Last year, our annual holiday across the Channel to France was sidelined while I completed a number of major sportives, my 2014 cycling goal. This year, we booked our crossing earlier than normal, ensuring the priority was set, trumping any thoughts of signing up for the early summer sportive season .. although if you've read my earlier blog, you'll realise that my interest in such events have somewhat waned in recent months.
In choosing a destination for this year's trip, it should be no surprise that the bike was a big part of the decision making process. Now having the Yeti to transport all of us in style, there was never any doubt that the bike would not be joining us. The chosen cycling challenge for this year was to be Mont Ventoux. Made famous by the Tour de France, the mountain on which Froome battled with Quintana in 2013 for the yellow jersey and Tom Simpson met his tragic end in 1967, it also lies within the beautiful region of Provence, so a win win for both my wife and I.
I'll tell you about the Mont Ventoux climb later, in the meantime, the first thing I have learned about cycling in Provence is get out early, for as the day moves on, the temperature rises exponentially! Having completed a exploratory 10 mile cycle in the Sunday afternoon after arriving, my next two rides were to start before 7:00 am. At this time, the air is cooler but still pleasant to ride out in shorts and short sleeves.
The scenery is beautiful, particularly when you head into the mountains as I did on Wednesday, to both test out the Roubaix and my legs on a good hill climb, it being at least a week since they had last been tested. Weather permitting, Thursday would be the turn of Mont Ventoux!
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