Short Cut to Spain

by Louisa Brown

This was our chance to get high - really high - well as high as you can get on a track in the Pyrenees. There is really only one way to get into the wilderness of the Pyrenees and that is up a dirt track that just goes up relentlessly and is totally committing. Going up with a good mate is a great psychological help because just when you feel like giving up you get this buzz from the other guy to keep going. This track over the Massif Du Canigou is a real tough one but the views at the top are stunning. This was to prove to be the hardest day of the tour and it is a day I will never forget.

We were fresh at the start of the tour despite the weary journey on the European Bike Express. This was our first track and I was anxious about getting a good map and the perfect opportunity presented itself on the second day when a shopping trip in the small town of Prades took us to a good tourist information office and I purchased the GN Map 25 scale 1:25 000. This was brilliant for our purpose and a lot better than the bog standard Michelin stuff that we relied on for the rest of the trip.

We found a decent campsite at 4 km outside Prades and then I had to clear off hunting for a garage that was open so that I could fill my fuel bottle. What a game: I needed a credit card just to buy 2 Euros of petrol - in the end some Dutch tourists took pity on me and they bought the petrol for me on their bill and I gave them 2 Euros. Linda was determined to get an early start as she didn't fancy a night out on the mountain and she reckoned that 1900 metres of climbing in one day would be an epic. So we left the campsite just after 8.00 am and set off up the busy N116. We turned south on the D6 to reach the small town of Vernet Les Bains where we gave up trying to get a coffee at a health spa - people walking round with towels wrapped round them was not our idea of a cafe so we grabbed some dodgy bananas and pressed on to the village of Castelli, at an altitude of 797m. Here I thought Linda was going to let me down and pass the coffee stop - I know it is only a placebo effect and I could probably do the climb without it - but we enjoyed the stop; a particularly good one where you could watch the hosts go about their daily lives. I was happy now to press on. The only thing that was making me feel uncomfortable was the cloud swirling around but this lifted quickly.

The tarmac continued to Col De Jau at 1125. Linda just sails away from me on this part of the climb and there is nothing I can do about it on my loaded full expedition-touring machine. I try to be philosophical about the situation and stop to investigate the contents of me panniers and eventually I find what I am looking for - a sweet and a piece of chocolate. The psychological boost helps - I am convinced that eating is a mental process and suddenly I am going really well. I get up to this col but have to accept that the Lee Cooper is no match for the Roberts. The Roberts is 'Red Hot' and is a very responsive machine and just disappears up the road every day. The Roberts is a sexy Porsche and the Lee Cooper is a rambling Cortina! At the col Linda is looking totally cool and spends some time studying a rather big notice board that tells you where you are and stuff about the CR 10 and refuges. The weather is perfect for this level of effort - around 24 Celsius - sorted! Now the going gets serious with a very rutted and stony track so the talking stops and the graft really starts. We were following a track that runs parallel with the GR10 and we both start to walk and push. We push and work hard for the next 10 km to the top of the climb. Linda panics about our water consumption and takes a break to use her superb water filter. This did an excellent job of filling our water bottles in just a few minutes.

We are pushing in tandem and Linda starts rambling on about people who go to the gym and then do a 30-minute session and then go home. But we were doing something totally committing and could not go home when the going got tough. The climbing was relentless and did not stop until we reached the Refuge de Marseilles at 1718m. It is time for lunch and we sit down in the meadows of the Pyrenees with fantastic views of the Pic de Canigou with walkers and climbers wandering around. You could not be lonely up here. Linda is cursing the cars - "look at those geezers - we slogged to get up here with our heavy bikes and these geezers come up in-their cars - oh the audacity, oh the immorality!" Why question other people's motives? The answer is not easy.

The rest does us some good and I am eager to get going again - we haven't got much time - we want get over this thing. We follow the zigzags up and up and we say hello to a bunch of mountain bikers who are enjoying a superb descent. We reach the Collade de la Roquette at 2083m and I drop my bike to take a few photos and enjoy some great views. There is nothing like this in the U.K. We press on and reach a huge pile of rocks blocking the track so I have to unburden the bike and carry it across and then go back for me bags. We are looking across the Reserve National de Py - awesome. Linda takes loads of photos. After this the path really deteriorates and there has been a small collapse where the path disappears completely and we have to scramble and drag our obstinate machines along. My Lee Cooper hits back and I get a clocking on my left ankle. There is blood and a nasty graze; I have a quick inspection of the damage but I can't be bothered about it up here at over 2000m. Don't even think about Mountain Rescue!!

We stop for a break next to a row of beehives and Linda sees the photo opportunity. I just gaze at mountains rolling off into the distance - it is an act of faith to get up here but the rewards are worth it. We have only one more effort to get to the Collade des Rogues Blanches at 2252m. This is where a good map is priceless because here we have to make a critical decision - turn left and you go down to Prats de Mollo but turn right you end up descending 25km into Py. Big Mistake! It's not funny ending up in the wrong valley at the end of the day as friends of mine discovered to their horror some years ago in Llanberis.

The hardships are behind us now and it's downhill but not an easy descent - the track is covered in rock debris and takes some skilled handling as it just goes on and on. We pass walkers and they applaud our efforts .At the Refuge des Forquets we hit tarmac and we sail down the pass - this is magic. It's a great descent all the way down to La Forge at 1105m- all that effort thrown away in 15 minutes of adrenalin pumping descent.

Finally we reach the small town of Prats de Mollo la Preste and check into a quiet campsite. This place is a gorgeous Pyrenean town and we can't resist a coffee and a beer in the town square where some crazy couple who think of themselves as semi-professional are singing some pretty awful rendition of Frank Sinatra. They are singing popular songs in the middle of a wonderful medieval village - it just doesn't work. We hike it back to the campsite with our dinner in the panniers and we are feeling very pleased with ourselves. This is a great traverse of the Pyrenees and I recommend it to any dedicated cyclist.

See you - got to run for it - got a plane to catch!!