Mont Ventoux

Awake at sunrise, and technically out the door to head off cycling, but around 7 we finally made it away ;-)

Decided to take the “easy” route, so off to Sault we drove, around 39km to get there, and found a park outside the village, courtesy of a lovely old French woman.

A quick fuel up, bananas and water, and on the bike at 8.25 and away! 24km and 1300m of climbing ahead. Temp of around 11 degrees, but perfect for the ride, and no wind.

The first stage of the ride is a gentle incline, through beautiful forest, and so green. And being relatively early, so quiet. Hardly any cars or cyclists, and only the noise of the occasional cuckoo to keep us company. Aside from my panting. So unfit.

After 1.5 hours and 18km, we arrived at the bike park and the transition between forest and alpine. A quick stop for a drink and pain au Chocolate, signaled the start of the real pain. Only 6km, but another 500m of steady climbing.

An hour later we were at the top, me being tail end Charlie … need just a tad more fitness, The saucisson, cheese and wine, as well as a few months without fitness were showing!

Absolutely gorgeous at the top, slightly cool, but cloudless and no wind, just amazing. And to top it off, the French air force were doing aerial displays over the top of the mountain. Wow! Jets at full speed thundering just above the summit, with the occasional high speed roll.

Coffee and lunch, admiring the view, and then all too soon it was time to head down. 24km downhill, woohoo! Brilliant ride down with a few stop s for photos and 45 minutes later we were back at the car. As steady stream of bikes and cars up hill, so it was good move coming early, we ride up in relative piece. Stava tells me we had around 3.10 hours of total ride time, over 4.26 hours, with 1447 of climbing. What a fab ride, just loved it, but, more fitness and I’d love it more, And a better bike …

Time to head back but we decided it might be useful to complete the camping gear purchases. Off to near Avignon. What an amazing sports shop, just HUGE. Lots of stuff and all pretty reasonably priced. Managed also with the help of Google, and then Google translate, to find some fuel for our stove.

Have to say, the technology on the trip has been amazing. Best decision to buy a local sim card so we had internet access, it’s been a godsend for Google maps, Google translate, and just general searching. Linked obviously with the GPS in the car.

Back to drop off the bikes and the supermarket. More cheese, more pate, more wine! And then back to Velo Pernes. Super nice guy that helped us. The two bikes for the day, spare tubes for us both, and a pump, all for 15 euro each. I think the price was actually 25, but when he found we were from Nouvelle Zealande, the price changed. A friend of his toured NZ by bike for 2 months.

And finally home. To the pool for a swim, a beer, and a read. And now a great evening, warm, no wind, perfect for an outdoor Provençale meal.

Paradise.