Mont Ventoux

When I booked the travel arrangements for this trip, I booked an extra night in the Bédoin hotel to give me the opportunity to tackle Mont Ventoux if the weather and legs cooperated. The weather was perfect with no danger of my ‘large body mass’ (thanks Big Bro!) overheating. I gave the legs a decent warm up and the opportunity to refuse to climb, but they seemed happy enough up the Col de la Madeleine so I pootled up the Mont from Malaucene. The 12% parts were definitely more of a grind than a pootle, but I continued to munch peanut M&Ms all the way up - I have discovered a hamster style store and munch approach which seems to work. The 21km climb took 2.5 hours and was weirdly enjoyable. The sense of satisfaction when I reached the top was definitely worth the effort.

The summit was very busy with lots of joyful if wrecked cyclists. It was cold and windy at 1909m so I put my jacket on and started the long descent. I had to stop a couple of times to de-numb my hands but I managed to overtake a campervan which was very satisfying.

I found a boulangerie in Bedoin (obviously) and devoured a yummy raspberry tarte.

I then headed to the hotel pool with a ham and cheese baguette, a large beer and a new friend.

It would be rude to have my last day in Provence without a celebratory glass of rose as I write this last blog post.

Looking at my Strava stats, I have climbed 17005 metres this month, no wonder the tree trunks are depleted.

And so a glorious summer of cycling ends. I started this blog by describing how much I love travelling on a bicycle, how fortunate I feel to still be able to do this and the amazing inspiration I get from the people I meet. That has all been affirmed and confirmed this summer and I am a very happy pedalling old bird!