Argeles Gazost is a small town of about four thousand people, situated at the foot of the Pyrenees mountains in France. It’s a popular stopover for walkers, cyclists and skiers visiting the Pyrenees National Park. We are staying at the same hotel as last time – the Hotel Beau Site, owned and run by a delightful elderly couple, Monsieur and Madame Taik-Colpi. I’m back in my old room 9, this time rooming with Brian Smith from Sydney (two over-seventies together).
We arrived at about 1am on Sunday morning (about five hours later than expected) and promptly fell into bed. The next morning we awoke to Bastile Day Celebrations in the town square and the task of unpacking our bikes for the first day’s ride. We were joined at breakfast by the 2 remaining members of our group of 11 (9 men and 2 better halves), who had arrived at a more sensible hour the night before.