Woke up this morning very stiff and lethargic from the exertions of the last three days (yesterday in particular), everything was a bit of a struggle, walking up stairs in particular. The weather had freshened up a lot since yesterday - the change in the weather we noticed at the top of Ventoux must have been a front coming over - so started off with my thermal gloves along with both a rain jacket and a thermal top over my cycling shirt. Normally I'll spend a couple of miles going at a slow but reasonable pace to get my legs warmed up before starting to build up speed but today it was straight into granny gear and just really gently peddling to try and get the stiffness out. Finally got going properly only to get whacked again by the same headwind that battered us yesterday and this continued for several miles until we got behind the lee of a range of hills. Not nice.
Spent the rest of the morning Col bagging, initially Col d'Aulan (845m) which was a measured but short 3 mile climb which was knocked off relatively easily and then onto Col de Perty (1302m). The climb for this Col started some 20 km away, climbing gradually but steadily at first. Soon the monotony took hold and once again I started to play the Kilometre Board game, this time not only trying to guess how many metres we had climbed in the last km but also working out the average gradient remaining (i.e. 1302m - current altitude)/distance to summit. This quickly got depressing as we were climbing at around 3% (which is a noticeable gradient but not blood sweat & tears stuff) but the average remaining was 5% and then as we went on climbing at 3% then of course the remaining gradient has to increase and up it went to 6% with over 10km to still go. This game worked well for about 16km when the darn authorities started to put the km boards in odd places - so rather than 4km to go it was 4.2km etc. It's interesting to see that when the body is under duress then you start to lose the ability to do relatively simple tasks and try as I might I could no longer do the math of (e.g. (1302 - 1085)/4200) - not even to a simple approximation. I guess the same sort of effect happened yesterday when I didn't see the Tom Simpson memorial even though I really wanted to stop there for a few moments - it was large and right by the side of the road but I never saw it.
So this "remaining climb gradient" game being effectively over I decided to set myself the challenge of getting the remaining way to the top without stopping (I had not stopped so far) and without changing down to the bottom chain-ring (i.e. the rings on the front, of which I have three). Felt great with 1km to go so decided to attack it like a true Tour pro, out of the saddle full bore attack, blasting up the last km of the Col at 20mph. Actually no I didn't, that's a total lie. Did get to the top without stopping or changing down which made me very happy, but the last 2 km were a real struggle - I spent the whole time counting down to the top in hundredths of a mile on my trip computer - dear god a hundredth of a mile takes a long time when you are struggling up a hill. Fantastic views from the top right across the alpine range, really pretty. Annoyingly even after 30 miles we still had Ventoux (I now shudder every time I say that word, I think there's some trauma inside me somewhere...) in the distance looking down on us. From 30 miles away it looks like such an innocent and innocuous hill...
Stopped for lunch on my own, Simon who I spend a fair amount of time cycling with or near had stopped for a coffee earlier and I had pressed on. As it was a little before 12.00 I knew my chances of getting a proper lunch were slim (the next stop was 11 miles and another Col down the road, by which time I would be starving). I also knew that my schoolboy English did not extend to "excuse me, I know it's before 12:00 but any chance of some lunch" so for the first time this holiday I chickened out and asked "Parlez vouz anglais.." and she went "?" so I tried "do you speak english", to which she said "non". Slightly comical conversation all around but somehow I ended up with a cured ham sandwich.
Learnt a bit of Franglais whilst sitting on the terrace having my lunch, a French cyclist came zipping through the village down the Col whereupon a white Citroën van decided to do a U-turn right in his path, causing the cyclist to slam his brakes on. A loud "Fuckeur" was the response from the cyclist.
Final Col immediately after lunch, Col de St Jean (1158m), this one shorter but steeper and didn't take long before the granny gear was being used - just over a 3 mile climb at around 7 to 8%.
So the morning was three Cols, one straightforward, one short but tough and the other a long drag getting steeper as it went.
And from there it was literally downhill all the way - the top of Col de St Jean is at 41 miles on the route sheet and I don't think I did any more real work after than for the next 25 miles, initially coming down steeply off the Col and then 20 miles cruising along a river. Thought about picking the pace up and kicking out for home which is what I'd do on a normal ride around 20 miles from home but my legs were complaining a lot already so just pootled along enjoying the sunshine, really nice.
Very interesting to follow the river for so long, initially it was just a trickle (but very obviously was a torrent in the thaw etc) and then as we followed it further and further it became wider and wider with more and more flow. Took lots of pictures of interesting rock erosions but won't post them here for fear of boring you rigid.
Hats off once again to Bike Adventures and their route finding, today was just fantastic, didn't see more than a dozen cars all day until the last bit of road going into Sisteron.
Staying tonight in Sisteron, a 12th century town. Took a stroll up to the Citadel overlooking the town. Forgot about my inability to walk uphill, so that was a bit of a struggle. The Citadel was quite nice, albeit spoiled a little by the main autoroute droning away in the valley and also by some idiot who though the 12th century Citadel would be enhanced by the addition of some 20th century cardboard cut-out figures in "costume". Hm, tasteful...
Stats for day:
Distance: 66.8 miles
Time: 5hr 10
Average:12.9mph
Max: 40mph
The road winding back down the col with the Alps in the distance.
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