Mont Ventoux is a legend in the Tour de France, and many overall races have been won or lost on this very mountain. There are 3 roads that lead to the summit, and the traditional Tour de France climb is from the Bedoin side. It is the most difficult (21.4km @ 7.6% avg. gradient). The next climb is from the Malaucene side (21.2km @ 7.2% avg.), and the final road (from Sault) is the most gentle (25.7km @ 4.5% avg.).
We decided to tackle all 3 climbs today in the order above. We set off from our hotel at 7:00am and returned over 11 hours later.
There is a 3 ascent challenge set up by the 'Club des cingles du Mont Ventoux'. Translated this can mean: 'Crazy men of Mont Ventoux' or 'Madmen of..." My wife agrees that I am crazy for doing this!
This is the most I've ever ridden in distance or climbed in elevation in one ride.
God blessed me with fantastic weather for nearly the whole day. The summit can be bitterly cold and has recorded wind at 320kph. In fact, last year's Tour de France finish line was moved 6km down the mountain due to high winds.
There was bright sunshine for most of the day, and you could see the weather tower at the top for miles. The first summit (from Bedoin) was really cold, and I layered with all my cold weather gear for the first descent. The second climb was nice, but there was a nasty 3km section about 3/4 of the way through that was a steady 11-12%.
I felt surprisingly strong for the 3rd ascent--maybe it was the reduced gradient, the lunch just before, or the lavender ice cream! In reality, I think I pushed hard because I knew the faster I went, the sooner it would all be over! The last 6km of this climb are identical to the end of the Bedoin climb, and they are brutal--especially since the wind was beginning to howl and get really cold. I struggled and hung on to the very end. The temperature at the summit was 7 degrees Celsius, and it rained for about half of the descent. All in all, it was a great day, and I'm glad I had the chance to do it.