly, around 7,000 ft of ascent taking in 3 cols.  After our 'interesting' night last night we weren't sorry to see the back of the prison camp we had been staying in ( perhaps a slight exaggeration but let's just say I won't be rushing to book another stay there). We had only done two miles when we started up the first hill - the Col de Mente, at 1,349 metres. It was still cool and the sun was only just coming up over the col, so after the first steep bit we just ground it out to the top, around a 6 mile climb. It was lovely on top, calm and clear with enough of interest to keep you occupied while the others came up. It was promising to be a very hot day, so the two of us left the col before most of the others and lost what seemed to be a vast amount of height before reaching the bottom of the second col - The Col de Portet Aspet, at a mere 1,069 metres. It appeared on the schedule to be the easy climb of the day, but it was also the steepest with an average gradient over the 2.5 mile climb of 10% and a maximum of around 20% on one section according to the various garmins. It is known primarily as the col where, in 1995, Fabio Casterelli was killed descending the col on the TdF. This would be a noted event in any case, but the fact that he was the 1992 Olympic champion made it even more significant. We stopped at the memorial, which was at the bottom and then gritted our teeth to the top. 

By the time we were at the top of the second col it was obvious that the day was going to be very hot indeed, with cloudless blue skies and no wind, so again we made a break for it and did the long descent and the ride along the valley before stopping for a quick bite to eat before heading up the final col of the day - the Col de Core at 1,395 metres. If it hadn't been for the heat (by now over 30 degrees) and lack of shade it would have been a relatively easy ascent, if long at 9 miles. However a combination of tired legs and heat made it seem like hard work and there was no shade at the top so we didn't wait for everyone else to get up, but dropped down to the village of Seix for ice cream and cold drinks before regrouping to ride the last couple of miles to the hotel.

This place is palatial compared to the last two nights and we have a balcony for drying the washing, so once the kit had arrived ( the van was late as one of the group was very slow today and they had to wait for him to get over the last col before they could bring the bags down) we quickly showered and changed, then draped all the stuff over the balcony rail. Looking right and left you could see that everyone had done the same thing!  We are making the most of our portable kettle although milk supplies can be a problem. Tomorrow is, supposedly, a relatively easy day - but the weather is forecast to get even hotter so nothing can be taken for granted.

Can't believe we only have 4 days riding left, this time next week we will be back at work :(

Pictures include the usual Col shots including the Mechanic on his last legs at the top of the third col, an unusual piece of wildlife and some scenery