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edscoble
In the end we only did Col d'Aspin once, not twice. We went back to Arreau over the Col de Beyrede - lots of cow poo, some very steep sections, and a surprising lack of tarmac on some of the steep bits.
In the end we didn't have time to loop round and do the Col d'Aspin from the other direction as we'd planned, so we went and did the Col du Portillon instead, given that it was right next door to the hotel.
Total for the day: 56.8km, 1784m climbing
Wednesday was a day off/transit day, but on Thursday we did Tourmalet. A fantastic ride, as you'd expect, with some stunning views.
Here's @Cycliste getting to the top
The cafe at the top was shut - obviously not enough custom...
Totals for the day: 103.3km, 2,067m climbing.
The next day we did the Col de Portalet, a climb up to the Spanish border. As usual, all the French cafes and restaurants were either shut or couldn't be bothered to serve us, all the Spanish ones over the border were open. Some more great views though.
Total for the day: 62.1km, 1,315m of climbing. We were going to do the Hautacam at the end of the day too, but in the end decided to save our energy as yesterday we did the Col d'Aubisque.
Day's totals: 119.2km, 2,220m climbing
Overall an excellent week's cycling, although I still can't get over the French attitude towards serving potential customers. Even those places which were open generally couldn't be bothered to serve us. No wonder their economy's in the pits. Next time we go to the Pyrenees, we'll stick to Spain.