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andyp
@Brommers
My experience of cycling in the Pyrenees at the end of September was that there were lots of potential customers, and very few people on the French side prepared to provide a service. Top of the Tourmalet there were at least 40 cyclists all celebrating/wheezing/throwing up. I dare say most would have been happy to pay for an overpriced badly-made espresso, but they couldn't, because the cafe at the top was shut. In L'Adour du Tourmalet, everywhere was shut at lunchtime except one place, which was packed. At the top of the Portalet, everything on the French side was shut. Both places on the Spanish side were open, and were full of customers. On a few occasions we went into a bar or restaurant, sat down wanting to order food, only to be told by the owner that they couldn't be bothered to serve us. Usually after they'd sat staring balefully at us for 10-15 minutes summoning up the energy to tell us that they couldn't be bothered to serve us. Like the owner of the cafe by the river in Arreau. She'd served 8 people, and apparently that was enough for one day, so we had to go elsewhere.
The problem on the French side of the Pyrenees didn't seem to be the lack of customers, but the lack of anyone who actually wanted to have any.