Mont Ventoux three times
Discussion
Having been an avid Tour de France fan since 1999 and watched the super human efforts of the pros climbing in the mountains, I wondered if I would ever experience the pain and suffering they did. The weekend just gone, I did and I think it’s fair to say, I suffered more on Ventoux than most.
I’m far from a mountain goat; I like cake, pies and beer so it started as a weekend trip for Dave and I to beast ourselves on some big climbs ahead of our Rad am Ring race at the end of July. We planned to climb Mont Ventoux once on Saturday then drive to Bourg d’Oisans on Sunday to climb l’Alpe d’Huez. I had heard of the Club des Cingles du Mont Ventoux http://www.clubcinglesventoux.org/en.html when reading up on the mountain but dismissed it as too difficult for a rider such as myself… then Henry joined the trip. He’s likes to suffer and see people suffer. For the sake of €20 I thought what the hell, I can only try. About a week later, this arrived in the post.
I read Jo’s excellent blog about their attempt http://road.cc/content/feature/89329-ventoux-three and predicted I would be the George of our trio. How right I was to be.
We set off at 2:30am on Friday for the Eurotunnel for our 5:50am crossing. We arrived in France and set about the drive to the Ibis in Orange. We drove in shifts with the person in the back getting some sleep and eventually we arrived at about 5:30pm. We unpacked the car, dumped the bikes and bags in the rooms and decided to check out the starting point for the following day.
We took a drive to Bedoin to see where the start of the climb was and to find the tourist information office where we would stamp our cards the next morning. We found it easily at a junction in the town and the tourist office was opposite the start of the climb, both of which were overlooked by the mountain we were attempting the following day.
The mere thought of the next day made me hungry so we decided to grab some carbs in the shape of pasta and Stella Artois.
Walking back to the car we decide to have a pizza too to err, carb load some more. There was a table next to us with seven English guys that climbed Ventoux that day, once. They laughed when we told them what we had planned. They asked what training we have done… “four laps of Box Hill last weekend”. They laughed again and wished us good luck.
Unsurprisingly we were all tired from two hours sleep the previous night and dozing the back of the car so we went back to the hotel straight after our second dinner.
We awoke at 6:00am and headed down to breakfast at 6:30am where we proceeded to demolish the buffet breakfast. After that we loaded the car up and drove to Bedoin for the start. We found a nice quiet car park under the shade of some trees, loaded our jerseys up with energy bars, gels, bananas etc. and rode the short distance to the tourist information office. It was shut at 8:00am however there’s a machine next to it so we all stamped our cards.
The climb profile from Bedoin looks like this:
We had agreed, like Jo’s trio in that link earlier, to ride as a three. To stick together, suffer together and complete it together. The mountain leads you in nicely with a shallow gradient. We were riding together, holding a conversation interspaced with the odd “Bonjour” to the other riders that passed us and we passed and generally enjoying the great weather.
Then we hit the forest section. It was like a wall and every bit as hard as people say. The forest surrounds you, the air is still and we’re riding so slowly the flies hover around us, tormenting us as we just can’t ride fast enough to escape them. It’s an unrelenting 7km and all that’s getting me through is the thought of a rest at Chalet Reynard. We emerge out the forest and there it is in front of us. We climbed off our bikes, had a stretch and we filled our bottles at the bar.
We decide to crack on and tackle the next 7km that is the famous moonscape of the mountain. It’s iconic and seeing the weather station at the top within touching distance spurred us on and I forget about the pain in my legs.
A quick pause at the Tommy Simpson memorial to pay our respects and we carried on to the top.
We've been lucky wind wise with just a breeze at the top… then we round the final hairpin and I got hit by a gust of wind so severe I had to un-clip to steady myself. I re-clip and ride to the top. We've done it, climbed the mighty Mont Ventoux.
Ascent one completed.
We get our cards stamped in the shop and as we’re feeling great, we decide to roll down the other side to tackle the climb from Malaucene. Henry loves a descent so he’s straight in the 11 cog and mashing the pedals. I follow at a slightly reduced paced. About 5km down I find Henry in a wooden barrier on the outside of a hairpin bend. Luckily he’s fine, just a little scratched from the wooden barrier which he skimmed along. The decent just goes on and on and I'm now acutely aware of what I'm going to have to climb as soon as we hit the bottom. We reach the town of Malaucene, pop into the bike shop at the bottom and get our card stamped. We fill our bottles up at a fountain in the town and decide to waste no more time and get cracking with the second climb.
The climb profile from Malaucene looks like this:
It's all going well for the first couple of kilometres then it really hits me. I'm hurting, a lot. It’s 30 degrees and this climb is open, not sheltered by a forest so there’s no shade and I feel myself cook inside my helmet. I have to stop; I feel a ‘George’ moment coming on. Dave and Henry stop too and they stand, I slump, in the shelter of a tree off the road with another cyclist who’s also suffering. I take on some water and eat a banana and we set off again. The gradient just doesn't let up, I'm feeling low, very low. I want to step off the bike and roll back down to Malaucene. Henry and Dave are about 20m up the road. Dave is suffering and only has one pace, like me. Henry, annoyingly, was feeling good. He left Dave and came back to me to pace me up the hill and offer some encouragement. We get hit by a gust of wind, it’s a tailwind and morale is increased briefly, then the wind subsided again and again I was suffering, really suffering. I see a flat car park ahead on my left and tell the other I'm pulling over. I was in a bad place; I had gone full ‘George’. I make it over to the shade and collapse on the tarmac.
I eventually sit up and opposite me is the big white rock that George slumped over. I feel his pain. The mountain has hit me hard. Henry informs me Chalet Leotard is “just around a couple of corners and the gradient eases off”. I climb back on my bike, hung my helmet over my bars in a bid to keep cool and we set off. The gradient does soon relent enough and I recognise that we’re close to the café.
We grab a table, some cold Coke from the bar and eat some energy bars. I needed this twenty minute break, badly. My morale is lifted massively. We’ve broken the back of the challenge and we all know it. I've escaped the darkest moment I've had on a bike and emerged the other side feeling better for it. All we had now was the 6km ‘moonscape’ of Ventoux from the other side. Now Dave and I swapped places. I was doing OK, he was suffering. We each had own pace and couldn't do any more or less. I was alone now, Henry had gone back to pace Dave. Again, the weather station is within touching distance and it spurs us on. I stop at a hairpin and wait for Dave and Henry. We summit it for the second time together.
A Dutch couple hear me arriving at the summit, there was a lot of grunting and “Shut up legs” coming from my mouth. We tell them about the challenge we’re doing and that we’re two climbs in. They laugh and say we’re crazy. I have to agree. They kindly took a group photo at the summit.
Dave, me, Henry
We stamp our cards for a second time in the shop at the summit and decide to descend down the Chalet Reynard for some much needed ‘proper’ food and drink, well, Orangina and cheese and ham baguettes.
All that’s left now is the Sault climb, the ‘easiest’ of the three at 26km in length but at a friendly gradient between Sault and Chalet Reynard.
The road has been recently resurfaced. It’s a 20km decent from Chalet Reynard and it’s perfect; flowing corners, smooth, grippy tarmac and great scenery. When the gradient levels out we’re coasting through lavender fields and before we know it, we’re entering Sault. We walk into the tourist information office and the lady is already reaching for her stamp. Cards stamped, we fill our bottles up at a fountain and set off. It’s a lovely climb. We climb together at a pace that lets us chat away. We’re close, so close to finishing this. I even got into the big ring in the section before we emerge out at Chalet Reynard.
We arrive in Chalet Reynard together, have a stretch, fill our bottles and get ready for the final 7km to the summit. 7km and we’re done, no more pain. Henry is feeling good, Dave and I are both suffering so Henry went up on his own, Dave and I suffer together. Henry puts thirty minutes into us in that 7km. Dave and I are struggling now and we’re stopping every couple of bends for water and gels. We have a little rest at the Tommy Simpson memorial and Henry descends to meet us there and to pace us up. I think this photograph sums up how I feel at this point.
We pick our bikes up for the final 1km. The wind had really kicked up now. It’s >50km/h and I’m down to 5km/h myself, weaving across the road. I glance down at my Garmin and I have a few minutes to make it to the summit before 8:00pm. I REALY want to do this in less than twelve hours. The wind is horrendous and I'm battling it with everything I have. I finally summit for the third time with seconds to spare in true Hollywood fashion. Cue much handshakes and celebrations. The shop was shut so no third summit stamps for our cards. The wind was getting dangerous so we decided to get back down to Bedoin rather than hang around at the summit.
The descent to Bedoin takes thirty minutes and it seems like yesterday we were suffering on that ascent. We all descend at different speeds so we agreed to meet at the start point to stamp our cards for the final time.
Challenge completed. Card completed.
Time for celebratory pizza and Orangina.
Now there was just the three hour drive to Grenoble so tackle l’Alpe d’Huez the following day…
I’m far from a mountain goat; I like cake, pies and beer so it started as a weekend trip for Dave and I to beast ourselves on some big climbs ahead of our Rad am Ring race at the end of July. We planned to climb Mont Ventoux once on Saturday then drive to Bourg d’Oisans on Sunday to climb l’Alpe d’Huez. I had heard of the Club des Cingles du Mont Ventoux http://www.clubcinglesventoux.org/en.html when reading up on the mountain but dismissed it as too difficult for a rider such as myself… then Henry joined the trip. He’s likes to suffer and see people suffer. For the sake of €20 I thought what the hell, I can only try. About a week later, this arrived in the post.
I read Jo’s excellent blog about their attempt http://road.cc/content/feature/89329-ventoux-three and predicted I would be the George of our trio. How right I was to be.
We set off at 2:30am on Friday for the Eurotunnel for our 5:50am crossing. We arrived in France and set about the drive to the Ibis in Orange. We drove in shifts with the person in the back getting some sleep and eventually we arrived at about 5:30pm. We unpacked the car, dumped the bikes and bags in the rooms and decided to check out the starting point for the following day.
We took a drive to Bedoin to see where the start of the climb was and to find the tourist information office where we would stamp our cards the next morning. We found it easily at a junction in the town and the tourist office was opposite the start of the climb, both of which were overlooked by the mountain we were attempting the following day.
The mere thought of the next day made me hungry so we decided to grab some carbs in the shape of pasta and Stella Artois.
Walking back to the car we decide to have a pizza too to err, carb load some more. There was a table next to us with seven English guys that climbed Ventoux that day, once. They laughed when we told them what we had planned. They asked what training we have done… “four laps of Box Hill last weekend”. They laughed again and wished us good luck.
Unsurprisingly we were all tired from two hours sleep the previous night and dozing the back of the car so we went back to the hotel straight after our second dinner.
We awoke at 6:00am and headed down to breakfast at 6:30am where we proceeded to demolish the buffet breakfast. After that we loaded the car up and drove to Bedoin for the start. We found a nice quiet car park under the shade of some trees, loaded our jerseys up with energy bars, gels, bananas etc. and rode the short distance to the tourist information office. It was shut at 8:00am however there’s a machine next to it so we all stamped our cards.
The climb profile from Bedoin looks like this:
We had agreed, like Jo’s trio in that link earlier, to ride as a three. To stick together, suffer together and complete it together. The mountain leads you in nicely with a shallow gradient. We were riding together, holding a conversation interspaced with the odd “Bonjour” to the other riders that passed us and we passed and generally enjoying the great weather.
Then we hit the forest section. It was like a wall and every bit as hard as people say. The forest surrounds you, the air is still and we’re riding so slowly the flies hover around us, tormenting us as we just can’t ride fast enough to escape them. It’s an unrelenting 7km and all that’s getting me through is the thought of a rest at Chalet Reynard. We emerge out the forest and there it is in front of us. We climbed off our bikes, had a stretch and we filled our bottles at the bar.
We decide to crack on and tackle the next 7km that is the famous moonscape of the mountain. It’s iconic and seeing the weather station at the top within touching distance spurred us on and I forget about the pain in my legs.
A quick pause at the Tommy Simpson memorial to pay our respects and we carried on to the top.
We've been lucky wind wise with just a breeze at the top… then we round the final hairpin and I got hit by a gust of wind so severe I had to un-clip to steady myself. I re-clip and ride to the top. We've done it, climbed the mighty Mont Ventoux.
Ascent one completed.
We get our cards stamped in the shop and as we’re feeling great, we decide to roll down the other side to tackle the climb from Malaucene. Henry loves a descent so he’s straight in the 11 cog and mashing the pedals. I follow at a slightly reduced paced. About 5km down I find Henry in a wooden barrier on the outside of a hairpin bend. Luckily he’s fine, just a little scratched from the wooden barrier which he skimmed along. The decent just goes on and on and I'm now acutely aware of what I'm going to have to climb as soon as we hit the bottom. We reach the town of Malaucene, pop into the bike shop at the bottom and get our card stamped. We fill our bottles up at a fountain in the town and decide to waste no more time and get cracking with the second climb.
The climb profile from Malaucene looks like this:
It's all going well for the first couple of kilometres then it really hits me. I'm hurting, a lot. It’s 30 degrees and this climb is open, not sheltered by a forest so there’s no shade and I feel myself cook inside my helmet. I have to stop; I feel a ‘George’ moment coming on. Dave and Henry stop too and they stand, I slump, in the shelter of a tree off the road with another cyclist who’s also suffering. I take on some water and eat a banana and we set off again. The gradient just doesn't let up, I'm feeling low, very low. I want to step off the bike and roll back down to Malaucene. Henry and Dave are about 20m up the road. Dave is suffering and only has one pace, like me. Henry, annoyingly, was feeling good. He left Dave and came back to me to pace me up the hill and offer some encouragement. We get hit by a gust of wind, it’s a tailwind and morale is increased briefly, then the wind subsided again and again I was suffering, really suffering. I see a flat car park ahead on my left and tell the other I'm pulling over. I was in a bad place; I had gone full ‘George’. I make it over to the shade and collapse on the tarmac.
I eventually sit up and opposite me is the big white rock that George slumped over. I feel his pain. The mountain has hit me hard. Henry informs me Chalet Leotard is “just around a couple of corners and the gradient eases off”. I climb back on my bike, hung my helmet over my bars in a bid to keep cool and we set off. The gradient does soon relent enough and I recognise that we’re close to the café.
We grab a table, some cold Coke from the bar and eat some energy bars. I needed this twenty minute break, badly. My morale is lifted massively. We’ve broken the back of the challenge and we all know it. I've escaped the darkest moment I've had on a bike and emerged the other side feeling better for it. All we had now was the 6km ‘moonscape’ of Ventoux from the other side. Now Dave and I swapped places. I was doing OK, he was suffering. We each had own pace and couldn't do any more or less. I was alone now, Henry had gone back to pace Dave. Again, the weather station is within touching distance and it spurs us on. I stop at a hairpin and wait for Dave and Henry. We summit it for the second time together.
A Dutch couple hear me arriving at the summit, there was a lot of grunting and “Shut up legs” coming from my mouth. We tell them about the challenge we’re doing and that we’re two climbs in. They laugh and say we’re crazy. I have to agree. They kindly took a group photo at the summit.
Dave, me, Henry
We stamp our cards for a second time in the shop at the summit and decide to descend down the Chalet Reynard for some much needed ‘proper’ food and drink, well, Orangina and cheese and ham baguettes.
All that’s left now is the Sault climb, the ‘easiest’ of the three at 26km in length but at a friendly gradient between Sault and Chalet Reynard.
The road has been recently resurfaced. It’s a 20km decent from Chalet Reynard and it’s perfect; flowing corners, smooth, grippy tarmac and great scenery. When the gradient levels out we’re coasting through lavender fields and before we know it, we’re entering Sault. We walk into the tourist information office and the lady is already reaching for her stamp. Cards stamped, we fill our bottles up at a fountain and set off. It’s a lovely climb. We climb together at a pace that lets us chat away. We’re close, so close to finishing this. I even got into the big ring in the section before we emerge out at Chalet Reynard.
We arrive in Chalet Reynard together, have a stretch, fill our bottles and get ready for the final 7km to the summit. 7km and we’re done, no more pain. Henry is feeling good, Dave and I are both suffering so Henry went up on his own, Dave and I suffer together. Henry puts thirty minutes into us in that 7km. Dave and I are struggling now and we’re stopping every couple of bends for water and gels. We have a little rest at the Tommy Simpson memorial and Henry descends to meet us there and to pace us up. I think this photograph sums up how I feel at this point.
We pick our bikes up for the final 1km. The wind had really kicked up now. It’s >50km/h and I’m down to 5km/h myself, weaving across the road. I glance down at my Garmin and I have a few minutes to make it to the summit before 8:00pm. I REALY want to do this in less than twelve hours. The wind is horrendous and I'm battling it with everything I have. I finally summit for the third time with seconds to spare in true Hollywood fashion. Cue much handshakes and celebrations. The shop was shut so no third summit stamps for our cards. The wind was getting dangerous so we decided to get back down to Bedoin rather than hang around at the summit.
The descent to Bedoin takes thirty minutes and it seems like yesterday we were suffering on that ascent. We all descend at different speeds so we agreed to meet at the start point to stamp our cards for the final time.
Challenge completed. Card completed.
Time for celebratory pizza and Orangina.
Now there was just the three hour drive to Grenoble so tackle l’Alpe d’Huez the following day…
richardxjr said:
Brilliant effort and writing. Couple of Qs, did you have to nominate the ride date and level of silliness when applying, ie in advance?
Just fill in your details on the website and they send you out the card and bike plate. From then it's completely down to the rider(s) when they ride.Gassing Station | Pedal Powered | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff