Rain, Wind and more Rain and Wind

Ride Day Two - Ascent up Ventoux and back along the northern road
Conditions - Dull, Raining and extreamly windy
Distance - 83 miles
Total time - 5.34 hrs
TSS - 301

 Waking up at a 9.30, again the longest lie in i have had for about 10 years, I checked the weather from the bedroom window and was pleased to see the sun and dry ground, although the wind was blowing an absolute gail. But considering the forcast the previous day said heavy rain I was quite pleased with what we had been given.
The aim of todays ride was to do another 5 hrs or so and rack up a total of 300 TSS which would see us with a great training stimulas and some quality base miles. As for the route, I had planned to ride out to Malaucene and complete the ascent of Ventoux which starts in the town, we would then descent from the summit  down in to Sault and take a right which would see us head west along the back of Ventoux on the D942, D74 and the D40 which will bring us to Entrechaux. From here it would be a ride back south through Bedoin and home again which should give us a good 5 hrs on the clock.


As we headed out of the village we soon realized how windy it actually was and when Ventoux finally came in to view we cringed at what we saw; Big black clouds whirling around around the summit and sitting so low that you couldent even see the white stone that has made the mountain famous, it was a like a scene from a Count Dracular movie where you get the first glimpse of his Castle with clouds circling above. We agreed that we would ascend as far as it was sensible and if we had to the we would head back down and change the route.


We hit the climb after about and hours worth of riding and was thankful that the mountain side was sheltering us from the wind. After a couple of kms we meet a mountain biker who was holiday from his home of St Tropez, he asked if we minded if he stuck with us for as long as he could which was fine by us. We had a nice chat for a while which made the miles tick by but it didnt hide the fact that the air was getting colder and the summit was still looking pretty horrid. I told Mike that i would plough onwards to Mont Serein and see what the conditions were like and whether it was worth carrying on to the Summit. I accelerated off and let Mike keep the french man entertained, It suddenly became very hard work with the hardest section of 2 km at 11% infected with a super strong headwind, it didt make the ascent any easier. When i did eventually reach Mont Serein I was literally blown over and very close to being blown off the side, I quickly whipped my awseome Gortex coat out and descended back down to meet Mike. I told him that it was a pointless task trying to reach the summit and it would only end with us in trouble if we did get to the top, at this point we turned around and began the descend bact to the town during which we almost had a Tour de France moment when 2 stray dogs were running around on the road and we only just manahed to get past with out a massive accident.


Up on finishing the descent, we changed the route plan and decided to ride the otherway round to sault on the same road but simply doing it backwards. Mike however had had enough and decided that he would head home as he was feeling pretty tired. We shook hands and went our seperate ways, although i have to admit i was a bit unsure about leaving him to find his own way back as he is known as the James May of Stratford CC as his sense of direction is pretty bad! Sorry Mike. I kept to the plan and headed towards to D40 which would take me to Sault and soon it was clear that it would be a tough ride, the Wind was easily blowing at 45-50km and it was directly against me and would be for the next 40 miles. I settled in, had some more food and just dug away. The wind was draining the life out of me and no matter how much I ate or drank i was slowly getting more and more fatigued and things only got worse when the hevans opened up with 10km to Sault. Thankfully i had my handy Gortex rain coat which i have to say is one of the best peices of kit i have ever brought.


Finally i reached Sault and was completely drained, 2 hours in to the head wind had proved hard work and i was greatfull that i was changing dirction and heading west back over the Col de Les Abeilles which desends straight in to my Village. With the rain still falling i got going immediatly and felt a bit better than i did earlier on and started the climb with a spring in my step but soon enough the wind was back in my face and i was back to crawlng speed and being robbed of my last reserves. Over the top of the climb I didnt have far to go but my body had decided it wanted to finish now and i was soon treated to the feelings of the dreaded bonk; Tingly fingers, numb legs, tunnel vision and dizzy spells. I pulled over to compose my self and down my last bit of sustinence; a CNP Cola flavoured gel, boy did it hit the spot. It gave me the enough fuel to get over the last few rises which finally saw me start the descent, one of the scariest descents i have ever done. The road isnt steep or technical, the complete opposite in fact, it was due to being battered from the left by a hurricane force wind and having my front wheel lifted off of the floor whist doing 50 mph, Pretty fucking scary.


Finally i pulled up outside our residence and have rearly been happier or more releaved to be home. The first thing i did was sit down and gulp a recovery drink, closley followed by a cup of tea, cosley followed by a bowl of cereal, closely followed by anothet cup of tea. The shower fely like a dream and the 3rd cup of tea after it tasted just as good as the first. Well, i ended up doing what i planned; 5.5 hrs on the clock and just over 300 TSS, job done. Oh and remeber Mike who headed home as he decided he didnt want to do a long ride? well it turns out he did end up getting lost and arrived only 5 minutes before me with 75 milles on the clock! Hard core.