When we arrived at the start of the Tourmalet leg, we joined many cyclists, some in groups, others alone who were readying for the 16 km trek. Dale and Roy completed their normal preparatory routine without the normal kidding around and set off.
Unlike most days when I would take a direct route to a designated meet-up point, today I drove the same route as the bicyclists. In a much lesser fashion, I, too, can claim to have conquered Col du Tourmalet although my challenge was keeping the van on a road with only 1 ½ lanes in many places, no guard rails and precipitous side slopes. We planned to meet the guys at the half way mark in case they needed assistance. As we waited, Fran and I took photos of the surrounding mountains and watched what seemed to be an endless stream of bikers pass us. The only noise they made was the sound of labored breathing.
After about half an hour, we identified the familiar neon jackets. A brief stop to change sweat soaked shirts and they were off, their attention totally focused on the six kilometers and 10% slope that lay ahead.
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