My Biking Blog

Friday, 3 July 2015

100 Cols Day 21 Châteauneuf-du-Pape to Malaucene 85km 2000m climbing

Today was all about the mountain. Mont Ventoux is given the name “The Giant of Provence” which has an imposing profile seen for miles around in the vineyards and sunflower fields of Provence. It is a famous climb in the TDF and has been the location of many legendary cycling battles in Le Tour. It is rated as one of the most difficult climbs in the TDF and typically is featured as a mountain top finish. This makes it quite a spectacle as the roads are lined with 1000’s of spectators/tourists as the riders make their way up the steep road to the weather station at the top. Stage road races like the TDF are unique in that they allow the public to come within arms-reach of the pro athletes. Not so many spectators for us today, but we could imagine the experience as we turned the pedals toward the top.
We started early at 730am to avoid the high temperatures of the afternoon. The official climb starts in the town of Bedoin, which meant a 40km ride to get there from our camp. So after early lunch we met in Bedoin for a coffee and to assemble ourselves into handicap groups for a friendly “time-trial” on the 23 km climb. I was starting from about the middle of the group and made good progress up the mountain over the first 10km, overtaking quite a few other riders. There are unforgiving sections with grades over 10% most of the way.
With a combination of steady pedalling in my lowest gear and watching my heart rate I found the climbing progressed well until the gradient dropped at the 12km mark. This allowed me to stand up on the pedals and get some momentum. The view here is very unusual as you leave the forest and enter the “moonscape” of the upper slopes of Ventoux. It is a rocky slope which is almost white (and looks like snow from below on a sunny day) but this section is notoriously windy with wind speeds reaching over 200kph on some days during the year. Le Meteo reports that the wind blows at up to 60kph for over 250 days in the year on average. We were lucky today as the wind factor was zero and the temps were in early 30s and dropped down several degrees at the top (1900m). A helicopter evacuation was underway at the carpark 7km from the summit. A quite steep (14%) section greets you 200m from the summit.
Many bought souvenirs at the shops at the top. Jerseys, shorts, caps, t-shirts, key-rings – you name it you can buy it with Mt Ventoux printed on it! After a coke break and a group photo at the top we headed down to camp in Malaucene for a well-earned rest day tomorrow.
Garmin link here
Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cycling by peterjkemp at Garmin Connect - Details

Chateauneuf du Pape

Greg and Rob head toward Bedoin - Ventoux is in the background

Bedoin

Cafe at Bedoin

Bedoin - start of Ventoux time trial

Bedoin

Helicopter on Ventoux

Ventoux

Tom Simpson memorial

Ventoux summit panorama

Mark at Ventoux

Thomas at Ventoux

100 Cols Ventoux group

Niki at Ventoux

Wednesday, 1 July 2015

100 Cols Day 20 Sainte-Croix-Vallée-Française to Chateuneuf du Pape 147km 1900m climbing

Today offered another chance to take it easy and enjoy a relatively flat course. So I was able to tackle the first two relatively short climbs and then keep a steady pace for the remainder of the course. On the section from lunch to Uzes, which was pretty flat, I rode with Dutch cyclist Eddy. Together we were able to average 30kph for at least an hour. After stopping in Usez to grab a coke and take a few photos I set out solo for the next hour or so and eventually caught Eddy again 15kms from the finish. On the way over the last climb we were able to see the profile of Mont Ventoux which we will cycle up tomorrow. A small group of us grabbed a coke or two in Tavel which set us up perfectly for the downhill section to the campsite at Chateauneuf-du-Pape. The campsite here is excellent with a pool and great hot showers. Garmin link here Sainte-Croix-Vallée-Française Cycling by peterjkemp at Garmin Connect - Details

Greg and Paul help Tim change a tube while Gerhard watches

Lasalle

Lasalle Eddy and William

St. Nazaires des Gardies

St. Nazaires des Gardies - Eddy, Tom, Cindy and Jeff

St. Nazaires des Gardies

near Uzes

Uzes

Tavel Mark enjoys a coke

Chateauneuf-du-Pape

Chateaunuef-du-Pape Mark (asleep) and Tim

100 Cols Day 19 Soubes to Ste. Croix-Vallee-Francaise 147km 2800m climbing

“The food was great again!”. Jaap our cook typed this on my blog page while I went to order a beer. But it’s true, so I will leave it in! The first two climbs of the day were Cote de St. Pierre and Cote de la Cros. This section was enjoyable as the temperature was cool and the morning air fresh and clear. Five of us (myself, Thomas, Tony, Carolyn and Joergen) decided to take a diversion of approximately 14km.
This was to the Cirque de Navacelles which is a huge natural amphitheatre created by water and chemical erosion of the rock formations in this plateau. It has created a dish-shaped gorge with the town of Navacelles at the bottom. There is a narrow gorge which follows a river to the west, however there no road access and there is only a walking trail.
The climb out of Navacelles was tough but only short (6kms) and we found a restaurant at the top in a campground where we were able to order a refreshing coke/coffee. Back on the route we were concerned we may miss the lunch truck so we set out at a brisk pace.
The big climb of the day was the Col de Minier which went on for just over 20kms. The temperature was hot but because of the time of day and the fact we were riding east there was plenty of shade on our side of the valley.
After slogging up the mountain we enjoyed a lunch stop at Col de Minier. The afternoon started with a short climb up to Mont Aigoual and great views from the observatory and lookout at the top. There was a café at the summit so it was good to have a "3 C's" stop (coke, coffee and cornetto) at 1500km.
The final climb of Col de Solperiere was a real struggle for most riders. Time was 330pm and the sun was beating down on the pavement. Sections of the bitumen were melting so it was important to watch the front wheel and avoid slipping on the surface. At the top of the final ascent a few of us found a bar/café and ordered a couple of well-earned beers.
The final descent was pretty tricky with some sharp turns and very narrow sections. Late into camp (6pm) because it was a long course (147kms) and our diversion to Cirque de Navacelles cost us an extra hour exploring the site and climbing out of the valley. Garmin link here
Fozières Cycling by peterjkemp at Garmin Connect - Details