The Cinglés Club

narbs

nellie72 wrote:

Hi all.

I am heading down to Ventoux in 2 weeks time (5-9th September) for a bit of a spur of the moment, unsupported attempt at joining the Cingles club.

I've been before when riding the Haute Route in 2017 so know what to expect. In 2017 (October) we only managed to get to the summit twice due to the winds. Once under official event conditions it was pretty calm, but on the third day a few of us ignored the organiser instructions to stop at Chalet Renard and although we did make it to the top, it was pretty scary up there. You wouldn't have known it in Bedoin though where it was a glorious 80 degrees with just a reasonable breeze.

This time as I am going alone I still want to be aware of whats going on weather wise on the summit. Does anyone have a website link that gives accurate, near real-time or forecasted weather conditions on the summit?

Voila.

https://www.meteo-ventoux.fr

nellie72

narbs wrote:

Voila.

https://www.meteo-ventoux.fr

Merci

mtb-idle

EDIT: wrong thread

nellie72

Completed my Cingles ride on Saturday 7th September. Below is an overview of my day for those that may be interested.

I started out from Bedoin at 06:30am whilst still dark but with the glimmer of sunrise being seen over Ventoux on my ride in from Mormoiron where my AirBnB was located.

I hit the lower parts of the climb after passing Saint-Estève and was chugging along at a reasonable pace, all the while conscious that my plan for the day was to ride within my limit and not let the enjoyment get away. There was very little traffic other than a few van's and cars bombing up and down. I was glad to have fitted my lights. After a banana and drink break a Chalet Reynard I kicked on and joined several other cyclists in the venture to the top. Once at the summit (arrived 08:46) the wind was up and it was fresh but not cold.

All this changed on the ride down to Malaucene. The Mistral was now blowing hard and my vest, jersey, arm warmers, gilet and two pairs of gloves (short and long fingered) were barely enough to fend off a severe case of hypothermia. I'm sure the riders heading up the mountain could hear my chattering teeth as I whizzed past them on the way down. The coffee and pain au raisin from the boulangerie at the foot of the climb was a welcome relief, as was sitting in the morning sun for 20 minutes whilst trying to bring my core body temperature back up.

The climb from Malaucene aided in warming myself up further. The sun was shining by this time and with the wind behind me I made good progress having de-layered myself. By the time I hit the mid section (5k before Chalet Liotard) I was starting to feel the burn on the steep sections. I knew I still had a long day ahead and was feeling it now. The first of many Cokes of the day was consumed at Liotard along with a 15 minute rest. The top section from Malaucene is usually good to me and it stayed true with a relatively easy push to the summit for the second time. Despite it being a very long climb (12:38 at the summit) I gained comfort from the fact that the two hardest climbs were now behind me by supping a cold Coke.

The ride down to Sault was a wonderful experience – the first time I have descended this route. It was now a very warm day and I loved the sweeping bends and turns smiling and waving (with probably too much enthusiasm) at the riders heading up the hill.
Late lunch in Sault was another Coke (#3 of the day) along with a fromage and jamon baguette and a coffee. This was my one regret of the day that I wish I’d stopped for lunch at Reynard on the way down instead of waiting to get to Sault. By the time I got to the slopes post-lunch, the baguette was repeating on me big time. In fact it actually revisited after about 10k of the climb. Not a pleasant experience. The other element of this climb that I didn’t not enjoy in the least was the motor bikes tearing up and down the road and quite frightening speeds. Absolute madness some of them.

By the time I reached Chalet Reynard again I was ready for the end. The wind was really blowing now and energy levels were desperately low. Coke #4 gave me a push on and I eventually reached the summit for the third time at 17:12. It was fairly quiet up there by this time but I managed to find someone to take the customary photo before the non-stop ride back to down to Bedoin where I celebrated with a beer at 18:00

All in all, a day of highs and lows (in more ways than one) but one that I will remember for a very long time to come.

itboffin

nice work that man ^^ sounds like a very well deserved new membership

meursault

Congrats, awesome stuff.

mtb-idle

well done that man, great ride report.

my main cycling buddy rode it on the same day. He was with a largish group riding in Zurich team kit for Medecin Sans Frontieres.

He is a much better climber than me and smashed me in July in the Alps when we were following the TDF however he found this very hard. Possibly due to the fact that for some strange reason they rode the Sault climb second and i think he was lulled into a false sense of security and he found the final Malaucene ascent really tough (unsurprisingly).

It looks like they had someone with them who captured some very impressive drone footage which was added into a very professional looking edit

https://vimeo.com/358808406/afab1160e9

wastelander

Wow!

What an incredibly tough but rewarding day - 10kgs too heavy, 10 degrees too hot (36c in the forest) and at least 20 watts fewer than I would have liked. At least I had the sense to fit a 34T rear cassette!

I found the Malaucene climb straight forward enough, took my time during the 10-12% sections but got flattened during the Bedoin climb by a combination of the relentless 8.5-10% forest gradient and the 36c heat which left me no choice but to rest at intervals - hot, stuffy and like trying to breath through an old sock! Disgraceful stuff.

The Sault climb was enjoyable, despite having 40+kms of climbs in the legs by this point and the relatively flat (2%) sections before Chalet Reynard gave a good chance for a degree of recovery before the final open section.

Challenging both physically and mentally, with an overwhelming sense of achievement and emotion on completing the challenge I set myself in memory of my sister. Proud to able to call myself a member of the Club des Cingles!

meursault

wastelander wrote:

Wow!

What an incredibly tough but rewarding day - 10kgs too heavy, 10 degrees too hot (36c in the forest) and at least 20 watts fewer than I would have liked. At least I had the sense to fit a 34T rear cassette!

I found the Malaucene climb straight forward enough, took my time during the 10-12% sections but got flattened during the Bedoin climb by a combination of the relentless 8.5-10% forest gradient and the 36c heat which left me no choice but to rest at intervals - hot, stuffy and like trying to breath through an old sock! Disgraceful stuff.

The Sault climb was enjoyable, despite having 40+kms of climbs in the legs by this point and the relatively flat (2%) sections before Chalet Reynard gave a good chance for a degree of recovery before the final open section.

Challenging both physically and mentally, with an overwhelming sense of achievement and emotion on completing the challenge I set myself in memory of my sister. Proud to able to call myself a member of the Club des Cingles!

As the Americans say "Good job!"

A day you will always remember, you can't beat that.