770km 17,400m les cingles attempt and more

[oldfatfool]

Returned earlier than anticipated from 'sunny' France partly due to being too old to sleep in a flamin tent for more than a fortnight at a time, partly due to poor weather forecasts but mostly because I am buggered.

The holiday didn't get off to the best of starts, the sat nav taking me through the middle of Geneva after driving 20 hours didn't help, but the icing was the air bed not holding air.

My first destination was Taninges, having not ridden much this year with a cycle of over training and injury leading to DNS on LEL and very few forum rides, I wanted to get a couple of easier rides in before heading south.



The weather for the 4 days was not the best with mornings being swamped by cloud and the evenings entertaining a little rain, I started with an easy out and back to Morzine via Les Gets, approx 40km with 712m of climbing at 3 to 6% and giving a lovely descent. After 3 days of build up the first proper ride out was La Columbiere awesome scenery and the descent well worth the effort.



http://www.brytonsport.com/mapTrackView?id=4257291

Plans went awry with the weather forecast, both Bourg st Maurice and Modane where forecast storms for the following days so both Cenis and the Iseran fell by the wayside and I was off to Allemond.


Day 1 Ornon and Alpe D. http://www.brytonsport.com/mapTrackView?id=4257293



Day 2 Glandon and Croix de fer http://www.brytonsport.com/mapTrackView?id=4257295



Day 3 Lauterat and Galebier http://www.brytonsport.com/mapTrackView?id=4257299

 

[oldfatfool]

Day 4 La Sarenne http://www.brytonsport.com/mapTrackView?id=4257305




I followed this guys route, cracking vid.

View: http://youtu.be/S8GEJMm0hPw


Having completed all that I wanted to in the area and again with the weather forecast dictating my movements it was off to Bedoin.

And this is what it was all leading to Les Cingles, to climb the pimple of Provence from all three directions in one ride. The weather looked good. Setting off in good time and a steady climb through the forest the first ascent was despatched with minimum fuss. The summit was a bit blustry with a few clouds gathering but the sun was bright and the world was good. Descending to Sault was a treat, the entire road, that used to be the worst and most rutted of the three as been totally resurfaced in smooth black stuff, which also made the ascent a breeze and a treat for the legs before the long slog from Malaucene. Again summatting the clouds had increased slightly but no worries, the descent to Malaucene as to go down as one of my favorits 22k of mainly flowing bends yum yum. Refuelling with lunch in Malaucene it off and up, well nearly. The first 6km went by with easy effort, the pizza lunch working its magic, adrenalin and motivation was high, Then I started to meet riders coming the other way, drenched and having turned round, looking up the peak was shrouded and the ominous sound of thunder in the air. I made it to the 15km marker before deciding discretion was the better part of valour, having got a soaking and beaten by the weather of Ventoux turned tail to return to Bedoin via col de la Madeleine.

http://www.brytonsport.com/mapTrackView?id=4257311




Ventoux from la madeleine



Returning to Bedoin I found the campsite rather damp and a further storm ensued, I was glad I had bailed.

 

[oldfatfool]

The following day was rest followed by a very enjoyable ride along the gorge de la Nesque, again today Ventoux was shrouded in cloud and in the afternoon another storm ensued, flooding underneath the tent giving me a water bed!
http://www.brytonsport.com/mapTrackView?id=4257317








What was to become my final day in Bedoin was meant to be good weather, so I anticipated another crack at Les Cingles, setting off from Bedoin however and the forest was under cloud.


Turning round I made my way to Malaucene to see if that side was clear, it was, however reaching the peak was a real chore, Ventoux doesn't mean wind for no reason, I got off and pushed the bike DOWN the top hairpin off the ascent as I was in real fear of being forced off the bike and the wind had blown the moonscape accross the road in places. The descent through the forest was a nice ride, and at least I can say I have conquered all three ascents but there was no way I was facing that wind again in one day. Beaten and battered not to mention knackered and with the weather forecast for the rest of the alps being mixed to say the least I turned turtle and came home
http://www.brytonsport.com/mapTrackView?id=4257321





Debris blown and washed down at Chalet Reynard



I don't think I will try again, I do believe I would have made it had the weather been kind on my first attempt, but by eck it doesn't half take its toll out of your legs even only managing 2.3 times


Oh by the way the French have discovered surface dressing, a 1km stretch at the base of the Sarenne on a 8%ish gradient. I found it that bad I got of and portaged up hill. People where descending on to this with 'interesting' results.


Short vid showing water bed effect

 

[ComedyPilot]

Puts a whole new slant on 'wetting the bed'

 

[Pat "5mph"]

Enjoyed the pictures and the reading. Well done, that looked hard climbing!

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

Great photos and account.

On a purely pedantic note, your statement about the name Ventoux having a connection with wind appears to be incorrect. I had a look at the French Wiki entry for Ventoux's origins and discovered this:

Actuellement, en se fondant sur les formes anciennes biens connues, on met en avant la racine *Vin-. Elle se retrouve dans la montagne Sainte-Victoire, qui était un Mons Venturi transformé enSanctæ Venturii à partir de 1345, ainsi qu'en région provençale dans Venasque, Venterol (Alpes-de-Haute-Provence), Venterol (Drôme), Vence, Ventabren, Ventavon ou en en Corse dans Venacoet Ventiseri6. Elle apparaît aussi dans le Piémont, où se trouve un Venasca, ainsi que dans les Pyrénées avec le Port de Venasque et Benasque qui a aussi donné son nom à la vallée de Bénasque. Cette racine pré-latine, répandue sur un large territoire, désigne à chaque fois une hauteur ou un lieu élevé et dans le cas du Ventoux et de la Sainte-Victoire son suffixe -tur indique une distance. Le Ventoux serait donc « la montagne qui se voit de loin »a 2.

Which says that the prefix Ven-, originally Vin invariably signifies height or an elevated place and -tur means distance. So it works out as a sort of mount Highfar - or the mountain visible from afar.

Sorry about this unneccessary but possibly informative piece of trivia...

 

[Shut Up Legs]

Sounds like a great trip . I really wish I lived in Western Europe somewhere. Australia has it's own mountains (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mountains_in_Australia), but none quite so massive as those in Europe.

 

[Irishrich]

Amazing pics and I'm envious of your trip as I would love to do something like that but the wife likes to holiday in beach resorts where the only exhilarating activity is rushing down in the morning to put your towel on a sun lounger. Can I just say that's the biggest saddle bag I've ever seen. It makes my Topeak Wedge look like a midget.

 

[Hill Wimp]

That was an impressive route ( well for me ) well done, sorry the weather wasn't better for you.

 

[Misusawa]

Those are some wonderful pictures! That scenery is really amazing! I hope you really had a great time!

 

[Brandane]

Great write up and pics, OFF. My memories of the Alps when I did France north to south and back again (on a bike - with 900cc engine ) was that even in August the weather could be foul. I had constant rain, and thunder and lightning, for the 2 days it took me to get from Nancy to Cannes. It was quite unnerving being up the mountains and being able to see the lightning striking the hills BELOW where I was, with only a motorbike for protection .

 

[Durian]

Really enjoyed reading about your trip and seeing the photos. Looks wonderful.

 

[oldfatfool]

Great photos and account.

On a purely pedantic note, your statement about the name Ventoux having a connection with wind appears to be incorrect. I had a look at the French Wiki entry for Ventoux's origins and discovered this:



Which says that the prefix Ven-, originally Vin invariably signifies height or an elevated place and -tur means distance. So it works out as a sort of mount Highfar - or the mountain visible from afar.

Sorry about this unneccessary but possibly informative piece of trivia...

Got to love Wiki.

As the name might suggest (venteux means windy in French), it can get windy at the summit, especially with the mistral; wind speeds as high as 320 km/h (200 mph) have been recorded. The wind blows at 90+ km/h (56+ mph) 240 days a year. The road over the mountain is often closed due to high winds. Especially the "col de tempêtes" ("storm pass") just before the summit, which is known for its strong winds. The real origins of the name are thought to trace back to the 1st or 2nd century AD, when it was named 'Vintur' after a Gaulish god of the summits, or 'Ven-Top', meaning "snowy peak" in the ancient Gallic language. In the 10th century, the names Mons Ventosus and Mons Ventorius appear.