Legends are central to any culture, ours perhaps more than most. The Ventoux is a French legend, rising 1912m above the rolling hills of Provence. The road is thick with the paint of Tours past and the names of giants. The grade is 7%, on average, though 10, 11, and 12% are routine throughout the middle section. The classical route begins in a small town, winds through the forest, and ends amidst the moon-like rocks of the summit.
My ride up the Ventoux was not pre-mediated, unless you count my wife’s comment as we boarded the plane “You know, we’ll be pretty close to the Ventoux,” she mused. The only cycling-specific thing I brought with me was my trusty Castelli wool cap. But once we arrived in Provence, the mountain stared at me. Riding it was the obvious choice.
It could have been a Mastercard advertisement. Bike shorts: 22 Euro. Bike rental: 25 Euro. Impromptu ride up the Ventoux in October: Priceless. Except the local bike shop only took cash. The LBS did have Hervé, who was more than happy to set me up and point me in the right direction. As I left the shop, he asked if I had everything I needed. “Vous avez d’EPO?” he asked. Before I could formulate a response, he explained that he always rides with EPO: Energie (energy), Pastis (French liquor), and Ouefs (French for eggs, which is slang for balls). “Oui, j’ai d’EPO”.
Many rRules were broken, perhaps more than the number of kilometers ridden. I did not look pro; I looked like the tourist that I am. I had a screw-top water bottle from the gas station and street shoes in toe clips with the straps cinched down hard enough to leave a mark on each foot that is still there 24 hours later. I did manage to pass a few guys in full kits and carbon frames. And then, I got passed in the last km by a 22-year-old kid in a local team kit, with no helmet and a fanny pack. The French, apparently, have their own rules.
Rules! Hear me fools: The Rules mark the beginning of the path to enlightenment, not the end. There are higher planes, expanding dimensions. Beyond the color of your bar tape exists a man, a mountain, and a bike. This is where the world begins.
Legends are things that lodge in memory, things that are unique enough to pause space and time. The best legends are those that transcend.
To ride a legend is to find that place, to connect the mystic with the real. Le Mont Ventoux, c’est une légende superieure.
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@gilly
Rule #5 is all anyone needs. The Ventoux in street shoes and toe clips, check. As Jim says, the Ride is bigger than The Rules. It's good to be reminded of that often.
Chapeau! Great write up. Ventoux is magical, surreal, and ever changing. Glad I missed this day, though:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaRuW10EP2A
Cinglé du Mont Ventoux #4651
Love the write up!
The anology of what you've written could pretty much sum up most rides, no matter how big the obstacle, whether it be a mountain or sheer physical limitations.
Its in the Ride that we rejoice, the doing and then the done !
Well played and thanks for posting.
Ok, gratuitous hero shot of me on Ventoux! September 2011. Myself and Mrs DR were in Bedoin for 2 days with bike hired, we wake up and it is pouring, but not too cold. Bugger it we think. Come all this way, bit of rule 9 and off we go with gillet, arm warmers and winter gloves in plastic bags for the descent. It rained for the entire climb except for the bit near the top where it was sleeting! The Mrs beat me up by about 5 mins (that's normal, she has the power to weight ratio of an Exocet missile) and was just turning around as I summitted so I conned some poor unfortunate into taking a photo of me.
It was freezing and blowing hard so I huddled near the building, put on the dry stuff and set off in pursuit of Mrs DR who is a more tentative downhiller than me and given the rivers of water flowing down the road was likely to be slower than normal. Anyway got to the bottom and no Mrs. Back to hotel, no Mrs. Shit. Drove back up to the Chalet in case she froze and holed up there. Nope. Fuck. Into town, back to hotel, nothing. Turns out in the mist and being mostly frozen she had taken the road to Sault! Found a goat farmer near the bottom, talked him into bring her back to Bedoin to the hotel we were staying in whoe name she didn't know and whose location she had a vague idea of.
Safe to say neither of us will ever forget that mountain in a hurry. The next day the sky was clear so we rode through the gorge to Sault planning on climbing that side. the locals informed us the wind was horrible at the top so we aborted and drove up instead to watch several people physically blown off their bikes at the top. Awesome couple of days!
Chapeau!
I did something very similar when holidaying in the Alps with my young family. We stayed in Bourg D'Oisans for a few days, which as you know is at the foot of the 21 switchbacks of Alpe D'Huez. One evening just as the kids were going to bed I sneaked out, hired a bike and cycled up with just a bottle of water and a banana, just because it was there.
DR, if you ever feel like a 2 man Cogal in the Tweed, fly up. I'll pick you up, put you up and show you my favourite rides. If your wife wants to come, there are many good places to stay nearby at Kingscliff.
No Ventoux, but a few solid hilly rides.
How does one send a PM ?
@Ken Ho The only way is to email the keepers and ask them to pass on a message along with your email address.
@Teocalli
I'm very sorely tempted although spring might be a bit too close to KT14 and a bit windy/snowy still at the top. Franco and Dave did Ventoux on their way to KT13 and mentioned that it was a bit nippy.
How about a late May / early June Cogal du Ventoux?
@Chris
Yeah I have to admit I thought later would be better too - especially if the Alps have a repeat of the snow depth they had last winter. Late May is probably better for me or even later in the summer as I have 2 weekend events in June already.