This ride has a bit of everything. Nothing incredibly technical, but some bits of half decent singletrack to keep everyone entertained. It's a great afternoon ride to get out and enjoy the great views, such as the one to the right, which is the Pic du Midi as seen from the Col d'Aspin.

There is a map available for this route. Get it here (397k).

The Route

The route starts from the Station Touristique de Payolle, heading northwest along the road. Before the main road junction, a wide gravelled track heads off to the left towards the trees - from here the trail climbs gently, still on gravel and hardpack, contouring just above the stream to the right. Eventually there is a crossing, and after a short sharp climb to another trail through the heather, the path contours once more before dipping down slightly for a fast hack to the road.

Cornering near the lake

Once on the road, turn right and keep your eye out. The trail restarts on the right, about 100 yards past the hairpin left. It climbs up and is a little vague, but follow this across the slope before it drops down through some wide S-bends, rejoining the road at the bottom of the valley. Turn left, and keep an eye out on the right for the road which climbs up.

The climb up to the Ribe de la Poutge is reasonably steep, but fortunately not too long, and the Ribe itself provides a gentle bit of relaxation before the fun starts. At the road junction at the eastern end of the Ribe, the trail heads into the pine forest, singletracking its way through the trees towards the Col d'Aspin. It's fun, but it gradually climbs - one of those trails where you end up pedalling harder than you normally might, just to enjoy the singletrack.

On the gravel tracks

Take five at the Col and enjoy the view. It's all downhill from here! The path is pretty obvious - look southwest towards the Pic du Midi and it aims just to the left of the Pic. You can see it in the photo at the top of the page. The descent is wide, open and vary fast, although the surface is loose rock, so the corners can be entertaining.

Final section of the route

The map marks the route as continuing up the other side of the road at the bottom of the rocky descent, but we chose to shortcut it. On the map (see right), the route normally goes left onto the road, and up the hill, but this was the bit we missed out. If you turn immediately right, staying on the same side of the road, there is a tight and twisty dust trail which threads its way through the trees. The best thing is that you've just hammered a fast descent, so the adrenaline is flowing and the tree run is an absolute blast.

Then you're back at the lake, and on a hot day there's nothing better than a jump in the icy streams which feed it!