Day 6 Monday 7-18-2011 Mont Ventoux
Day / date / Location:
Miles on bike: Up Mont Ventoux! 4 hr 30 mim Elevation gain: 6235
Total miles today: 40.00 Total miles for trip: 323.98
$ toward Pledges at 0.026 per foot gained: 14,975 x 0.026 = $389.35
Highlights:
Mt. Ventoux. Difficulty index of 164; 7.1 average gradient; 14.1 miles UP; 6000+ feet of elevation gain, the 2nd most difficult ride in the French Alps.
We checked out of the hotel at 8. Drove to the ride start and had to ride 20k just to get to Mont Ventoux. Why we did that we did not know. We did know that this was a perfect climb day. Not hot, no wind really (by Ventoux standards) (Ventoux means windy) and good company. We estimated between 4000 and 5000 riders will go up to the summit today alone.
Oh Brother. Now we know what the difficulty index means. 14.1 miles of uphill, half at over 9% gradients. With 1k at 10.5% and a short burst right at the top to finish at 14%. Ufff….
I only stopped once in the uphill portion. That was 2hrs 45min of climbing. So, other age 60+ riders passed me and we all determined that dementia has set in, that is why we do this stuff.
Tim had a personal best by making it to the tree line and Chalet. That means he handled 8 kilometers of the 9.5% and 10.5% slopes. Way to go Tim! It was a personal best for me to; so I rewarded all of us with a mega-purchase of chocolate from the very smart person who had long tables of sweets for sale at the top.
It was really cold at the top, so we all layered up for the 20k downhill; WOW – the view and ride was breathtaking and totally spectacular; indescribable.
We piled back into the van (now 8 of us) for a drive around mountains on tiny roads with a crazy driver who was determined for us to arrive in record time. It was whiplash time. But we arrived safe at 7. Checked in, had dinner in record time (1 ½ hrs), and determined that there was no internet as usual. Why expect anything else?
Sleep at 11:30 for an early start tomorrow. That sounds familiar.
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