Tour de Bob - Stage 7 - The final climb - Mt. Ventoux

The 2010 Tour de Bob is done. We all made it. Over 400 miles, over 50,000 feet of climbing. This trip could never be duplicated given the group, the weather, and the route. It's in the record books.

Today, we rode from Bedoin, up Mt. Ventoux, and back to Bedoin. Sounds pretty easy, except for the climb part. Mt. Ventoux is one of the toughest climbs anywhere, and was brutal even after a week of hard climbs. But, it went well for all of us. We rode about 46 miles, and climbed about 6700'. Not bad for our last day of 7.

We started with our last pre-ride breakfast. I went light knowing we were going straight into a climb. Had a bad nights sleep so I was not a happy camper this morning. We rolled out by 9:00 on another beautiful sunny morning. A bit warmer, so we know what's coming - heat on the hill.

Kevin tells me on the ride thru town that Michel (apparently I've been spelling his name wrong all week) said that only sissies take more than an hour and 50 minutes to do the climb. That's my goal - no sissy label. I got that one in China from a street Rolex salesman who wasn't happy with me. Never again.

It's only about a mile into the center of town from our hotel, and then a few blocks to the official start of the climb. It's hard to describe what this climb means - it is one of the most brutal ones out there. We've been talking about it all week. The climb is about 5100' over 12 miles to around 6000' of elevation. Most of the time we're climbing around 9%. That's steep enough that you'd think twice about walking up it. We're dumb enough to not only ride up it, but try to go up as fast as we can.

Up we go. I quickly fall to the back. Spinning at my comfortable rate, I watch the big guns fade in the distance. Quickly. I tell myself it's no big deal. Yeah, right. However, as Roger my massage guy advised, my legs would be tight for the first few miles, and would then feel better. He was right. After about 2-3 k's, the legs came in. Oh, man, I wish I'd had this set of legs all week. I still couldn't catch Dana, but at least I was feeling good.

The first part of the climb - barely even breathing hard....

I ride with Kevin for a bit, but I gradually pull away. I feel bad because he's been a great support this week, but this is my last chance to push, and I have to go. I eventually see a couple more TdB's up ahead, and very slowly work up to them. Turns out to be Bob and Bill. Can't believe I've found them as they're usually at the head of the group. Not easy, but I get on to their back wheel and still have some legs left.

Bill in front and Bob up close. I'll get really comfortable with this view.

The next 6-8 miles are a combination of pain and enthusiasm. The legs are feeling really strong, but every time I go to the front, Bill blasts me into the basement again. I won't repeat some of my comments but I have to admire his abilities. I only hope I can do the same at that age. I dug very deep into the reservoir of energy and ability and kept with them. Over and over they would leave me behind and I would gradually and painfully crawl back. Each time I expected it would be the last given the last 6 days.

Le Chalet Reynard. I would have loved to stop, but I wouldn't have finished the timed climb. On we go....

After the Chalet Reynard, the terrain turns more barren. Very rocky and windwept. I guess 'Ventoux' means windy. I can believe that.

This picture doesn't do justice to the couple hundred sheep trying to cross the road. I had to weave thru them and the stopped cars to keep going. The sheep were not impressed with my climbing prowess. Le baaaaaaa.

The shepard and his dogs. Very prophetic since that's Bill in front, who helped shepard all of us novice European cyclists.....

The view of the top. Still probably 1000-1500 feet below the summit. My 1:50 time is rapidly approaching. I do NOT want to miss it so I just keep grinding. And Bill keeps passing me....

One of the corners. By now it's quite windy, the sun is harsh, and the climb is unrelenting. The top is teasingly close, but not getting any closer.

The last mile or two were just a grind. I couldn't even take out my camera. I was sweating so much I could barely see. I got the heart rate up high enough I almost puked. Almost. The last corner is devastatingly steep, and then it's 50 yards to go. I made it up over the top in between Bill and Bob. I may never know if they cut their pace for me, but I'm OK either way. I made it to the top.

Gary as he hit the top. I never did hear the full story of his climb, but he's wearing a bike tire, with a pack of cigarettes stuffed in his shirt sleeve. He looked like I felt - spent.

The Tour de Bob at the summit of Mt. Ventoux. I'm not sure who got cut off in the picture, but I know some of the other cameras got a better shot - I'll fix it when I can.

Dave and Bob at the top. Thank you Bob for inviting me on your 50th birthday quest. One of the best trips of my life.

A dog that reminded me of Stella. Can't wait to get home and be mauled...

We spent a good half hour or more on the summit. Cool but tolerable, with an incredible view. They say you can see the Mediterranean on a clear day. A little quick trinket shopping, and time to go. The back side is very similar to the front, and we descended like the pros we felt like. Fast and furious, but VERY careful. We all agreed that now was the time to be extra careful as we're almost done. We quickly dropped into warmer air and greener slopes, and I was just flat out grinning again. I love a good adrenaline rush! Very similar to a fast race down the White-Rim trail in Utah next to a drop off!

We left Mt. Ventoux and headed out into the countryside for lunch. Many more little villages and vineyards. You could easily spend a week here just wandering from town to town, with or without a bike. Nancy?

Our run to lunch after the descent was another great one. The pace kept getting cranked up until it was an all-out sprint. Up and down minor hills, around the hairpins, on and off the back of the guys up front. The legs were working really well, coupled with a tight formation with Mark who I'm used to running hard with. We had a really great run and all ended up winded at the lunch stop. Gonna miss this....

A close-up of some of the grapes. I'm sure I've been drinking their cousins at dinner every night.

A shot up the drive where we had lunch. Looks pretty nice - probably too nice for my sweaty bike clothes....

Our lunch stop.

I can't say enough about our guide Michel. He knew just where to stop when we needed food, and always had a great spread. I know he was buying a lot of it daily in his 'spare' time and even found some requested goodied - like the jar of pickles. And who knew we would drink and enjoy that much Coca-Cola!

This was the sign at our lunch stop. Just one more named climb, even if it wasn't rated. We rode it like we were on the Tour..

After lunch we had another nice descent, and then off into the countryside.

Bob and Todd took an early lead, and I was feeling strong and caught up to them, and we just kind of cruised thru the countryside expecting to be caught. As we got closer to town, that Y chromosome kicked in and we powered it up to be first in. We found out the peloton was coasting behind us, but it felt good to push really hard to the very end. After my performance in the middle of the week, it was good to know there was some ability in there somewhere.

Just another view of the South of France, with Mt. Ventoux off in the distance. I hope these mental images stick for a long time.

Got to the hotel, and was pretty overheated. Grabbed a cold beer, put on the shorts, and hit the pool. They don't seem to believe in heating their pools here. It felt good once the heart restarted and I was able to swim to the side and sit in the sun.

The end is near. Michel is prepping the bikes for tomorrow. We all had to remove our bike hardware - seats, computers, pedals.

Our last group activity. Most of us went into town - Bedoin - for some quick shopping and sightseeing. We wandered around the main street, into a couple bike shops, bought some Flan which was great, and found a cafe to sit have have a beer in.

While we sat here and hashed over the week, we saw a guy from another group of riders get helped into an ambulance. He had obviously had a crash of some sort and our expertise told us he had a major shoulder injury. Sad to see, and made us even more thankful that we made it thru such a hard week with no skin left on the pavement.

Dinner back at the hotel was great. A tomato salad with a spicy pesto sauce that had Dana ordering a small jug of it to go with dinner. The waiter looked perplexed but brought us one. Dinner was fish or pork and mashed potatoes, and dessert was a nice ice-creamy type of thing - not really sure how to describe it. It didn't last long enough for a picture....

After dinner, we said quick goodbyes to Gary, Kevin, and Jon. They all take off way early in the morning, with taxis to Marseilles and Avignon. We'll get up around 7:00 and leave by 9:00 for the train station in Avignon.

It's hard to know what else to say. I can't imagine a trip that could have gone so well. I could have climbed faster, or ridden harder, but those are minor if's. The sun shone, the guys were great, the hotels and meals were better than expected, and the scenery was incredible. I'm sitting outside on our patio finishing this up, in the cool night air, with a starry sky above. The body feels strong and good, and the soul is incredibly intent.

I have to thank Bob for putting this together and inviting me along. It exceeded all my expectations! Thanks to Mark, my riding buddy for coming along. I have someone local to share this with. Thanks to Shawn, my roomie, for most of the trip. You complete me. Really, you just get my jokes and movie references, which is close. I had fun. And thanks to the rest of the Tour de Bob gang. I can't imagine a better group of guys to spend a week with - no whining, no hassles, just riding and fun and great conversations. Thanks to Kevin for helping me enjoy the back of the pack. Thanks to everyone for reading along on this adventure. It helps cement the memories typing them out like this, and I appreciate the tolerance for my mode of thinking.

And mostly, thanks to my wife Nancy. She is so supportive of all the crazy things I do, and welcomes be back home when I return. That's why I get in home mode on the last day - I'm excited to see the most important person in my life. Thanks for letting me be me.

This site will stay active for a long time. I probably won't ever delete it as it's a good place for memories. I will be adding a few stats to the site when I get home - the names of the specific climbs, with miles and altitudes, and the overall totals. It looks like we passed 425 miles, with over 51,000 feet climbed. Awesome! Good night, and thanks for the support!

Click here for Dana's pictures.

Click here for Bob's pictures.

Click here for a helmet-cam video from Mark of us descending from Mt. Ventoux.

Click here for another video from Mark.

Click here for our route today.