Lured from Ventoux

Friday afternoon on Mont Ventoux. The road signs said fermé, but the summit was heaving: cars, coaches, motards, and cyclists of course. The idea for the next day had always been to do the three ascents, but in this traffic I may as well have been riding around any town.

I’d spotted a road near Sisteron that looked like a nice ride, as a stop off on the way to or from Marseille airport. Its constant squiggles meant it could only be a climb. The Montagne de Lure was completely unknown to me, and plenty of others it seemed. On Strava, only 1000 people had ever made the ascent. Compare that to Mont Ventoux…

As Id ended up staying in Sault rather than Bedoin, exploring the Montagne de Lure would make for a good day’s ride: a nice loop through the Vallée du Jabron, over the mountain and back through the lavender fields. Along with the Montagne de Lure, Id have the shorter Col de l’homme Mort to cross, which is how I felt having only dined on a Reblochon pizza the night before (very nice though).

This is how I felt...

Down through the Vallée du Jabron, the slight descent compensated for a rising headwind, but by the start of the Montagne de Lure, I knew I wasn't on a good day. Turning off the D946 and crossing the river, I started the climb: 26km of 5%.

The Vallee du Jabron at the foot of the Montagne de Lure

The climb starts relatively easily, but its exposed so a headwind through fields slowed my progress until I reached the shelter of the forest. For the first 5kms there is no clue where the road is heading: it appears to be heading into a cirque with no escape, but veers off through into a forest. There’s no view, no sign of whats to come: only the km signs give any indication of where you are.

Not far to go!!

At ‘only’ 5% the climb may not appear severe, but factoring in the distance, the road surface, and the unevenness (it has several downhills and false flats) then it becomes a different proposition. The road is single track all the way – a lane. The road surface isnt great (and why should it be?): rough all the way to the last 3km, where it gets rougher still.

The Col sign at the bottom of the climb

Towards the top there are a series of hairpins – nothing fancy, just basic switchbacks – which lead to the Col du Pas de la Graille. Just like Ventoux’s Col des Tempetes, this col is about 3km from the real summit. 

Workman like hairpin. Note the road surface.

I missed the col sign, because its hairpin crested into a headwind and was shrouded in mist. The last stretch to the summit was a cold, windy and foggy drag made worse by the road surface. It may have only been 2-3% but it felt worse. The road surface looked to be a collection of stones from the mountain compacted to make a road. Which it probably was.

The summit shrouded in mist.

Before the descent starts, some false flats.

The summit has some interpretation boards and a track up to the Signal de Lure. After taking some photos I got on with the descent, not stopping at the nearby Abbaye Notre Dame de la Lure. After skirting the top of the mountain for a kilometre or two, the descent begins. It's a complete contrast to the last 26km: hairpinned, but wide and fast, with a much improved road surface.

I made it to the top!

 

The descent finishes in Saint-Étienne-les-Orgues where I had some food before the final 45km. The ride back to Sault was enjoyable: smooth roads, little traffic, and a slight tailwind. Good views too: a tree lined avenue in Ongles, and then some views of Mont Ventoux across the Lavender fields near Revest du Bion.

Heading back to Sault

Mont Ventoux in the distance

I couldn't help but wonder why the Montagne de Lure had never featured in the Tour de France? Or more precisely the descent: with a stage finish in Sisteron, you can see the Montagne de Lure setting up a crazy descent for Romain Bardet though the forest to become the first Frenchman in decades to win the Tour de France. Maybe.

Full ride details here:

The Tumble: overrated

Top of the Tumble tonight pic.twitter.com/UAMgq0bGzJ
— Dr Gareth Enticott (@GarethEnticott) May 1, 2014

The Tumble. Apparently the mecca of South Wales cycling, the spiritual home of hill climbing, the closest alpine ascent we've got. No wonder that the Tour of Britain will be finish on it in 2014. There's even a charity event where you can spend all day riding up and down it.

Pah! The Tumble is vastly overrated. It might be a relatively hard climb, but its not the best climb in South Wales. Here's five reasons why:

1. 10% for 6km? Ahem. At best, Strava gives 9% over 4.9km, or 8% for 5km. So its tough, but lets not exaggerate things. Moreover, the summit is in the wrong place. Really, the top of the climb is further on up the lane to the left of the summit which then descends down towards Llanover. There's a bit more climbing to do, but its not exactly steep. But then neither is pretty much the last kilometre of the main climb - its big ringable stuff. Maybe the climb is more like 3km at 10% - half of those official signs - but who'd be excited about that? Its hardly alpine territory.



2. The view. Where is it? Most of the climb - the steepest part - is along a hedgelined straight road. It feels claustrophobic and tedious, but it doesn't have the mystique of the forest section on Mont Ventoux. The lack of view makes uninspiring, a grind. Once over the cattle grid and out onto the moor things improve slightly. But for the most part the view is always behind you, and to the left there's no sense that you are scaling a high peak: there are no high craggy outcrops, scree slopes or cliff faces. The view back over the Usk valley from the top is good, but this comes at the start of the descent when you probably want to be concentrating on something else.

3. The road surface. Aargh. Not quite the Arenberg, but nowhere near the smooth slopes of a Tour de France climb. Again, the steepest bottom section is worst, or pretty much all of it when descending (see next point). If this is supposed to be the highlight of riding in Wales, lets have a decent road surface.

4. The descent. What descent? All good climbs need to go somewhere (see next point), but the descent to Blaenavon is innocuous and uneventful. If you want a good descent you need to turn around and go back the way you came (or use the lesser known narrow lanes down to Llanover - but that's less fun). Of the Tumble descent, its fast and dangerous, which some people may like. Personally, I'd prefer to go fast without taking too many risks, or as one Strava segment names the descent; "grow some balls". The cambering of the bends towards the top creates a kind of roller coaster effect as you straightline them. Towards the bottom, there's no room for error with the road hemmed in by hedges. The road surface doesnt help and makes braking for the bottom hairpin tricky. Incidentally, all good climbs/descents need a good hairpin. The Tumble has one, but its impossibly tight and steep that it makes it neither enjoyable going up or down.

5. The destination. Have you been to Blaenavon? Actually its a world heritage site, home to the industrial revolution. The road is also quite an important route through to Pontypool which means its busy and not ideal for cyclists. But for cyclists the road doesn't really go anywhere: it doesnt link up to any other climbs. You can cut across to Brynmawr, or head back down towards Newport: either direction isn't particularly exciting. There's no secondary climb which would make the Tumble even tougher. Perhaps you could say the same of Ventoux, but at least with Ventoux the other side also offers another stiff test. The Tumble's asymmetry lets it down.

So what alternatives are there? Here's 3 choices:

1. Llangynidr Mountain. Personally I much prefer the climb up Llangynidr to the Tumble. The north face is 8% for 4.1kms, so not far off Tumble steepness. It has a view all the way up. It has a hairpin. And it has a proper descent, which you can climb back up. You could also ride over to the Tumble if you wanted. Im wondering why I didnt ride up it myself.


2. Bwlch/Rhigos/Maerdy. This is the classic combination. Bwlch, Rhigos and then Maerdy Mountain. The first two are less steep than the Tumble, coming in at around 5%. But they have hairpins, good road surfaces, a sense of being in the mountains and a view. Maerdy is even steeper. Coming out of Aberdare, it averages 9% over 3ks. The quick combination of these climbs make this ride pretty tough.



3. Ferndale - Llanwonno. Finally, my current favourite is the climb out of Ferndale to Llanwonno. Its only a narrow lane, but starts off with two alpinesque hairpins, the first with a huge retaining wall reminiscent of something you'd see on Alpe D'huez. The climb is in fits and starts, but you get a great view as you rise over the valley's communities below. Rows and rows of terraced housing are visible across the valley, the morning sun picking out the range of different colours. Its a great view. Then there's a technical but fun descent down through Llanwonno and either back to Pontypridd or to Ynysbwl. If you added this on to the back of the Bwlch/Rhigos and Maerdy, that would be some ride.

Mont Ventoux and other climbs

Mont Ventoux, a set on Flickr.

Km markers

On many of the Alpine climbs you'll see these kilometre markers, along with the steepness of the road. This one is on the Col de l'epine. They really are great, particularly on the long climbs like the Ventoux and Semnoz. They give you a sense of how hard you should/can be going and how long there's left. The only trouble is when they go missing, or you miss them. On the ascent of the Ventoux to Bedoin I couldnt see many through the forest section. They also seemed to be on the other side of the road so they were easily missed. Curiously there dont seem to many on Alpe d'huez either - there are a couple, but they seem more concerned about numbering the corners. Even then, the signs are placed so high up on the hairpins that they arent that easy to see when riding up - they certainly arent in your eyeline.

Ventoux Video

Mont Ventoux & L'Alpe d'Huez from Gareth Enticott on Vimeo.

It is done

Ventoux tamed, twice.

More to follow...

At the top


The Summit


The view


The view