We had learnt our lesson from the previous day and wrapped
up in our thermal gear to head out into the mist and sleet. It was a chilly 3.5°C
as we climbed nearly 1,000 ft in the 1st 5 miles of the day. Things
got better as we headed down a rather large hill, 1,000 m drop in 10 km… We all
enjoyed it immensely! After a quick coffee at the bottom to warm ourselves up
we headed down (not quite as steep, but yes, still down!) the valley towards Aubenas. Lunch was eaten outside in
roughly 20°C sunshine and we headed out to do some of the hills, after a few of
those with the temperature rising to 26°C it was decided that the thermals from
the morning were no longer appropriate and a roadside costume change was in
order. Summer gear on and local drivers traumatised, we continued on our merry
way.
I think it’s fair to say that we benefited from a favourable
tail wind, because as the roads flattened out we were still easily hitting
speeds of 30 mph on the flat. This made our 113 mile trip seem a whole lot
easier! Speeds in excess of 40 mph were
achievable on the flat with some effort. There were a fair number of cyclists
coming off Mont Ventoux, heading in the opposite direction who didn’t seem
quite so happy with the condition! The
shadow of Mont Ventoux and it’s legendary status in cycling history loomed large
as we headed into Bedoin for the evening. We hit the pasta hard in preparation
for the big day!
Route details can be found here, we recommend viewing them
initially in your winter thermals and then change into your summer shorts
halfway through in public, whilst not giving a damn:
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