Mont Ventoux 2013
Mike Pearce, Andrew Whitehorn and myself made the ascent of Mont Ventoux our overseas goal for 2013. Mike and Andrew are collecting a series of trophies of the famous European clubs and, having done the Alps in France and Italy for the time being, decided that the infamous Mont Ventoux in Provence needed to be added to the list. Accepting their offer of participation in this years epic ride we drove to Bedoin last Saturday via the busy M25, M2 and Dover ferry terminal and a less busy French motorway.its a long drive to the South of France with 3 bikes on the roof of Andrew’s trusty Volvo and we pulled into Macon for a hastily arranged night at a hotel close to the town centre.
You really feel that you are in the wine regions of France when the local vin rouge is actually from the town.
We had a reasonably early start on Sunday and made Bedoin just after midday. We found the Gite and were met by our host Sandrine, delightful. The area around Bedoin is lovely, lots of small villages and vineyards and cherry orchards. Everywhere is dominated by the spectre of Mont Ventoux which really dominates the countryside.
Bike fettling done we did some shopping and made an early start on checking out the Bike shops. There are cyclists everywhere here. All seemed to be looking lean and keen and setting off a few alarm bells with us as to our fitness levels. A very convivial evening meal ensued with a carafe of Bedoin’s finest. Walking home to our Gite we realized that it was still pretty warm, the thermometer in the town said 31 degrees. We’re we in for a hot one in the morning?
Monday morning saw us do an obligatory trip into town for fresh baguettes and then we donned our gear and made for the largest bike shop. Really helpful and friendly and the owner gave us a route down to Isle de la Sorgue and back via Gordes. “It will be a bit lumpy on the way back but you will be fine” …..except its now 88 degrees.
The country roads were great, not much traffic and good road surface. We had our first encounter of a “lumpy bit” around St Denis. Quite enjoyable as we were still well hydrated. A pleasant lunch stop in Isle de la Sorgue and then the route back. Well, Gordes is beautiful, it’s situated about a third of the way. Time for photos and cherries, we felt like true velo touristes and, after checking the map, pushed on uphill. And on, and on and on. All the time getting hotter and the bidons were emptying fast. The top came after another hour and a half and then we had a breathtaking descent and, eventually, back to base. A great days ride. About 60 miles and we reckoned over 30 of that was uphill. Talk about starting the week with an easy ride.
A visit to the Pizza parlour in the evening fortified us and we de decided that a flat ride was ideal for Tuesday. Back to the bike shop and another consultation with the owner on the wisdom of riding our Compact groupsets up Ventoux. He advised against it and we hired some nice Trek Madones for the following day. With all of our chatting at the shop, time had progressed and it was very hot when we started out. We did keep to flat roads and only ended up doing 30 miles but it was hot. At one point the roads were really hot and sand had been spread out on it to stop it melting. By now we had learned to drink lots of water, stop at cafés and always check the map for directions when in the shade.
Another restaurant was chosen for the evening and we met up with a Belgian family who were riding the race up Ventoux on Saturday. Apparently it’s a really big event and Eddy Merckx will be taking part this year.
So, in keeping with our practice of staying out far too late, we retired to bed and prepared for our ascent of Mont Ventoux in the morning. Overnight the weather and changed. The morning was windy and there was some rain. We collected our hired bikes at 8am and were in the road out of Bedoin by 8.30. The route is 22kms and all of it is uphill. The first 5km climbs quite gently though some farmland and vineyards and then kicks up. The farmland turns into woodland and then pine forest. The road is covered with riders names: Wiggins, Froome, Schleck and a couple of old ones for Lance. After about 10km we went through some light rain and then it got heavier and there was some thunder behind us. Between 5km and 14km the road ramps up to around 10%. Tough but OK at first, we were all sweating big time because of the humidity associated with the thunderstorm. As we got higher, gaps between the 3 of us developed and there was strategic stops for a drink/walk. There were a lot of people on the road, a steady stream of people from a Dutch club passed us and a few people who said hello in English and gave us a few words of encouragement. I don’t think we overtook many, a lot of people do the ride regularly and there is a great amount to be said for knowing what’s coming next.
Well the point about Mont Ventoux is there isn’t anything else really happening. It’s just uphill and slow. At 17km we all pulled into the legendary Café Reynard and tried to get warm. Coffees and bidon filling done we pushed on for the last 5km. From Cafe Reynard to the top it’s a limestone escarpment, very exposed and seeming to go on for ever. The top, which is has a weather and satellite station on it, comes into view occasionally and you just keep spinning. The biggest ring on the back and smallest ring on the triple were engaged ages ago! There were even more cyclists about now, a team of probably a hundred or more youngsters from Holland started to go past and some were having difficulty. They had come up from Sault, a slightly longer but much easier ride and were struggling with the increasing steepness as we neared the top. The regulation photographer appeared and took our photos and stuffed contact cards in our hands as we wobbled on. And then, welcome relief. Not the top but Tommy Simpsons memorial. We stopped and left outer small tokens, I felt quite moved by the location, completely exposed, wind howling and bare rock and only about 2km from the top. You felt you could almost reach out and touch the summit.
We pushed on and then rounded a hairpin and were there. The Mistral wind was by now amazing. We took some quick pictures, watched a few of the Dutch youngsters being pushed up the final few yards and collapsing in agony.
So, back down…..
The exposed section was really windy as we gathered speed down. A few hairpins wobbled round when the wind direction changed and within minutes we were back at Café Reynard. Another cup of coffee to try and warm up frozen hands and then off for the the final descent. Mike decided he was going to try and catch a mountain biker who clearly knew where he was going and eventually dropped Mike. Mike recorded 67.5kmph at his fastest point. I got up to 62kmph and thought that I should slow down. I have never gone that fast and couldn’t hear a thing. Then, for me, disaster struck. Going into a hairpin my front tyre punctured and I bailed out across the road and into some rocks. I thought “this is going to hurt” when my helmet hit the ground. Well it did, but there was surprisingly little blood but a good deal of road graze and a bruised shoulder and ribs. It could have been much worse. Andrew, bless him, came around the corner a few seconds later and came to my aid. Seeing me still flat out he thought “I hope I can remember my first aid :)”.
After a bit of recovery and a mended puncture we finished the ride and got back to the bike shop where Mike advised that he was getting a bit worried and was about to ask anyone around if they had seen us. He had thought about riding back up the mountain but had thought better of it. A visit to the pharmacy later and I am patched up and desperate for a beer. So another evening spent with tales of rides gone by and plans for the future.
Mike and Andrew went out on there own today, I have spent it tending to my bruises. The weather was lovely and it is so peaceful in our Gite. It’s Andrew’s birthday so we will imbibe another carafe or 2 of Bedoin’s finest. We have decided to head back tomorrow, so it’s goodbye from us.
Brian Chard with the Ventoux three
