Club des Cinglés du Mont-Ventoux
It is something that I have been thinking about tackling for some time.
The Mont Ventoux is a legend of a hill, a mecca for all cyclists. The views from the top are worth every single bead of sweat. The climbs are dreadfully hard on a good clear day and horrible if undertaken on a day with some mistral. Mistral is a cold, strong northerly wind predominant in the Rhone valley. As you can imagine its strength is amplified significantly at high altitude.
My preferred option would be to start off fairly early from St Jean de Sault where my sister Sandra lives. The climb from Sault is great and not too much of a challenge until you get past the Chalet Reynard. I would then descend to Bedoin, climb from Bedoin whilst the heat of the day is not at its peak. The climb from Bedoin is very very hard. I went up two years ago. I was very lucky in my timing as the Mistral had been blowing at speeds above 100km/h for weeks on end. The only point at which the wind was significant was on the infamous col des tempetes. A very exposed steep slog of a climb.
The last and remaining ascent from Malaucene onto the northen road would be unknown territory to me. I have never attempted that ascent. The gradients are apparently not as severe as from Bedoin. However the road looks mighty from above and will be a fantastic challenge after completing the two earlier ascents from Bedoin and Sault.
The last stretch is a pleasant and fast descent to Sault and a steep climb back to Sandra's.
One hell of a day ahead :-)
More info: http://les.cingles.du.mont-ventoux.club.fr/regles.htm and http://www.clubcinglesventoux.org/index.php
