Peak Performers

Each peak in the Pyrenees has its signature farm animal waiting to greet arriving cyclists.  Or so our experience suggests.  Cows at Col d'Aspin.  Sheep at Col du Soulor.  Donkeys at Tourmalet.  Horses at Col d'Aubisque.  Like college football mascots, they're ready to cheer, instigate, celebrate or just share in the energy and spoils brought by the athletes.  While eating ham steak marinated in champagne at Chateau Lamothe last night, we suddenly realized that we hadn't been greeted atop a mountain by pigs.  That means there must be a major Pyrenean peak that we've missed and a reason to do this whole thing again!

Nel, our tour organizer, says that, in France, mountain peaks above a certain elevation are public land and therefore farmers can simply turn loose their livestock in these areas to graze.  Free range, actually.  This explains the number of animals but not the specificity of farm animal on each peak.  Why not horses, sheep and donkeys altogether on Hautacam, for example?  We don't have the answer, but the following photos help describe the phenomena.

After aggressively confronting Rich in the road on the way up Col d'Aspin,
the cows were unimpressed when Rich reached the top.  Conclusion:
cows are hard to impress.

This happy fellow atop Tourmalet is  offering a victory kiss or
 demanding Steve's banana.  Steve is from Iowa
and seems to have a special way with animals.  

This horse, atop d'Aubisque, recognized Steve's Pinarello Dogma for the
hot buggy it was and tried to run off with it.  He succeeded in grabbing it
by the handlebars with his mouth and knocking it over.

This is me posing for a summit photo on d'Aubisque.  Since
I didn't actually ride up on my bike, the horse in the back-
ground is, um, commenting on my little deceit by "rumping"
the sign.

This sheep was ho-hum about our arrival at the top of Soulor
but became more than willing to party with us.  She offered
to carry the food and, in fact, insisted on carrying the food
when Nel turned her back.