Sunday 23 September 2012
Thursday 13 September 2012
Mont Ventoux - part deux
After my first encounter with 'The Giant of Provence' last week, I was naturally keen to return to have a go from Bedoin, which is widely acknowledged to be the most difficult ascent.
The climb started off fairly easily as I cycled past the bike shop that records your official time, at a fairly leisurely 3 or 4%. After a few km however, a sharp left hand hairpin at Les Bruns signalled the start of a long and arduous section that wound its way through a forest, with virtually no hairpin bends or switchbacks on which to recover.
The signposts dotted at every km told me that this section went on for approximately 8 or 9km at an average gradient of 9%+. Alone with nothing but the sound of my own breathing for company, I settled into a rhythm that I could sustain and pedalled steadily up the seemingly interminable road ahead. Fortunately, I must have been having a good day. The km markers slipped by more quickly than I expected as I occasionally knocked it down a couple of gears to stretch my back, before settling back into the 34x28.
Before long, the forest abated and the familiar sight of Chalet Reynard popped into view but I opted to keep on pedalling as I'd now decided this was to be a non-stop attempt. Miraculously, I seemed to get a fleeting second wind after Chalet Reynard, and managed to knock it down a couple of cogs as the gradient eased to 7% for a while. After a couple of km however, Le Mistral brought me down to earth as it pelted me full in the face, and stayed that way for the last 3 of 4 km, hiding the summit behind a grey veil of cloud and rain. The top therefore came as a surprise and I only hung around long enough to exchange e-mail addresses with a Belgian who would be visiting Wales soon (I told him to be sure he does the Bwlch Y Groes from Dinas Mawddwy). The descent passed in a heartbeat, the loud flapping of my jacket and whoops of joy drowning out the puffs and pants of the hundreds of other climbers still making their way up the Giant.
So now the question, which side is hardest? I personally didn't find this more difficult than the ascent from Maulacene. On paper they should be similar climbs as both are around 21-22km in length and both average around 7.5%. Today however was a little cooler and I was also fresher, having driven the 25 or so miles from Cairanne to Bedoin. There were also few other climbers on the road as I set off from Bedoin at 9am, so I wasn't inadvertently drawn into any little contests which would waste precious energy. Unlike on the Maulecene climb however, no-one passed me on my ascent from Bedoin and I did have two little stops on the Maulacene ascent. I can't honestly say that one side is more difficult than the other, they're just different. I've been with the Crapiwheelers long enough to know that some days you have 'it' and some days you don't. Today it seems that I might have just had 'it'.
Find more Bike Ride in BÉDoin, France
The climb started off fairly easily as I cycled past the bike shop that records your official time, at a fairly leisurely 3 or 4%. After a few km however, a sharp left hand hairpin at Les Bruns signalled the start of a long and arduous section that wound its way through a forest, with virtually no hairpin bends or switchbacks on which to recover.
The signposts dotted at every km told me that this section went on for approximately 8 or 9km at an average gradient of 9%+. Alone with nothing but the sound of my own breathing for company, I settled into a rhythm that I could sustain and pedalled steadily up the seemingly interminable road ahead. Fortunately, I must have been having a good day. The km markers slipped by more quickly than I expected as I occasionally knocked it down a couple of gears to stretch my back, before settling back into the 34x28.
Before long, the forest abated and the familiar sight of Chalet Reynard popped into view but I opted to keep on pedalling as I'd now decided this was to be a non-stop attempt. Miraculously, I seemed to get a fleeting second wind after Chalet Reynard, and managed to knock it down a couple of cogs as the gradient eased to 7% for a while. After a couple of km however, Le Mistral brought me down to earth as it pelted me full in the face, and stayed that way for the last 3 of 4 km, hiding the summit behind a grey veil of cloud and rain. The top therefore came as a surprise and I only hung around long enough to exchange e-mail addresses with a Belgian who would be visiting Wales soon (I told him to be sure he does the Bwlch Y Groes from Dinas Mawddwy). The descent passed in a heartbeat, the loud flapping of my jacket and whoops of joy drowning out the puffs and pants of the hundreds of other climbers still making their way up the Giant.
So now the question, which side is hardest? I personally didn't find this more difficult than the ascent from Maulacene. On paper they should be similar climbs as both are around 21-22km in length and both average around 7.5%. Today however was a little cooler and I was also fresher, having driven the 25 or so miles from Cairanne to Bedoin. There were also few other climbers on the road as I set off from Bedoin at 9am, so I wasn't inadvertently drawn into any little contests which would waste precious energy. Unlike on the Maulecene climb however, no-one passed me on my ascent from Bedoin and I did have two little stops on the Maulacene ascent. I can't honestly say that one side is more difficult than the other, they're just different. I've been with the Crapiwheelers long enough to know that some days you have 'it' and some days you don't. Today it seems that I might have just had 'it'.
Find more Bike Ride in BÉDoin, France
Friday 7 September 2012
Ventoux and Vineyard tour 07/09/12
The morning dawned warm and hazy across the vineyards of Cairanne with the promise of 30+ degrees later in the day. Fully loaded with a dubious looking assortment of powder in little bags and a couple of the obligatory 'Grany' bars, I set off, with not an insignificant amount of trepidation!
Le Mistral had been blowing on and off for the past few days, and today was no exception as I struggled to maintain 15mph on the fairly flat approach roads through the villages of Rasteau, Roaix and Vaison La Romaine. I very nearly pulled over to do that thing when you spin your back wheel to make sure your brake's not rubbing!
On the approach to Malucene the quantity of cyclists steadily increased, as did the general gradient and the menacing mass of the 'Giant of Provence' which began to dominate the skyline above. My intention had been to head to Bedoin and climb from there. However, in Malaucene I saw a sign to 'Le Mont Ventoux' and 'Bedoin' so I merrily joined the hundreds of others and started to steadily pump my way up the gradient, trying to find a rhythm I could sustain for the next 23k or so. It eventually occurred to me that the signpost to 'Bedoin' was actually the way you would go to Bedoin if you wanted to get there by going over the bloody mountain first! WTF!!!! By now I was committed, having already ridden about 7k of the climb so I decided to settle in and explore this previously unknown aspect of Ventoux, a bit like orbiting the dark side of the moon, I mused.
Now I'm reliably informed by everyone who has done it that the climb from Bedoin is harder, however the number and frequency of 12%, 11.5% and 10%+ markers all along the middle section of the climb did little to convince me of this! Would I actually make it? I thought. As I ticked off the upper km markers however, renewed confidence (or something, thanks Pharmacist Coppi) gave my tired legs a much needed boost, and before I could say 'no way', the summit observatory appeared startlingly close right above me. I stopped for a quick pit stop to gird my loins for the final push and got chatting to a nice Dutch bloke who told me that he and 700 other Dutch and Belgians cyclists were riding Ventoux that day to raise money for cancer research - Chapeau!! And there was me thinking it was always this busy!
The summit was soon won and after a couple of pics I settled in for 'Omlette et frites avec Coca et grand cafe au lait sil vous plait' before starting my descent to Bedoin. After a couple of miles I stopped for a moment to pay the respects of the Crapiwheelers to Tom Simpson and then soon found myself amongst pine trees where I encountered the first punc**** of the day, bugger! Bedoin came and went in a blink of the eye as I made my way over the Col De La Madelaine (no not THAT one) back to Malaucene. This col is only about 470 metres but with Ventoux in my legs it felt like a bloody 1st cat, and the views back over Ventoux from the little col were stunning.
The journey back to Cairanne was thankfully a much quicker affair, rolling along quite nicely between 22 and 28mph on the flat with Le Mistral at my side. All in all this was a pretty big day out for a solo ride, my only regret is that I didn't have the rest of the Crapis along with me to share the experience (and the work).
Find more Bike Ride in Saint-LÉGer-Du-Ventoux, France
Le Mistral had been blowing on and off for the past few days, and today was no exception as I struggled to maintain 15mph on the fairly flat approach roads through the villages of Rasteau, Roaix and Vaison La Romaine. I very nearly pulled over to do that thing when you spin your back wheel to make sure your brake's not rubbing!
On the approach to Malucene the quantity of cyclists steadily increased, as did the general gradient and the menacing mass of the 'Giant of Provence' which began to dominate the skyline above. My intention had been to head to Bedoin and climb from there. However, in Malaucene I saw a sign to 'Le Mont Ventoux' and 'Bedoin' so I merrily joined the hundreds of others and started to steadily pump my way up the gradient, trying to find a rhythm I could sustain for the next 23k or so. It eventually occurred to me that the signpost to 'Bedoin' was actually the way you would go to Bedoin if you wanted to get there by going over the bloody mountain first! WTF!!!! By now I was committed, having already ridden about 7k of the climb so I decided to settle in and explore this previously unknown aspect of Ventoux, a bit like orbiting the dark side of the moon, I mused.
Now I'm reliably informed by everyone who has done it that the climb from Bedoin is harder, however the number and frequency of 12%, 11.5% and 10%+ markers all along the middle section of the climb did little to convince me of this! Would I actually make it? I thought. As I ticked off the upper km markers however, renewed confidence (or something, thanks Pharmacist Coppi) gave my tired legs a much needed boost, and before I could say 'no way', the summit observatory appeared startlingly close right above me. I stopped for a quick pit stop to gird my loins for the final push and got chatting to a nice Dutch bloke who told me that he and 700 other Dutch and Belgians cyclists were riding Ventoux that day to raise money for cancer research - Chapeau!! And there was me thinking it was always this busy!
The summit was soon won and after a couple of pics I settled in for 'Omlette et frites avec Coca et grand cafe au lait sil vous plait' before starting my descent to Bedoin. After a couple of miles I stopped for a moment to pay the respects of the Crapiwheelers to Tom Simpson and then soon found myself amongst pine trees where I encountered the first punc**** of the day, bugger! Bedoin came and went in a blink of the eye as I made my way over the Col De La Madelaine (no not THAT one) back to Malaucene. This col is only about 470 metres but with Ventoux in my legs it felt like a bloody 1st cat, and the views back over Ventoux from the little col were stunning.
The journey back to Cairanne was thankfully a much quicker affair, rolling along quite nicely between 22 and 28mph on the flat with Le Mistral at my side. All in all this was a pretty big day out for a solo ride, my only regret is that I didn't have the rest of the Crapis along with me to share the experience (and the work).
Find more Bike Ride in Saint-LÉGer-Du-Ventoux, France
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