July 8, 2017
Nyons to Sault via Mont Ventoux
Not what we planned
The alarm went off at 5:00 again this morning and we duly threw off the covers and packed up. We were planning to eat out this morning so we hadn't bought anything to go on the granola but we arrived in Nyons before anything was open. We did see an industrial-looking bakery on the way out of town, but it didn't appeal, being on the side of the highway in the burbs, so to speak. We carried on and found a bakery adjacent to a café, the latter just opening at 7, in Mirabel-aux-Baronnies. Perfect! (This is at least the second Mirabel we've been through; the other was Mirabel-et-Blacons. Apparently Mirabel isn't just a mothballed airport, it also refers to the hills in this area.)
We arrived at our planned destination, Vaison-la-Romaine, at 7:45. I know this because we thought of looking in the big Intermarché for electrolyte tablets since we are running out and discovered it didn't open until 8:30. Next stop, the local campground. The intention was to find a place for 2 nights, visit the sights of Vaison-la-Romaine in the morning, spend the afternoon in as cool a place possible, then ride Mont Ventoux unloaded from Malaucene and loop back via Sault or Bédoin. However, there was only one tent spot available, once the present occupant had left, and it wouldn't be shady. We moved on.
In town, the Roman archaeological sites didn't open until 9:30. Was somebody trying to tell us something? We carried on to Malaucene to find a place there and get set up for Mont Ventoux tomorrow.
On the way through Malaucène, looking for the Tourist Info, we came first to a bike shop. They had electrolyte tabs and nice Ventoux jerseys too. A brief discussion: we didn't really want to spend another afternoon lazing by a pool, assuming we could find a so-equipped campground close to Malaucene, and it was overcast. Not so hot as yesterday, so why don't we just go for it? If we take our stuff, we wouldn't have to double back...
Decision made, we bought two 1.5-litre bottles of water, emptied one topping up our bottles and drinking, and strapped the other to Al's bike. Onward!
Maybe not the best decision we've ever made. We had been told "start as early as possible" and "take at least 3 litres of water each." That last might have been overkill, but it would have been nice to finish the climb before the temperature got up to 35C. We had also only had a small breakfast, coffee and one pastry for me, a small quiche and a pastry for Al. But you are reading this, so we survived. Not only that, we both made it to the top!
Al stopped a few times during the first few km, waiting for me and finally dividing up the remaining water since there was now room in our bottles. We then carried on, each at our own speed. During the ride, we each had doubts about whether we could do it. For me, this was between 9 and 7 km to go (total distance 21 from Malaucène). I was still flagging when, at about 6 km to go, there was a bar/restaurant. I went in and bought a litre bottle of cold water. This saved my day!
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On the last hairpin, there was a photographer taking pictures of everyone going by on bicycles. He called to me by name! I found out later that he was getting ready to pack up when Al went by and Al asked him to stay and take a picture of his wife. The only description he needed, I expect, was "panniers".
When you go by, he gives you a card with his website so you can order if you wish. The photo files are date- and time-stamped so I know he waited 34 minutes for me. We did like the photos, so we bought one of each of us, with the location obvious!
There's this idea among roadies that to "do" Ventoux properly, you need to ride up via all three routes in the same day. We think riding up either of the more challenging routes (from Bédoin or Malaucène) once fully loaded is equivalent to all 3 on a light bike.
Finally, the top. Photos and a celebratory iced tea. (Peach, why is it always peach in France? Don't they like lemon?).
Then down to Sault. At least we thought it would be down. There's a final uphill bit to get to the town.
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We stopped at a pizza place since this was during the awkward time between lunch and dinner and bought a couple of pizzas. They were more filling than we expected, or perhaps we weren't really as hungry as we thought, but we ended up boxing almost an entire pizza and taking it with us for later.
All hotels are full so we are camping tonight. Not the nicest campground, but there are lots of trees.
Later, we rode into town for dinner. On our way, we binned the leftover pizza. Real food made Al feel much better!
80 km, ascent 1830 m, descent 1368 m (I forgot to turn my Garmin back on for the descent until the Tom Simpson memorial so I've assumed 1.5 km distance and 150 m descent for that bit.). [I've now learned how to combine gpx tracks in Strava so below is the combined one.]
Today's ride: 80 km (50 miles)
Total: 724 km (450 miles)
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