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Published: March 22nd 2018
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A long, hot, and demanding ride prior to a day off saw us all get in rather late, so this entry will likely only be posted on Saturday (especially since France is playing another World Cup match tonight, and I feel obligated to watch. You know - out of respect for our hosts).
Always a glutton for punishment (well, at least until my next birthday, at which point I may decide to start making some concessions), I opted to do the 'full' climb of Mont Ventoux, which first took me through the Gorges de la Nesque. Although this necessitated giving back much of yesterday's hard-earned elevation, it was well worth it as the views through the Gorge were exceptionally pleasant. Surprisingly, the road through it has a high mid-point, so I ended up giving back even more elevation than I had bargained for, and although the terrain was ideally suited to a high-speed descent, I actually took my time so as to savour the views (and save myself for the unknown yet to come).
By the time my altitude bottomed out, both the wind and temperature had increased, although the former was less of an issue in the early
stages of the ascent to Mont Ventoux, which was protected by trees. However, although I had started my day without a typical diesel-perfumed, rush-hour ascent, this was more than compensated for by the billows of brake dust (which I recently read was carcinogenic) that descending cars - which often traveled in packs - released. My speed of 8-10kph (and occasionally slower) afforded me plenty of time to fully appreciate the offerings. Why so slow? The average grade of the 21km climb overall is 7.6% and for each of kms6-15 ranges from 8.1% to 10.9%; the maximum pitch reached is 12%.
Once beyond 'tree line' (the lack of forestation is actually due to erosion, not altitude) the temperature dropped and the wind became quite fierce - a bitch to ride into but offering a slight respite from the grade once a switchback was reached. In due (some might say overdue) time I reached the final turn, and almost wiped out as it was so sharp that my foot - which had to continue pedaling because of the steepness of the grade - brushed against my tire as I turned. Undeterred I made it to the flat top and then continued
on up to the upper parking area for the true summit.
The subsequent descent to Malaucene was fast; unfortunately, those ahead of me weren't, and several times I actually had to pull over and stop to give me more separation so that I wouldn't have to ride my brakes on the way down to avoid running into cars that were being held up.
You would think that after having done that, cols of 472m (Cole de la Chaine) or 392m (Col de Suzette) wouldn't pose much of a challenge, but in the heat of the day (temperature in the 30s) they proved formidable for tired legs, and long stretches into the wind also took their toll. It was thus a great relief to finally turn away from the blast and head into Orange at speed - except that by then it was rush hour, which made the city route-finding even more difficult than usual. But we all ultimately prevailed, and are looking forward to our day off: for laundry, postcard-writing, and gastronomic exploration.
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