Note: This post has been a work in progress for a few days now. I had some technical issues with the photos I took on this ride. I have now have everything worked out. I apologize for the delay.
I mentioned before that I am going on a road trip. I picked up my rental car Thursday morning, loaded up my bicycle and the bare necessities and took off to see more of France and to take my chances on a few more famous climbs in the French mountains.
Today, I have two over-riding themes to work on. First, today is the Fourth of July and I might be the only one in France who cares about this. Their big day is 10 days later, Bastille Day. For my 4th celebration, there will be fireworks. I promise!
As for the second theme, I need to mention that 50 years ago this month, man first stepped on the moon. Besides celebrating the 4th of july, I will also celebrate the epic feat of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. I have decided that I am going to visit the moon too. I can only recall one mountain that evokes images of a moonscape. The famous Mont Ventoux located in the central massif of France. It is another beast of a bicycle ride to get to the top and realistically, probably the hardest ride I will attempt on this trip. And that is saying a lot considering the rides I have already completed.
I drove to the city of Orange and decided to get a hotel there. since it the closest city of any real size to the start of the ride in Malaucene. It was around 2;00 in the afternoon so when I got out of my air conditioned car, I realized that the major heat wave might have ended, but it was still pretty hot. At least in the 90’s, but I was not sure of the exact temperature.
My original plan was to get the hotel room early on so I could ride Mont Ventoux in the afternoon and not have to worry about finding a room in the evening after the ride and not knowing when that might be. But with the hot temperatures, I thought that I needed a Plan B that would involve doing the ride in the morning on Friday just in case the temperature was going to be too much to ride in. I drove up to Malaucene to go see which plan it would be!
Once in Malaucene, it was still hot at 3:00. Looking up at the mountain, it looked like the early portion of the ride would be in the shade of the forest and maybe by the time I got above the tree line, the temperatures might start to cool down with the higher elevation and the later time in the afternoon. I decided to give Plan A a go! Plus, I saw another rider head up the road just before I was ready to head out. If someone else could do it, so could I. I started up the road right at 3:30.
No warm up for this ride. It points upward right from the beginning. Somewhere in the 5-8% range. Not super steep, but steep enough to get your attention and understanding that this is going to be a long, hard ride for all 21km that entail the distance to the top. I also found out that there wasn’t any shade along the route at all. The trees were not dense enough or overhanging the road to offer any respite from the glaring sun.
At around the 7km point, the ride started getting VERY serious. This is also where I caught up to the rider who had started before me earlier. As we rode up gradients that were 9-10%, the other rider began to fade and I passed him up. He hooked onto my back wheel and stayed with me for a while, but eventually fell off the pace. But then, the road pitched up even higher! I began to see the gradient was fluctuating between 11-12% and even higher for short periods of time on the roadside markers which are located every kilometer. The roadside markers are a cruel reminder of the agony that awaits and how far you still need to ride to the top.
After a while, the gradient and the temperature began to take its toll on me. You know its steep when you start wishing for a 9% gradient to the road! And then here came the other rider that I had passed earlier. Went right by me since I had slowed to a snails pace. I was beginning to think that all my friends with compact gearing might actually be onto something. Lower gears would have been really nice right about that point! So at the 11km mark, I made a strategic decision to take a quick break and take on some needed food to try to recharge my rapidly depleting energy stores.
It sort of worked! I felt better after the 4 minute break off the bike, but the road was still really steep. Luckily, it eased up a bit after the 12km mark and I was able to regroup and spin up some more moderate 5-8% grades for a bit. It really didn’t last very long but it was enough. The road would tilt upwards again to the 10-12% range, but not for really long stretches anymore. Steep portions, but with moderate places to recover after. A good recipe at that point. And then you can start to see the summit and see that it is still a LONG way away. The massive tower that dominates the summit of the mountain can be seen from the valley floor as a matter of fact.
The tower was still very high above me and you can see all of the switchbacks still to be climbed. But just like the Col de la Croix de Fer, seeing the end gives you an almost endless supply of motivation.
The last few kilometers went by with the summit getting closer and closer. Then finally, there were no more turns. I made it, but the top came just in time. I said that there would be fireworks today. No one could see them: They were going off inside of my legs!
At the top, I met the other rider who had passed me up at the end. He was a young pup with almost no body fat. That is just not fair. Then he told me the he had already rode up the mountain from a different route earlier in the day. THAT WAS IMPRESSIVE. I anointed him “Le Roi Des Montagnes”, the King of the Mountains!
It was a hard ride for sure. Easily the hardest ride I have ridden in France and pretty sure it is the hardest ride I have ever ridden. I have ridden some tough ones, but the total elevation gain and gradients are hard to match anywhere. Two hours and 10 minutes of extreme effort over 21km and 5,192 feet of elevation gain.
Normally after a hard ride like this one, I would usually have a big plate of pasta. Not today! For the Fourth of July, I enjoyed a hamburger and fries, thank you very much!
Hey Greg- Congrats- sounds like a serious ride, great photos. I was going to ask- do many people speak English- how are you getting along being a foreigner? I would bet your dinner included a couple of glasses of an adult beverage or two!!
Greg, the language issue is interesting. No one really seeks english around here as a “first” language of course. And I alway heard the the French are rude and won’t speak any other language besides French. These are all false rumors as far as I can tell. People, especially younger people know how to speak english pretty well and are not hesitant to speak to me in English. Very surprising. Also, I have been able to “communicate” with people in French, but don’t mistake that for “speaking French”. I know words and phrases, but my grammar is bad and my vocabulary is very limited. Still, I am getting better.
I was going to mention from your earlier comment that you should google the Millau Viaduct Bridge. I think you would understand my fascination with it, from both an engineering and artistic perspective.
Hi Greg- thanks for the quick reply. Did you catch the Tour de France today- I know was stage 1. I’m at work (big surprise) and not able to watch. But I did ride my road bike in and parked it in my office and not in the bike rack- I’m so “sticking it to the Man”! Your pictures and descriptions are great- I can picture myself riding along side of you, suffering and complaining all the way! I get the bridge- an engineering marvel. But the painting?
Greg, you should know that on all of my rides here in France, I feel that all of my cycling friends are riding right along side of me, but especially you, Steve and Paul. Thank you guys for your inspiration and camaraderie over the many years.
I have not been able to see the tour much since I don’t have TV in my flat. I did see some of it from the hotel I stayed at this last weekend, but it is all in french obviously. Mostly I am just getting the summaries from CyclingNews. I miss Phil, Bobke, Christian, and now Chris Horner. I will miss Paul Sherwen for ever!
Now, about the Van Gogh…..Just personal taste I guess. Vive La Difference!
WOW
I’m exhausted just reading your eloquent description!
Hardest ride ever is saying something for you.
Brian, I guess I should clarify that. The ride up Mont Ventoux was the hardest individual climb I probably have ever done. I have done some really hard rides that included multiple climbs. The Tour of the California Alps (aka The Death Ride) and the Mt. Shasta Super Century were really long hard days with multiple huge climbs as well. I was a lot younger in those days. Hmmm…….
I love the photos and writing. A toast to you for accomplishing that moon landing. Keep up the posts.
Well done Greg!! Tough ride, especially in the heat.
Greg, you are the king of the mountain, not queen, not prince, not duke. Love the tie-in to the lunar landing. More like the lunatic landing….keep on riding!
Carol, Thanks for following the blog again this year. It means a lot to me. I think that you are not the only one who thinks it should be “lunatic”! Sometimes, even I think it.