Mont Ventoux in Tour de France !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Summit of Mont Ventoux, seen from the forest halfway up the mountain

It will happen July 25th, 2009. I’ve been waiting patiently for seven years, and after weeks of speculation and rumour it has been confirmed. YES: my favourite Provençal mountain, my playground, my 2000-meter-high-or-almost-deity (the “almost” applies to both “2000” and “deity”), will play host to the world’s most prestigious cycling event. Mont Ventoux, after a seven year hiatus, will once again be part of the Tour de France. Not only is the climb to Ventoux going to be part of the Tour, but its ascension will take place on the second to last day – which is the most important stage – as it will permanently lay the yellow jersey on the overall winner of the 2009 Tour de France. We can then safely multiply the Ventoux excitement factor by ten. Add to the mix a certain Lance Armstrong, who is in all likelihood going to participate in this year’s Tour de France after announcing that he’s come out of retirement. This leads to an immeasurable Ventoux excitement factor, an excitement hitherto unseen on the slopes of my favourite place on Earth.

An insight into the extent of Ventoux-Armstrong-Tour-de-France-mania: as of the very first days of the rumours that Ventoux was to be part of the 2009 Tour, and this probably about 2 months ago, any form of accommodation within a 50km radius of the mountain was overwhelmed with phone calls and booked solid, and this before the official announcement was made...

VENTOUX and CYCLING:
There are three roads leading to the summit, all of which are more or less tough. The two classic climbs – the south and north routes – are comparable, each starting at about 300m in altitude and rising to the 1912m summit over a stretch of 21km. The average gradient of incline is 7.5%. To put the climb into perspective, it’s the same altitude gain as the Colorado river up to the rim of the Grand Canyon (for my American friends), or like scaling the CN Tower three times to its very tip (for my fellow Canadians). Sorry to my UK, Aussie, and Kiwi friends for analogy omissions.

The climb from the east -- from the village of Sault -- starts at 800m in altitude, and reaches the summit over a span of 26km, a slightly easier gradient.

Ventoux is a Mecca for cyclists, as the New York marathon would be on a runner’s checklist. On a nice summer day, anywhere from 200 to 500 (or more) cyclists make their way to the summit by bike, attempting to conquer the “Giant of Provence”.

This is me on my 30th birthday, having tackled the summit in two and a half hours. The record was set by the Spaniard Iban Mayo, who reached the summit in just over 55 minutes during a week-long stage race called the Dauphiné Libéré. I was probably passed by 300 cyclists that day.

Some notes on the history of cycling on Ventoux:

A weather station, created atop Ventoux in the late 19th century, required a road to be built to the summit. As early as 1882, amateur cyclists were eager enough to try and conquer the mountain by bike, testing their legs on the steep dirt road. The first ever race to the summit was held in 1908, linking the nearby town of Carpentras to the summit. A local lumberjack, on a bicycle without gears, won the race at the summit in 2 ½ hours. The road conditions have since improved, as have the bikes.

The Tour de France, whose itinerary changes every year, has included the summit of Mont Ventoux 13 times in all: 5 finishes at the summit, 6 passages to the summit, and 3 time trails. The first was in 1951, during a 224km stage between Montpellier and Avignon, won by Louison Bobet.

The most memorable moment of Tour de France history at Mont Ventoux was certainly the most tragic: in 1967, the English champion Tom Simpson, who kept on slowing near the top of the climb, and began to zigzag across the road, fell to the ground just 2km from the summit. Fans on the side of the road hoisted him back up on his bike and tried to get him going, but he fell just as soon, unconscious, and did not reawake. It was a particularly hot day in July, and as usual the cyclists were out during the hottest hours of the day. But Simpson’s cardiac arrest was probably due to the cocktail of alcohol and amphetamines he had consumed, used by many cyclists at the time. His final meters: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtAyGvZqiwk&NR=1

Me at the Tommy Simpson Memorial, 2km from the summit; as you can see, many cyclists offer Tommy a token, often a water bottle, on their way back down the mountain.

French fans, proud of their own cyclists, will remind you that Lance Armstrong, although arguably the best cyclist in Tour history, has never won (yet?) at the summit of Ventoux after 6 tries in competitive races (not just the Tour). In 2000, having already secured the yellow jersey and an overall victory, he let Marci Pantani cross the finish line at the summit first (despite Pantani’s claim otherwise).

What do you think?: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXPXHK7I1iQ

The last time Ventoux was included in the Tour was in 2002, where Lance once again placed second in the stage, behind France’s Richard Virenque. Armstrong had the fastest time from the foot to the summit, but Virenque had broken away earlier in the day, and he would not be caught.

Here's a picture I took of Lance Armstrong in the last stage he won as a professional in the Tour, during the 2005 time trial in St. Etienne... a bit blurry but we'll fault the camera.


Anyone care to join me on Ventoux on July 25th? You can count on me being there.

Cycling in Alsace? (and not hiking in Provence?)

I was recently in the Alsace region of France (north-east), putting together a cycling holiday for a British company called Inntravel: they specialize in self-guided walking and cycling holidays. I've worked on several projects for them, whether cycling or walking, writing detailed trip notes that guide their customers through the paths and back roads of various French regions.

You may be wondering why, as a walking guide in Provence, I'm writing to you about my cycling expeditions in Alsace. Though I still prefer my beloved Provence, and wouldn't trade it for all the baguettes and Camemberts in France, my travels keep proving how wonderfully beautiful and diverse a country this is.

I was in Alsace a month ago, nearing the end of October. Based in the quaint towns of Bergheim and Kaysersberg, I set out every day by bike, exploring country roads through reputed vineyards. It was nearing the end of the grape harvest, the vines all yellowish gold, planted in strict geometric parcels that cover the foothills of the Vosges Mountains. Below is a bunch of Gewurztraminer grapes, one of the last of the varietals picked, often left longer on the vines to produce a sweet late-harvest wine. I have to admit that I ate quite a few whenever the opportunity arose, enough sugar to propel me from town to town. This was mainly to counteract the effects of the wine tasting I did along the way. Dozens of family-run wine estates in and around each town, in centuries' old cellars, always welcoming. Most estates produce each of the seven types of wines, the only region in France to produce wines by varietal and not by blending.

I enjoyed the Gewurztraminers the most, with their aromas of ripe exotic fruit and sweet taste.

The Alsatian villages seem to pop out of a fairy tale book: colourful half-timbered homes snuggled side-by-side, ancient bridges and cobbled streets, old city walls still intact. Their names, often ending in "heim" or "berg" or "wihr", attest to a past under German rule. In the streets you can still hear the language of Alsatian spoken, while the accent in French has a distinct Germanic tone. Below is a picture of the town of Kaysersberg, picturesque and welcoming.

A few of the half-timbered homes in Bergheim below. Bergheim is off the beaten tourist track, full of charm and with a wonderful little hotel to stay in as a base.

Below are some of the reputed vineyards, which is what made up the backdrop of most of the scenery during the week. Unlike Provence, some of the tracks in between the vineyards are actually paved or cemented, and off-limits to motorized vehicles: a paradise for cyclists. There's a downside to cycling in the region though: the vineyards stretch out as a very thin line along the foothills of the Vosges mountains. A bit to the west and you have to tackle some killer hills in the mountains, a bit to the east you are in the Rhine valley, with relatively uninteresting scenery and extremely busy roads. So you more or less have to stay within that thin line, and sometimes even cycle out and back along the same itinerary, but well worth it nonetheless.

Part of the planned itinerary does leave the vineyards, down to the cornfield and forested flatlands of the Rhine valley. Here the scenery changes abruptly. You can find little hidden side roads where you won't see a single car all day, through vast expanses of forest (at least by French standards). Below is a picture taken along one of those roads.

Some grapes being picked during my last day of cycling...

November in Provence

For the winter I've been recruited by a travel agency in Avignon. They specialize in guided walking and cycling. I'm being paid to more or less scout the walks and take loads of pictures: not a bad way to earn a living over the winter...
I was recently in the town of Gigondas. The grape harvest there took place in mid-October, and below are the vines, a picture taken just last week. The leaves have now taken on a gold colour, a veritable golden blanket stretching over the Rhône Valley.

The walking is beautiful this time of year in Provence: the fiery red hues of the cherry orchards, the crisp late-autumn air, the ripening olives, walking paths virtually devoid of people, and hilltop villages without a single tourist.

Below are three pictures taken yesterday in the village of Séguret. Though listed as "one of the most beautiful villages in France", there wasn't a soul along the narrow cobbled streets... well, I was there...

The tea shop was closed... and I had forgotten my thermos...

though I could fill up my water bottle...

My blog !!!

Hello,
I've decided to create this blog, a way to keep in touch with those of you I've walked/hiked/rambled/tramped with (as to not discriminate your country of origin!...) This blog is a way for me to continue to share my love of Provence, and for you to continue to enjoy some of the countryside we experienced together. I'll be posting pictures and descriptions from my ongoing adventures through Provence, whether by bike or by foot, along its hidden paths and amongst its greatest treasures.

Don't hesitate to contact me and let me know what you think of my posts.
Provençally Yours,
Stuart

My First Group
May 2006...
This trip started off a very emotional week for me; my final "mountain guiding" exam was two days after I finished the trip. We had a great week together, and the experience motivated me to do all I could to pass my test...