After our recent hard work it was time to relax in the vibrant if somewhat noisy town of Malaucene while we gave serious consideration to whether or not we'd tackle the legendary Mont Ventoux.
Our first day in Malaucene was very much a housekeeping day catching up with our washing and wasting 30 mins of our lives while we attempted to work out how the hell to use our French labelled washing machine ! After our last start fiasco (cold water no washing powder) we decided to throw caution to the wind and put powder in all possible inlets figuring that one of them would be the right one ! What confused us though was the temperature settings with one selection of 1, 000 degrees making us think that we'd turn our washing into dolls clothes if we selected it - then the penny dropped what we'd been playing around with were in fact the dryer settings of a dual washing machine / dryer !
We finally figured we'd be much safer simply washing the clothes and then hanging them over our 1st floor railing just like any self respecting french person would do - problem solved !
Washing out of the way there wasn't much else to do so Rick and I headed out of town on a 26 km return cycle to take in some of the nearby (supposed) gorge scenery. While the cycling kept the legs in tune with over 400 metres of climbing the scenery was disappointing with the gorge we chose just a river bed that apparently is better known for river walking than for any spectacle unlike the Gorge de Nesque many further kms afield.
To complete a quiet day it was internet catch up and dinner alfresco at one of a number of the towns pizzerias on a fairly quiet Friday night if you didn't count the stream of motorcycle trail bike riders (here for weekend competition) strutting their wares painfully down the main street
Saturday was D day with our plan to give Mont Ventoux a go ! This famous TDF mountain is legendary for its notoriously difficult climb. Although the traditional route is from Bedouin the route from Malaucene is very similar with 21kms at a 7.5% gradient average with high points at 12% as it weaves its way to the 1920 metre peak famed for its moonscape features.
Incredibly while reading through the visitors book at our apartment I came across an entry from a group from Tasmania who were over to commemorate with British relatives the 50th anniversary of the death of the well known British pro rider Tom Simpson who died on Ventoux supposedly as a result of a deadly combination of drugs, alcohol and the stress of the climb. Simpson's passing is imortalised on Ventoux with a memorial that is regularly added to by passing cyclists.
As for our crack I'd arranged with Rick to give it a go in the morning with a perfect days forecast and no wind for the climb. Noel had pleaded insanity as an out for not climbing which we readily accepted based on the evidence we'd seen so far on tour. Henley also outed claiming a severely bruised bum which again was duly accepted simply because none of us wanted to check him over in order to verify it !
Now down to Rick and self and about to set off the boys noticed that I had a broken spoke on my front wheel and bugger all left on my disc pads on my rear wheel so off I raced to the local bike shop, leaving it to Rick to head off accompanied by Noel who just wanted to check out the start of Ventoux.
An hour or so in while waiting to pick up my bike Rick returned valiant in defeat stating that he'd made 4kms of the 21km climb but realised that with some big days ahead that he'd be RS if he continued with the route getting steeper by the kilometre !
That left me in 2 minds about giving it a go with mountain climbing not something this "body" does with great enjoyment especially on a mountain / touring equipped bike
Still with the bike now repaired and the sun out I thought what the heck ! After passing the sign that announced the mountains profile I got stuck in. The first few kms were pretty cruzy at 4-5% before the climb really upped the ante jumping progressively to 6-7-8 then 9%.
The notoriety of Ventoux is that the climb is relentless with few if any resting places. With it starting to get serious I noticed that every km marker noting the average gradient was a bit misleading as the gradients were all over the place e.g. a 6% gradient average could mean a few hundred metres at 4% followed a few hundred at 8% and so on.
Still I was enjoying it to this point, lovely views (although hazy) down to the valley, the beautiful autumn colour of the trees and other cyclists mainly roadies that were passing me coming up or flying down the hill at incredible speeds ! Feeling good at one point I noticed I was closing quite quickly on a couple of cyclists doing wonders for me ego until in passing I realised that they were in fact riding fold up Bromptons with their small wheels !
I knew at some point I'd hit the steep bits and sure enough at the 11km mark the sign read 12 % which now meant I was pushing harder than was comfortable to keep up any form of serious progress. At the 10km to go sign it read 11% and knowing there was more of the same in store I decided wisely t turn back knowing that I was in serious danger of not having much skin left on my rear end if I continued.
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| It's getting tough ! |
Happy at giving it a crack I flew back down the Mtn to catch up and report to the boys before going out and checking out the town.
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| Malaucene |
So a well done to Rick for giving it a go and I reckon that both of us can feel well satisfied having come all this way to check out the legendary MV !
There was not much more to do other than go out to our favourite Pizzeria again at night and get ready for our departure tomorrow when we get back into serious touring mode !
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