As I got into cycling a couple of years ago, I started hearing about Mont Ventoux, a mountain of near mythical status amongst cyclists. Along with Tourmalet, Galibier and Alpe D'Huez it is regarded as sacred ground and has produced some of the highest drama in the Tour de France. To many it is the hardest single climb on the Tour due to it's length, steepness and weather conditions. But more on that later.....
Shortly before I arrived in Avignon by TGV almost two months ago, I got my first glimpse of Ventoux, her brilliant white top rising to a peak of more than 6,200 ft, she dominates the landscape towering 4,000 ft higher than any of the nearest peaks. As I made my way from the train station to the village of Menerbes, she was a constant companion and during my travels around the Luberon her ubiquitous presence became a source of comfort .................. and a challenge.
Ventoux, she dominates the landscape |
So I ramped up my hill climbing training and decided that Aug 15th was the day. There are three roads that ascend Ventoux, one each from the towns of Sault, Bedoin and Malaucene. For the statisticians among you, the climb from Sault is the easiest but the longest at 16.2 miles and an elevation gain of 4,002 ft. The Malaucene route is 13 miles and 5,151ft climbing and Bedoin, regarded as the hardest, is 13.4 miles and 5,282ft climbing. The Bedoin route is the one used in the Tour de France and is regarded by many to be one of the hardest if not the hardest used on the Tour. As mentioned above, the reasons for this are not only the length and grade of the climb but also the weather conditions. At any of the starting points it can be very hot, often hitting 100 deg by mid morning which can dehydrate you fast. Then there is the wind.......... Ventoux derives it's name from the french for windy and the wind almost always blows and blows hard. Wind speeds over 200mph have been recorded on the mountain and it blows at more than 56mph over 240 days in the year on average. This can make ascents and descents extremely hard and often dangerous.
My plan was to ride my bike over to the closest of the start points, Sault, a mere 26 miles away and begin my climb from there. Although sounding good in theory, I didn't realize just how hilly a ride it was. The first 21 miles were all uphill and by the time I got to Sault I had already registered over 3,800 ft of climbing, oh well. Leaving my house at 7:00 I took a route that went up past Goult and between Joucas and Gordes weaving my way through lovely vineyards burgeoning with ripening grapes. Near Joucas I was treated to the sight of several hot air balloons majestically flying overhead, I wasn't the only one up early at least :)
Hot air balloons drifting over the vineyards |
The beautiful climb out of Lioux |
The Chalet Reynard, the biker bar of biker bars!! |
I should bloody well hope so!! |
Not far to go now |
At the summit, happy and feeling great! |
The climb up Ventoux has seen a lot of drama and sadly this included the death of an English cyclist, Tom Simpson, at that point the most successful British cyclist ever, in 1967. Simpson collapsed and died a few hundred meters from the summit due to dehydration and the fact that he had taken methamphetamine and brandy prior to the race. There is a memorial to Simpson at the spot of his death and I stopped there to pay my respects on the way down. It was a somber moment.
Memorial to fallen cyclist Tom Simpson |
The bright side of suffering up a climb is that one is always rewarded with a descent. Now I may not be the best descender in the world but I enjoy going downhill fast on a bike and have no qualms even at speeds of 50-60 mph. So as I left Chalet Reynard I was relishing the descent into Sault. However, in many ways this turned out to be the toughest part of the entire ride and certainly the most nerve racking. You see the road surface to Sault is incredibly poor, filled with potholes, ruts, humps and bumps that threaten a broken spoke or flat tire at any moment. Add to this the fact that the wind was now blowing hard, a steady 30 mph with gusts that must have been over 50 and you have a hair-raising scenario. Indeed by the time I arrived back in Sault my hands and wrists were so fatigued from gripping the handlebars and the brakes that they were actually numb. I barely reached 40 mph on the descent and even that was probably foolish. Why oh why can't the government re-pave such an iconic road?
After Sault there was a brief climb to the Sault plateau and then a nice 20 mile descent all the way to Menerbes. I arrived home tired but elated, 90 miles and 10 hours after leaving. I had finally met Ventoux properly and she had shared herself with me. I will climb her again soon but that is the subject of another blog entry. À bientôt ma cherie!!
You can see more photos from my ride to Ventoux here
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