Etape 2009 – Ventoux part II, this time it’s personal!

For some reason that I still can’t work out I not only agreed to last night suggestion of climbing Ventoux again but actually got up before 9am to do it.
My companion for the day was Adam; whom I’m also sharing a room with. He’s a tripple Iron Man so was worried that I may have bitten off more than I can chew.

The ride out was a little longer than expected due to our efforts at reading large scale maps and not spotting signs. On the topic of navigation we’ve found the easiest way to navigate in Provence is to follow a list of all the towns on your route, road numbers and signage vary wildly.

By the time we go to Bedoin we’d covered 64k, 14 more than planned. The last few were up hill and the heat in the valley wore me down. I was quick to douse myself in the fountain at the top of town.

Before setting off we soaked helmets and gloves in the fountain. They soon dried out as the sun pounded us on the lower slopes. I was dreading the forest section but this time I had the knowledge of what lay ahead.

The pace was slower but the rhythm better. A small cleat adjustment had removed some pain and I felt more comfortable being seated to climb. The forest was still a daunting proposition but I tried not to think about it. Before I knew it we’d made it to the 10k mark. I thought about stopping to remove my helmet but felt good enough to keep going. And going keep going I did, past where I’d cramped, all the way to Chateux Reynard at 16k.

After a brief stop for water we set off on the final 6k. The legs felt good and without signs of crap so I upped the pace. I didn’t feel the need to stop and managed to muster up a sprint for the line from the final hairpin.

This time I made it up in a couple of minutes over 2 hours. I was happy with this but even happier to not have been hindered by cramp.

We descended back the way we climbed. As usual I was in my element and let it rip. The wooded section is much more fun downhill especially when you’re overtaking Gendarme!

Back at Bedoin we refilled our bottles at the fountain and started heading back. We nearly stopped to watch Armstrong’s time trial but time wasn’t on our side.

The heat in the valleys, reflecting off the long straight road, started to get to me. By the time we reached Orange I was hitting the wall. A short break at a supermarket helped me recharge. I was even given a free banana as I’d forgotten to weight and ticket it.

To save some time we reviewed the map and spotted a route that would miss out a large dog leg. We found the initial turning but from there it all went wrong. Looking for a minor road we ended up on a gravel path by the river. We followed this for some 15k and all the way I thought a tyre would blow. Eventually we found a bridge and made it back to the hotel as diner was being served.

In total we covered 175k, a distance comparable to the Etape, leaving me feeling pretty tired.

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