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A good night’s sleep in the car? No, but Angie wouldn’t have slept at all in the Scooby Doo Hotel Isard. Even the name sounds creepy now that I look at it. At least in the campground we woke up with bathrooms (BYOTP) and a (co-ed) shower! While we were cleaning up there was a man in the shower next to us singing away as if he was at home!

We headed into town for breakfast (nutritional chocolate wrapped in bread) and to pick up drinks and snacks for the day. We drove to the bottom of the climb, built the bike and we were on our way. I really didn’t think we would make it to the top of the Peyresourde since it’s a Cat 1, 14K climb. We stopped and rested several times along the way and talked to some Americans…I even saw a guy, Sonny, that had visited Birmingham last year and went on a ride with our club! I kept thinking Angie would want to stop, but after we would rest a few minutes she would say, “alright, you ready?” And off we’d go again. I couldn’t believe it when we were standing at the summit with our tandem! We had gotten lots of cheers along the way from the fans (French, Spanish); they loved seeing the tandem climb. We came back down about 1K from the top and squeezed in a spot to wait for the riders. Lance’s lead has dwindled a bit, but today and tomorrow could make a huge difference. All we can do is cheer for the fellow cancer survivor! The helicopters are getting close so it won’t be long until the riders are here.

We were in the middle of all the Spanish Euskatel fans. They are very loud and crazy! As the first few riders approached it got so loud you couldn’t hear yourself cheer. Lance was with a group just behind the leaders, but we could see him coming up the switchbacks. There was a wave of noise and excitement that led the group up to us. Angie was on the road within reach as Lance, following Jan Ullrich, passed us. The crowd barely opened up enough just in time for the riders to pass. Several minutes later, the remaining riders came by and we started down the mountain.

The road down was packed with cars trying to go both directions, so we rode down in the middle. The roads in France are not as wide as the U.S. and there were campers and cars still parked on the side of the road so it was a mess. Several times we had to slow down and squeeze through between the cars, but we were able to get down a whole lot quicker than if we’d been in a car or walking. We coasted through the town back to our car that was parked on the road headed out of town and were able to jump in and be on our way. I still can’t believe we made it to the top! It’s fun to think back on the cheers we got and the fellow Americans and LAF Peloton members we met on the climb.

Lourdes was our destination and on the way lo and behold there was a McDonald’s! I admit I never visit the place back home, but the burger and fries along with a coke with ICE was great! After the delicious dinner we made our way to Lourdes and finally found our hotel. It was crazy driving through the town…kind of like driving down Bourbon Street in New Orleans on New Year’s Day; only the crowd was of the senior generation instead of young drunks. Our room was delightful compared to the night in the car…bathroom and shower in the room and a bed we could stretch out on after the long day on the mountain!

July 19 (Stage 13) / July 21 (Stage 15)