Col de la Lusette depuis Le Rey

This was my first HC climb, and naturally I found it very challenging, at least on my steel bike with a 42x23 as its lowest gear. The climb to L'Arboux is very easy, merely a warm-up. After that, you put some effort to reach Mandagout, I dit it with 42x21, but things still look somewhat OK. Then, you leave Mandagout and the climb gets progressively harder.. Initially, you think that you are managing well, but every time you suppose that the worst is behind you, you are greeted with steeper segments... 42x23 and a lot of paper-boying (zig-zagging) to make it to Cap de Coste. The remaining couple of kilometers feel flat by comparison to what you have experienced until that point, but they still require some effort. You have a lot of nice views during the climb, but unfortunately not many on the top.

A good climb with stunning views on the way up. Anticlimactic finish in the trees at the top so not much to see or photograph there, except the sign. Grade varies from the start with some short descents or flat sections skewing the averages. The 6km towards the end is hard with a consistent grade around 10％ (my Garmin got up to 15％ at one point). Road surface okay but not great. I found the descent unpleasant due to the surface, steep gradients and it being so winding, which means a lot of braking. A much better descent is to keep going to the next town (L'Esperou) and descend from there (awesome) or keep going to Mont Aigoual which has spectacular views.

Beau paysage. Belle montée. Attention pour se qui o le vertige. Je débute mais j'ai adoré cette montée