August 2002 Diary - Part Two
19th August - Mont Ventoux
A day of summer heat in Provence, and I left the campsite at about three in the afternoon on day where the temperatures were in the mid 30's. Bedoin was quiet, with most tourists taking shelter in the cafes. I soon joined the road to the Mont Ventoux, and a few minutes later was able to look up to the top and see the observatory. The last time I had cycled the Mont Ventoux was in 2000, and my memories were of a howling wind above the Chalet Reynard. The wind had been light at the bottom but blew as I left the trees for the final seven kilometres to the summit.
I took two bottles and by the time I had reached Les Bruns, the final village before the climb ramped up, I'd nearly emptied one. I refilled the bottle at the small fountain on the way out of the village.
;) |
| Starting
the real climbing, the view towards the summit of the Mont Ventoux |
The road to the foot of the climb is lovely, with a nice surface and views towards the Mont Ventoux, and passing vineyards that would produce the Cotes du Ventoux wine. Immediately the climb started, I moved to the 39-26 and stayed in it. It was a long climb and I wanted to save something for the seven kilometres to the top after the Chalet Reynard.
Riding up the ten percent slopes was horribly hot, and I felt as though there was a tailwind pushing me up. Normally this is fine on any other climb, but there were no hairpins to turn me into the wind. I kept myself hydrated with regular drinking. A couple in a black BMW passed me and then pulled in a few hundred metres ahead of me to shout encouragement. The names that had been painted for the Tour de France were still fresh on the road, and I was alone.
There are regular kilometre stones on the climb to the top of the Mont Ventoux, each one marked with the distance to the top, the current altitude, and the gradient for the next kilometre. I found this a good thing especially when the kilometre stone appeared that marked the next kilometre at 11.1 percent. I was ready for slow cycling.
There are ten kilometres of steep climbing before the Chalet Reynard, a road without views as the trees hide everything. The road reminded me of a race circuit with metal barriers built along the roadside on a number of the corners. Whether this was to protect the vegetation from the speeding French drivers or cyclists from carrering off the road into a tree, I wasn't sure.
The Chalet Reynard appeared at the same time as the distinctive pale rocks that cover the top of the Mont Ventoux. As I cycled out of the trees, I braved myself for the wind to hit me, but the wind was light. Rounding the first bend after the Chalet Reynard gave me the chance to see the final six kilometres. The trees had disappeared and the road wound its way up the contours of the mountain towards the summit and the Observatory.
;) |
| The barren
landscape on the Mont Ventoux |
On a couple of sections, I was able to move the gear into the 23 sprocket, but I was back in 26 spinning my legs for most of the time. The Tom Simpson memorial was busy with visitors paying their respects, including my friends in the BMW, who again shouted encouragement at me.
I passed the stone marking the final kilometre, with the final gradient at ten percent. The heat that had had me sweating before the Chalet Reynard was replaced with a cool breeze making perfect climbing conditions. With 500 metres to go, I passed the BMW again, and this time the driver was next to the road to take my picture.
;) |
;) |
| The
final 500 metres to the summit of Mont Ventoux |
The
photo the BMW driver took and kindly sent to me |
The summit was crowded with people and cars parked and trying to park. There is a fantastic view in all directions, especially down onto the road I had just climbed. I'd passed two other cyclists on the climb, and could see one of them riding the final kilometre, dwarfed by the mountain. I chatted with the couple from the BMW and they took my address to send me the photo, as well as another chap who was keen to know what gears I used which quickly moved on to what gears would Lance use.
The descent was fun and relatively car-free once I'd over taken a few near the summit. The time was nearing five in the afternoon and now there were plenty of rider tackling the climb, all looking in different states of difficulty. I know that I would have looked the same. There were winding sections as well as dangerously fast straights, and for the time it had taken me to climb, I was back in Bedoin in no time at all.
As an addition to this ride, I
rode up the Mont Ventoux the following morning and left Bedoin at seven. The
road was busy with cyclists, and I'm not sure where they had all come from.
The climb to the Chalet Reynard was in shade, and thankfully the wind was
again light to the summit.
