The Giant of Provence

The "Giant of Provence" is something else.

Col de la Madelaine was quite something but you could not really see it in its supreme magnitude because it was part of other mountain passes.

Mt Ventoux is the Giant of Provence and it is made even more daunting because you can see from far away just what lays before you,

But let not me be the one to describe the Ventoux.

I will instead quote notable British cycling writer on his first view of the Giant when he wrote:

"And suddenly, there, in what seems like another world, miles away, rises a preposterously large mountain into a torn blue sky. Incalculably vast and aloof, a naked summit, white as monumental alabaster, the bloodless white of death, topped by a radio mast, like a steeple. so remote that I imagine any roads going up there must belong to different scales of tick tock and map measurements , with time locks between them and the road I am riding. A real ogre with winter in its hair, a gale screaming out of its throat and an extremely uncomfortable way of staring at a body. I didn't want to believe this was Ventoux, I couldn't believe this wasn't Ventoux. It was Ventoux alright"

The above pretty much sums up Mt Ventoux, the Giant of Provence.

Unlike the mountains of the Alps, this bastard stands aloof. We could not really see the summit of Madelaine because it was a part of many other Cols. There is nothing about Ventoux to disguise its height and gradient. It stands alone in all its frightening awesomeness.

This is not only an iconic mountain of Le Tour, but an iconic mountain of the world of cycling.

It is said that until you conquer the fear of Ventoux, you cannot call yourself a real cyclist.

Our band of 7 cyclists are now 'real'.

Phil H said " this is the ultimate cycling challenge - nothing comes close

Mick W said on completion of the climb - " Ventoux is relentless but at the same time rewarding"
Damian's comments were " the achievement of the group as a whole is a testament to the group but I was not prepared for the incredible vista as we emerged from the forest with 6 k's to go

Peter has been here before however on the 2006 tour the accent was via the far easier route. He was pleased to have ascended by way of the much harder route out of Bedoin and said he "took much satisfaction from seeing the pleasure of the group passing the much harder roads from Bedoin".

After the extreme challenge of Madelaine a few days ago, it was inevitable that comparisons would be drawn between the two climbs.

Craig considered Ventoux to be easier while Phil thought it far, far tougher. Colin wants to do Madelaine again in fine weather before deciding whereas Damian believes they are both bastards.

Mt Ventoux is a famous climb for cyclists. We want to test ourselves on her slopes. Today, the winds had dropped to an horrific level of only 58 kph. Yesterday it was 100 kph. Since when has 58kph been easy? But Ventoux is different

We were fortunate that there was a fine weather opportunity to allow us reasonable access. In planning the 2010 route, Peter and Greg M were keen to ascend the mountain from the more exposed and difficult starting point of Bedoin and pleasingly, this proved to be possible.

Peter and Damian crossed the summit literally a spoke distance apart followed by Colin, Ern, Craig, Phil and Mick. There were two heroes today with Mick and Phil dragging their 100 kg bodies up and over what is one of the most demanding climbs in the world of cycling.

A Mirage fighter from the French air force performed a fly by the mountain to celebrate our achievement. Spectacular.

There are photos in the gallery however be sure to catch the video of the day when it it released as we had two bike mounted cameras and one car camera catching all the action.

Tomorrow we head for Nimes however we are fully aware that it will take another significant mountain challenge to match the ecstasy that we all feel today. We cannot wait until the Pyrenees.

In summary, Mt Ventoux was the greatest day any of us have had on the bike and we have celebrated tonight as only Australian's can . (Rose and all)

If you have not yet done Ventoux, start planning now - because you must - from Bedoin