Approaching The Summit
Mt Ventoux, a near 2000m mountain sitting proudly in Provence, Southern France has long been an attraction for cyclists to ride one of the hardest climbs in Europe. It is infamous for claiming the life of Tom Simpson in the Tour de France , probably one of the UK’s best ever cyclists in the 1960s. It rises relentlessly for over 13 miles with an average gradient of 9% and near the top it is nearer 14%. The mountain top is subject to vicious high winds and bad weather even in Summer.
So on 22nd June my friend Ian and I decided to have a bash at it ‘cos it’s there! We drove over 600 miles there on the Monday, rode 60 odd miles near the mountain Tuesday including going over the Col de Madeleine , climbed the mountain on Wed and drove back on the Thursday.
Very hot weather on Tuesday was replaced by wet and windy on the climb day. Just as well as it kept us cool on the lower slopes but on the summit the wind chill factor made it seem sub zero. We didn’t stay there too long. We paid our respects at Tom’s memorial just half a mile below the summit and enjoyed the 13 mile downhill ride. Like the best skiing ever!
Our climb to the summit from Beduin (The Tour de France Route) took us 2hr 17 mins, a respectable time for us. I used a granny ring with a 30 on front and 29 at the back so it was Ok. A hard ride but we expected and planned for it and were rewarded with a great feeling of satisfaction.
We Made it!