Karura Chases Dragons - Day 6 (Castres to Vielha)

Col de Peyresourde

The time had come for Karura to return to the mountains. Perhaps his deep affinity for the peaks arose in those childhood years, soaring through the clouds chasing and devouring dragons in a far off land. Or perhaps it could have been his need always to reach higher that gave him the desire to return whenever he could.

Here in the high country every wheel beyond two diminishes the experience exponentially. With four wheels, inertia drags you sideways rendering rapid progress a three way battle between man, machine and nature. With four wheels you are isolated in still air, protected from the elements, from life itself. On his two wheels, Karura flowed through the bends, his motorcycle using the laws of nature to the full, leaning easily into each hairpin before galloping along the straights. Karura could taste the heat from the road and smell the ice cold snow, his senses tangled in the perfume of the moment.

Airport Peyresourde

Higher and higher Karura climbed until he reached a place where the crisp air is ice thin and the trees can no longer seed. Eventually the peak was his, but still Karura craved more. After so long deep in his cave, Karura's thirst was unquenchable. He would not stop until once again he could fly with the dragons.

The gods remembered Karura and smiled. A small unmarked road to his left seemed to offer just a few more meters of height and Karura felt himself drawn to follow. It was at the end of the road, where the ski lifts lay dormant, that Karura stumbled upon a field of dragons. A scribbled sheet of A4 paper pinned to a hut invited Karura to reach higher still. For twenty blissful minutes, two wheels became none and Karura chased dragons in the realm of the gods.