I have done exactly this! all on your doorstep, no need for a car!

Richard Martin Tom Dumoulin should have had a crepe before that stage of last year’s Giro...

There’s a lovely shorter circuit over the Aspen and then the Hourquette d’Ancizan. park your car n the spaces in the dip of the road towards Lac de Payolle in Sainte Marie Campan just before the road takes a sharp left over the river towards Payolle. From there follow the road to the Col D’Aspen. You could do this circuit in the other direction but the descent of the Hourquette is not safe at high speed on the eastern side, and they resurface this a couple years ago, so best to go clockwise on this circuit Aspen first then the Hourquette, Once you’ve gone over the Aspen and descended to Arreau, continue through the twin towards St Lary, you’ll be about 5 or 6k’s on the road, it is quite fast but on the whole drivers here are respectful, there is a back road but the surface isn’t good. Once you get to the village of Ancizan, you have a choice, you can be brave and begin the climb in the village (the turn will be on your right, it is signposted Hourquette d’Ancizan), up this road there are short ramps pitching up to 25%. I think it averages double figures until you leave the village. the other way is a bit more gentle, continue through the village for another 5 or 6 hundred metres until your reach a place called Guchen, take a right here, a slightly longer route, and a more gently intro to the Hourquette which can be quite relentless from the east, but occasionally there is a break in the trees and the views beautiful, the real treat is once you get to the top, a lesser known climb but an absolutely stunning vista, you can see the first four or five K’s of the descent and it sweeps and dips on a lovely road surface, there’s a little kicker in the middle, but after that it’s mostly open until you approach Lac de Payolle again, where there are camp sites, so watch out for traffic and dogs, continue by the side of the lake and then take a left to rejoin the main Arreau St Marie de Campan road (D113)

A third cicuit takes in the Soulor and the Aubisque, and if you’re tougher than I can take in the Col de Marie Blanc. this begins at the village of Arrens Marsous on the D918 (take the road for Laruns from Argeles Gazost for about 5 or 6 K’s). this is at the base of the Col de Soulor. Anyhow straightforward to begin with, ride uphill. The D918 winds out of Arrens Marsous up towards the Col de Soulor, it’s about 9 or 10% at the beginning so go easy until you’ve warmed up, Alternatively if you need a bit of a warm up before climbing, start a bit closer to Argeles on the D918. This is about a 10 or 11k climb, pretty tough in places, but nice road surface and great views once out of the trees, there are slight passages of respite, but 7% is going to feel like a holiday. Once your crest the Soulor, instead of going left towards the Aubisque, take a right, downhill on to the D126. Please be very cautious on this descent, it’s narrow and in Summer quite busy. This will take you into a narrow and pretty valley on the fairly long northern leg of this circuit, mostly easy riding allowing you some recovery, needed for later, particularly if you’re planning on tackling the Marie Blanc as well as the Aubisque. En route you’ll pass through the hamlets of Arbéost, Ferrière towards the town of Asson. At Asson You want to go left on to the D35 towards Louvie Juzon, stay on this road, you’ll pass through a few hamlets along the way. At Louvie Juzon there are two potential routes, you can go left along the east bank of the river Gave d’ossau along the D240 to the base of the Aubisque, this is a quieter road, meandering through villages of Castet and Béon, but I’m usually in a hurry to get to the bottom of the Aubisque so I go through Louvie Juzon left over the bridge, left again after, it then right up a short rise to the roundabout, where you go left towards Laruns on the the D934, this is a bit of drag strip, but if you’re in a small group it’ll be done quickly enough, sharing the load. Don’t overdo it here because after Laruns is the main event, the Col d’Aubisque, longer, steeper and more beautiful from this side. Anyhow once in Laruns follow the D934, this road goes through to Spain, it’s a bit fiddly in the town, so do ask if you’re uncertain. Once out of Laruns the road dips before climbing again. About 500 metres after you begin to climb again there is the left hand turn on to the D918 for Eaux Bonnes, Gourette and the Col d’Aubisque, take this road, 15 or 16k’s later you’ll be at the top. This is just a stunning climb, particularly the last section once through the tree line, there are wild/ish horses at the top. Cheeky and well fed so and so’s, I imagine they get by on left over gels and energy bars. Don’t be tempted, you haven’t quite finished climbing yet. The descent from the Aubisque towards the Soulor is one of the most beautiful mountain routes I’ve ridden anywhere, perhaps I’m a bit biased, I’m lucky enough to live nearby, but judge for yourself. Having a small front light may help, as there are a couple of unlit tunnels and if its a bright day seeing anything can be difficult, the road surface in these is a little ropey. After the second tunnel you begin to ascend again, this is just a steady 7 or 8% percent ramp that goes on for about 1500 metres back to the Col de Soulor, and from there a lovely sweeping descent back down to Arrens Marsous. If you do this in Summer feeling won’t be a problem as there’ll be plenty of shops and cafes open, if out of season try to carry a fair bit with you. It is a longish ride and though mostly non-mountainous, the roads are lovely and it is worth the detour to loop around to the base of the Aubisque. For those that want to include the Maris Blanc, I have n’t done this yet (plan to this July) it does add another 50k to this 100k ride, and the Marie Blanc has unbroken kms of ramps at 14% It remains to be seen if I’m enough of a beast for that.

natalie nat yea because unfortunately 5% of the world are vegan bores and we're not just allowed to gas you all ☹️

It's the pro vibe aero bar, on the Syncros integrated stem. The mount attaches to the stem bolts and is Syncros. Really neat and tidy www.rutlandcycling.com/accessories/electronics/syncros-rr-stem-computer-mount-black_458204?origin=pla&kwd=&currency=GBP&gclid=Cj0KCQjwjN7YBRCOARIsAFCb934CVTINhENcBGrN2Pn7ZGXc4OGhrpg7_BkH1x6GcSYgBw_e4GZsIBwaAhNMEALw_wcB

We had two riders for another video, so there were two bikes, great spot! Look out for more of our Tour preview coming soon.

The lake is Lac Genos at Loudenvielle just before the start of the climb up Col d'Azet

Its pretty mixed in the Pyrenees, pack everything!

rrobotman BC, Canada. A bear did shadow a touring cyclist as prey and drivers escorted the rider to keep the bear at bay.

There is, basically, zero dangerous wildlife in the UK.

Our main risk is a different kind of cougar.....!

beeble2003 Adders (a dangerous British snake) have occasionally been known to kill phlegmatic octogenarians... Ok I made that up ☹️

You might get the occasional angry pet dog chasing you for a few meters on the country side...

beeble2003 you have clearly never come face to face with an angry adder.

Mark Reams I haven’t looked into this personally, but I am sure there are. The place we were staying in, le closier, routinely had bike packers staying one night, to get showers and a proper bed for one night, in between camping etc...

Andrew Kearns I was just going to ask the same thing. We hadn’t watched it yet!

Colin Fiedler it was up as it had the Pyrenees competition with loads of stories in the comments & an interesting visit to carbon Bike repair. Did it get posted and removed?

I saw it on there for sure. Just didn't have time to watch it then. Now it is just gone...

Nah, I just needed to be in some non-CW kit for some photos we were taking for a magazine feature

Oliver Bridgewood awesome. What were you wearing? Can you do what kit you should wear in these tours? Thanks for replying back

I was thinking the same... Hotdamn, shift already!

Actually specifically working on some low cadence work at the moment with Coach Tipper for an up and coming challenge 🤫

Oliver Bridgewood Well that was the one logical explanation. RIP Ollies knees ☠️