Not on my list
Actually, the Mont-Ventoux was not directly on my list. Rather by coincidence, I had to work in the immediate neighbourhood for a client.
If you are around, it would be almost unforgivable not to climb this bare mountain.
Work and relax
During my activities, I had already heard many sports cars pushing their throttles. Apparently, there was an attraction for cars after all. For me, the Mont Ventoux was engraved in my memory as a mountain for cyclists. Not that there weren’t cyclists, in plenty in fact.
We stayed in Bedoin, the place where many wannabe cyclists tackle the 20km climb. Respect, I don’t think I could do it. The village of Bedoin is completely set up for the cycling people.
A bar – bistro called ‘Le Flandrien‘ breathes course and is run by Flemish folks Marnik, Els and Lou. So if you are in the neighbourhood, pop in and see them, because the interior alone deserves a visit.
Everything to do with cycling can be found in Bedoin. A classic bicycle shop, a shop with mainly accessories that hopefully make your trip easier. But also many shops where you can rent a bike and your whole equipment.
For us Belgians it is not so far (1025km from my home) so we can come by car and possibly take the bike. But there are people from much further away. They often come by plane, which makes it a lot harder to bring your bike.
I also suspect that never before have so many people cycled up the mountain as in recent years. I just hope that when they get to the top, they don’t proudly post a picture on their Instagram about their achievement if they did it on an electric bike.
Electric support
More than 60% of the cyclists who climbed Mont Ventoux had electric assistance. That’s why my respect and admiration took on unprecedented proportions when I saw a 70 year old man with a bicycle that was probably almost as old, speeding up the mountain. Yes, there are still real men 😉
Just about every sports fan will associate the Mont-Ventoux with cycling. What many do not know is that in September 1902, only two years after the construction of a gravel road, the first car ascended the mountain. It was Mr. Chauchard who with his 13.7 litre four cylinder took 27 minutes and 17 seconds to reach the top. His average speed was 47.5 km/h.
Hill climb
The hill climb would become an annual event until 1973. Only interrupted twice by both World Wars. In 1973 Robert Mieusset alias Jimmy Mieusset set a new record with his March 722-Ford. He drove up in 9 minutes and 3 seconds. The average speed was 142 km/h.
Ok enough explanations, let’s start the engine. Since we were staying in Bedoin, I thought it would be logical to start the tour from there.
The D974 is a fairly wide road that welcomes us. Curvy but not excessively so and with nice long straights where you can really hit the gas.
Sometimes we stopped in a bend to take a photo. We never had to wait long to see something sporty pass by. Like this yellow Ferrari 360 of which the driver clearly knew where the right pedal was.
During my presence there, it was rather quiet. In any case, keep in mind that there can be a lot of cyclists and just like in Belgium, they all feel like king of the road. There was one in front of me who slalomed from left to right all over the road.
The ascending cyclists are not too bad, but be aware that the descending cyclists reach speeds of over 80 km/h and cut corners. A motorist who is warned is worth two.
Hairpin bends
A few nice hairpin bends and fourteen kilometres later you arrive at Chalet Reynard. At our visit, there was a sign that you could continue for another 1500 metres, but there the road would be closed due to road works.
We decided to leave the car behind and start the last six kilometres on foot. With a gradient of up to 11.6%, this proved to be quite a physical challenge.
At some point we passed cyclists on foot, those guys were obviously almost empty too.
I also had a laugh when a lady dressed all in pink, who had passed us swiftly on her electric bike earlier, was now walking next to us, puffing and sighing. Probably with a flat battery. We never saw her again…
Amazing
Once you reach the top, fatigue is quickly replaced by wonder. We were lucky because the whole Alps chain was crystal clear in front of us. One of those few really clear days each year, I heard someone say. I took their word for it as it was my first time.
Returning to the parking lot on foot, six kilometres up and down, turns out to be a 20000 steps for those interested.
A BMW Z1 was just speeding away as we approached. We did not have to wait long, however, as a Sunbeam Alpine passed by a little later. It turned out to be a 1959, quite rare because apart from its appearance in the James Bond film Dr. No with which Bond drives through Jamaica, I had not seen it before.
Descent towards Sault
We would take the descent in the direction of Sault. A good choice, as it turned out, as this road is much more challenging for the car. Much more curvy and in our case, during the entire ride of over fourteen kilometres, we did not see a single other car. We did stop to see a work of art made entirely of car parts.
Regular braking on the engine prevents overheating of the brakes because the percentages of ascent that we did before are now back, but downwards.
When we arrived in Sault, it turned out to be a very charming village. One of the many, you could say, because the whole region is really worth a visit.
And that is also the conclusion of this trip, if you are looking for a nice destination this summer put the region Mont-Ventoux or even the entire Vaucluse on your destination list.
Report & photos: Patrick Verheeken