On Saturday morning, I cycled down to the bakery with Peter to pick up bread at the bakery, and in the afternoon we all went swimming at Mosqueros.

raisin bun bicycle basket

I tried out a few dives from the diving board. All in all a pretty perfect day; it felt like a holiday.

matthieu peter

On Sunday, we all got up around 4am to drive to Laruns and race up to the Col de l’Aubisque. As usual Peter and Matthieu ran the trail, Christine and me walked.

mountains

It was already a hot day, no clouds in the sky. Matthieu and me cooled down in the bins full of ice.1

According to Pyrénées Chrono, I completed in 3h35, six minutes slower than in 2020.

Year Time
2022 3:35:36
2020 3:29:18
2019 3:26:31

I was wrecked at the end, which is odd because I definitely do much more daily exercise now than I did two years ago. The last time was in-between lockdowns after the first big wave of Covid, I feel fitter than I used to during that period.

I did get a prize as first in my age category, winning some pots of honey and a wooden trophy.

pierre with prize

In Laruns there were banners on the hydro-electric station demanding nationalisation, and sustainable governance of the water resources in the mountains.

centrale houriat

The Arruisse river running under the station was dry.

shem arruisse

In the evening we watched a Louis de Funès comedy, le grand restaurant.

  1. See reactions before, during, and after being dunked in ice water.