2005 RAID in the Pyrenees
The 'Motley crew' l-r Front row, Dangerous, Jezza, How'ard, Fatherjac, Graham, Diplomat, Alan:
Back Row: Neil, Grant, Stew, Icicle, Kev, Smallsprocket, Graeme, Keith, Derek, Matt, Kermit, and Brian
On 2 June 2005 a motley crew of Old Ports set off on a great adventure in the Pyrenees. We rode from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean along the Pyrenean mountain range, taking in some of the legendary mountain cols made famous in the Tour de France including the Col d'Aubisque and infamous Col du Tourmalet. We joined up with Nick Flanagans Pyreneen Pursuits organisation and met up with 7 other RAIDER's who had also signed up for the expedition.
The adventure was enormously exciting and enjoyed thoroughly by all, with the possible exception of Diplomat, whose aversion to french food in general and garlic in particular set off a week long bout of Montyzoomas revenge.
The stories unfold:
There are many sides to an adventure, so I have compiled the stories of those who took part as they have been given to me:
Graeme Fife the Famous author who accompanied us on the trip reminisces in his glorious 'RAID Pyreneen diary' This is a MUST read! Click here
'Dangerous' Dave Hickmans story will be published soon so stand by!
The RAID profile
Take a look below, at the profile of the route below. 5 days averaging over 120Km per day would be hard enough in Blighty or dare I say Scotland,but in the Pyrenees!!!!! it was a big challenge of endurance.
Itinerary
Full details of the trip including itinerary, prices etc., can be found at the 'Pyreneen Pursuits' website HERE
The main Climbs in profile
Below are some links giving graphical profiles of the main climbs on the RAID in the order which we tackled them. The profiles give the altidude at each Kilometer, the % gradient and the towns/villages on the route:-
Col d'Aubisque Col du Tourmalet Col d'Aspin Col de Peyresourde Col de Portet d'Aspet