Re:
Nice memories: bought two Dawes Galaxies from Priory Cycles in Birmingham in 1979 to cycle from Roscoff to Santander. One was stolen in London 2 or 3 years later but the other is still hanging in the shed, well marked by many years of use and transporting three children on the back (not at the same time!) but eminently rideable still.
Coincidentally, we crossed the Pyrenees at Larrau that year on the Galaxies and then last July during the Tour I was on a reverse Pyrenean raid. We went through Larrau again before carrying on west and 'up' Col d'Orgambidesca, the hardest climb on the whole trip. This included some sustained 13%, no shade and what felt like near death experiences as I crawled past the cattle to get under a bush for some respite. Mind you, we then descended for miles at huge pace before beers in St-Jean-Pied-de-Port.
Happy days.