B subgroup - Monday 11th May - Mt Ventoux

An assortment of B Group riders arrived in Aurel on Saturday evening after riding from Orange where the European Bike Bus had dropped us off. Despite not getting our usual quota of sleep we enjoyed the ride up through the Gorges de la Nesque but after the gorge strong headwind and a little more climbing left us all feeling quite exhausted.

At dinner we discussed the detail for our intended assault on Mt Ventoux, deciding on Monday or Tuesday. But after a fairly easy day on Sunday, and the promise of good conditions, we went for it on Monday. The weather was perfect and we all felt well recovered. We started with the 6km turn down to Sault to catch the road to the top. The profile from Sault is a 20 km ride up to our elevenses café stop at Chalet Reynard over a very steady gradient followed by a much steeper climb for the last 6 kms to the top. The ride to the café at this time of the year is quite beautiful with all the roadside trees displaying their fresh and youthful green foliage. The road surface is impeccable all the way up.

Mt Ventoux is partly known for being completely barren above a certain altitude. The absence of any vegetation up there somehow creates an optical deception by which the summit appears much closer than it really is. This illusion is maintained at least as far as the Tommy Simpson memorial where we stopped to pay homage and to recover our breath before the final heave to the top.

We all made it to the 1912m summit and we were most jubilant about our achievement. This whole adventure had been Pam's idea and would, in any event, have seemed rather crazy. We enjoyed the warm air and lack of wind at the restaurant where we we able to eat outside.

On the way down we stopped at the memorial again for some photos before coasting at great speed to the café for more refreshment but more especially to buy our new Mt Ventoux tops.

From Chalet Reynard the ride down to Sault proved to be one of the most pleasurable descents of all time, the gradient being just right for a high speed without having the brakes permanently clamped on.

For this week we have stayed in the hotel le Relais du Mont Ventoux which has been perfect in every way. Despite the large number of cyclists here we have been looked after extremely well and our memories of the trip will be as much of the good time at the hotel as they will be of all the good rides we have had during the week.

~ Tim

View from our hotel