The Pain

We thought we'd share with you the profile of the route we're taking and a bit of a description of some of the mountain passes (cols) we've got to climb. Whilst we all know it's good to share, the more I write about the challenge the more I can envisage myself as a sweaty mess, hauling myself up the last few kms of a 20 kms climb, praying I'm not going to need a defibrillator myself before the summit!

This is what we've got to get over: 

Raid Pyrenean Route

There are some famous and well known cols on the route (did I write famous? I meant fearsome....):

Col du Tourmalet - one of the highest roads in the Pyrenees and probably the most famous. This monster tops out at 2,115 metres and is a relentless 19 kms long!

Col d'Aubisque - another one of the legendary Tour de France climbs. This one is "only" 17 kms long but is classified as "hors  categorie" by the TdF organisers (this means it is beyond the usual categorisation of cycling climbs.......oh great!). There are ramps on the Aubisque that kick up to 13%.

Col de Pailheres - yet another which climbs to over 2,000 metres. This climb is described as "seemingly endless"..........can't wait!! The official climb is 19 kms long but, in reality, you're climbing for about 36 kms because there's a gradual incline even before the climb starts proper........oh our poor legs!

Col d'Aspin - at last, a climb that's described as "easy".......mind you, depends on your definition of "easy". It's easy cos it only rises to 1,500 metres (seems high to me, in the Peak District 600 metres is high!), is only 13 kms long and has inclines of just 8% max. Easy? Easy? It's still an 8 mile climb for goodness sake!

These are just examples of what we've got to get over. There are another 14 mountains to climb over the 5 days, I guess we've got to get our heads down, eat and drink properly, get into a rhythm and think of the good cause we're doing this for

So.......if you've sponsored us, be assured that you're absolutely getting your money's worth! If you've not donated yet, please do......our legs salute you!