D918 : Arreau - Sainte-Marie de Campan ( Col d'Aspin )

February 8, 2008 - 5.0

One of my best biking roads as I live close by (Chateau de Mauvezin)...and rode my usual circuit (Mauvezin, Bagneres de Bigorre, Col DAspin, Arreau, Barthes de Nestes, Mauvezin)yesterday at 3.00 pm as full sunshine and 20c however.....half way from Payolle on the climb towards the Col DAspin, just coming out of a 180 degree bend with commited trajectory and fairly cranked over, front end lets go and bike slides 20 metres up hill. A car driver Id just overtaken stops and helps me pick up the bike, ensures Im OK....just some bruising, and goes on his way. I then discover the banjo connected to the front brake master cylinder is leaking fluid and I have no brakes! Luckily Id just charged my mobile phone before leaving and contacted my insurance company for recovery. Recovery arrived........8.15 pm, dark, cold, quiet and quite spooky being stuck on your own with no traffic! As you can imagine, having 5 hours wait, I inspected the scene of the accident....gravel in the centre of my lane probably washed down by rain so beware, not only of gravel but other car drivers cutting their corners. Right, Im off now to assess the bike damage at the Peugoet garage in Bagneres de Bigorre, 25 kms away!

November 21, 2007 - 5.0

Wonderful views and lots of corners. The corners themselves are a bit hit and miss, some nice flowing parts, some patched up blind sections. Beware of the cow heard roaming free on the road at the top of the mountain! Quite a tourist attraction on the 1450m peak!

November 2, 2007 - 5.0

Agree with Steve 100%. Nothing more to add, except some photos ;)

March 5, 2007 - 4.0

One of my favourites too. By the way - the dummy thing is prevalent in this part of France. I have seen dummies in english football strip hanging from windows (St Martory - N117). Montrejeau has a permanent display ( behind the town cinemaa - that changes with the seasons. Watch the moving out the way thing tho' - sometimes they spot chickens, bicyclists, cowpats etc and move back again! All the roads round here are terrific - this is no exception.

June 1, 2006 - 4.0

I really enjoyed the D918/D935 which runs from Arreau to Bagneres de Bigorre via the Col d'Aspin. It has a good surface and is littered with nice bends on the way to the summit at almost 1500 metres which was pretty busy when we visited. The road at the top was blocked by cattle and the surrounding area was alive with tourists, walkers, and of course cyclists. It's plain to see why so many people visit this place as the views from the top are spectacular. One of the photo's shows the Col du Midi du Bigorre behind us which you can access by bike or foot from the Col du Tormalet, or you take the cable car from La Mongie. We didn't visit the Tormalet on our visit as we were pushing on to St Malo for the ferry home. After reaching Sante Marie de Campan we took a right onto the D935 which now really opens up and begs you to give it the berries. We obliged! Well, it would be rude not to!! It's on roads like this that you realise just how wonderful the French car drivers are as they do their utmost to let you overtake. That includes the oncoming traffic who move well out of your way to assist you on your speedy mission. Vive La France! We passed through one or two villages on the way to Bigorre and one in particular struck us as being really spooky. If you look at the photos you'll see some life sized dolls standing on the balconies etc. Very bizarre, and not a place I'd like to walk through in the dark lol. Looking at my map I think it may be Campan but I'm not 100% sure. I think the last pic is of Bagneres de Bigorre with Cafe Le Londres on the right. Please correct me if you know better. Happy biking guys.