Last time in Lourdes was 2021, just four years ago, but it seems like so much more. Since then, the Tour de France route has stopped its usual clockwise/counterclockwise alternations, so Kevin and I have found ourselves in the Grenoble/Alps region in 2023 & 2023, and then, last year, we started from Grenoble and did a long trip along the spine between France & Italy, ending up in Nice. And now, for 2025, it’s yet another trip to the Alps (but adding in Ventoux because, y’know, it’s such an easy fun climb…).
The Alps are fine, some great climbs (Columbiere, Alpe d’Huez, Galibier for starters) but there’s a bit busier vibe than the Pyrenees, not quite as many crazy little alternate roads, and not quite as open. I’m fighting myself a bit writing this, because the Alps really are an amazing place to ride, and some of the rides in the Vercors region are breathtaking, with their sheer cliffs that somebody decided to build a road into. And in Grenoble, we do have a “regular” place to stay that we always try to come back to, so there is a sort of comfortable familiarity to it.
But the Pyrenees. Quieter, more alternate roads to explore, and a combination of quirky & quaint that is endearing. I’m trying to remember my very first trip to the Pyrenees, via Lourdes. Had to be earlier than 2006, when I went there on a Graham Baxter tour. Since then I’ve been doing most years with my son Kevin; he very first trip was spent in the Pyrenees, staying in Lourdes. We found a fantastic & reasonable apartment hotel adjacent to the train station, in which we’ve stayed most years since, although it no longer appears possible to book there. Lourdes itself is a very unusual place, being the location of the Catholic’s place of miracles. You get an interesting mix of patients in wheelchairs, bicycles everywhere, and pretty ordinary food. And the local train service gives you access to many more miles of riding than you’d think possible without having a car.
Lourdes is the start of the paved bike path that heads all the way out to Soulom, near the base of many of the great local climbs. It’s a little sad that it’s built on a rail line that was put out of service not that long ago, about 12 miles, and end near a green food truck that’s become one of our regular things on rides in the area.
Lourdes is also where I was first introduced to what I now call “Train Station Coffee.” Relay is a small store located in many French train stations, and there’s something about what they serve, in a small red paper cup that says RELAY on it, for 2 euros for a double espresso… there’s something about it that elevates it to an experience, not just something to drink.
The Pyrenees foothills, something in the Lourdes area, would be the one place outside the US that I’d consider moving to. It’s not something that could happen, due to my wife’s health issues and, well, money in general. But when I think of a better, simpler life, I think that’s where I could pull it off. And I haven’t even mentioned food.
Food. For breakfast, real French pastry (not the stuff we dealt with last year in Barcelonette!), the multiple-layer stuff with exceptional chocolate or almond filling, selling for about a third of the price here in California. Topped off with expresso and orangina.
Lunch. Is it even a question? Baguettes! Ham & Cheese, Ham & Butter, Sausage…
Dinner. Dinner can actually be the more challenging meal in quieter areas. Your choices in a small town might be… pizza. In Lourdes, there are quite a few restaurants and the tough thing is trying to find something a cut above the cookie-cutter places that cater to those coming for the Catholic shrine. Well, Kevin and I have been there enough times that’s no longer much of a problem. We have a few places for nice, longer dinners, a Kebob place, and a couple of pizza places.
Memories. Going to bed while a raging thunderstorm was blasting away, thinking about how we would be riding up the Tourmalet the next morning. It wasn’t even a consideration that it was a bad thing, but rather absurd. That stands out from the rest.
Ha. Just realized one of the places I could have moved to was the place, in 2021, I crashed and broke two ribs (riding in the rain, balancing a pizza on my handlebars, going downhill, and Kevin cut in front of me, taking me down).
Back to Lourdes. I’m not Catholic, but the spirituality of the place exerts a pull on me lately, having everything to do with my wife’s Stage IV cancer and Lourdes being the source of miracles. And in fact, I do want to find a way to get Karen to Lourdes, so she can see what I find some wonderful about the area. And looking for miracles doesn’t seem entirely out of place either. More a continuation of the current miracle, as she passes expiration dates and continues to hold the cancer to a stand-off.
