I find it always one of the greatest rewards about reaching the top after climbing a mountain, by foot or by bicycle. The view you get when you're almost completely exhausted: a landscape which unfolds to a breathtaking panorama. That is: if the weather cooperates. Mostly the top of the mountain is hidden in clouds, so you're lucky when you get to see the tip of your nose through the fog. And it's so freezing cold that you're only thinking about one thing: the quickest way to get down into the warm weather in the valley below.Once I climbed the Col d' Aspin in the French Pyrenees, by bicycle. One thing I remembered about that climb was the great amount of campers passing by on my way to the top, leaving me behind in their exhaust fumes. Struggling to reach the pass and for some fresh air. So the drawing is a bit more romantic than reality was: no campers in sight, only a clear blue sky!
