Le Mont Ventoux is a mountain in the South of France, but it is a quite an unusual mountain. The top of the mountain is a bare limestone landscape where nothing grows. From a distance, the mountain's peak appears to be snow-capped all year round (its snow cover actually lasts from December to April). It lies in the South of France, in the region of Provence, to the north of the famous Mediterranean French south coast. It is a picturesque region known for its lovely scenery, sunny weather, vineyards, lavender fields, pretty hilltop villages, and its famous and sometimes fearsome 'Mistral' wind.
Le Mont Ventoux can be seen from all over Provence, seen here as I approached from Avignon on my first visit. Already a touch of excitement about my first climb up this famous mountain.
The 'Giant of Provence', as it is known, is one of the most historic hill climbs in the Tour de France, the annual cycle race round France that started in 1903, and reached its 100th 'edition' in 2013, and now is the most famous cycle race in the world. 9 of the Tours have had stage finishes at the top of Mt Ventoux, and 6 more have crossed over it during a stage. The average gradient is 7.43%, but it is continuously uphill for all of the 21.5 kms from Bédouin (the traditional route), with a maximum gradient in parts of 10.5%. For many keen cyclists it is one of the places to visit and conquer.
So I was sitting in my flat in Hong Kong on the 14th July 2013, watching this famous cycle race on TV, and the British rider, Chris Froome, was leading the pack up the Mt Ventoux to win the stage.....I thought 'I really must climb Mount Ventoux!' My 8 month gap between jobs ('a career break' as you might call it) was nearing its end and I had a new job to go to, but I could just about squeeze in a quick last minute 'side trip' to Provence as part of my August trip to the UK. And so I set about researching how to get there, and find out more about how to organise my cycling when I arrived.
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