Nick Hanson's 'Tour de France' July 09.

See bottom of page for slide show.

With very short notice & a minimum of planning I secured permission from Lynn to fly out & see the Tour De France on the Ventoux.

An early flight out of Liverpool saw me ready for a midday start from Nice, on the French riviera, on the thursday. This left me thursday afternoon & all day friday to cycle the 150 odd miles to the base of the Ventoux.

Stifling heat & LOTS of climbing (well, I suppose it is sea level at the coast!) saw me arrive at Casellane after 7pm, feeling shattered. A shower then a meal in town soon had me feeling human again& planning an early start the next day to get some miles in before the worst of the heat.

The following morning, as dawn was breaking on another sunny day, I was on the road, & up and over the first col, hardly breaking sweat, followed by fresh pastries & coffee on the next town I came to, called Barreme. A steady ride westwards past sunflower & lavender fields brought me to Forcalquier for lunchtime.

The temperature was now 39 degrees, so a leisurely lunch under the shade of some trees, eating some locally sourced savouries & fruit was in order. The afternoon passed largely uneventfully. Arriving in the town of Sault, with time to see Cav win his 5th stage on a TV set up for all the tourists to watch (mainly Brit cyclists, it seemed!).

After buying some provisions to sustain me for the next day, I rode from Sault, up the easiest route up the 20 kms climb to Challet Reynard. The route was already packed with people occupying any parking areas to stop overnight in, & this part of the climb isn't even on the race route! (Note, signs indicated the presence of wild boar!)

At 4 km to the Challet police were turning cars back, but being on bike I proceeded to Challet Reynard, where the 'easy' road joins the race route for the final 6kms through almost lunar landscape to the summit.

As planned I rough camped up a bit of a gully behind the challet, cleaned up & found the nearest burger stand for a hot sandwich, frites & beer.

As the sun went down the atmosphere began to build with music playing from the partying groups of assorted nationalities. A walk up the mountain (to try & get a phone signal, honest!) brought me to a bar where I decided it might be rude if I didn't help the local operator with their profit margins!.

The next morning the trusty mobile woke me with some texts from home...at 5 am, so a leisurely packing ensued. The local phenomenon of the Mistral (a gale force wind to you & I) was howling as I rode the 6km to the summit for a coffee & croissant. The wind was so strong at times that It carried me & my fully ladened bike fully across the road & I was seriously doubting they would have the finish right at the summit.

After breakfast I set up as the barriers started, with 1.5km to the finish & watched the crowds build. By the time the race approached there was a very large contingent of Brits & Aussies gathered around & I was receiving regular updates on what was happening on the race through my brother Chris & the modern miracle that is texting!

Just after the yellow jersey group came flying past I got another text just saying..."Seen you!". The old long sleeved Seacroft top really does show well on tv!!.

After seeing all the riders pass it was time to pack up & head down off the mountain. The gridlocked conditions on the road down meant it took me as long to get down to Sault as it did to climb up the day before, as even cyclists were reduced to walking pace.

A brisk ride south to Apt got me to a campsite as dusk arrived and after getting the tent up it was shower time, then into the next door restaurant for a much needed pizza (& a few drinks!).

Getting another early start to beat the heat meant a nice temperature for a ride south through the Luberon range, made famous by Peter Mayle's 'A year in Provence' books, then a latish breakfast in Aix en Provence.

A steady ride parallel with the Autoroute, heading due east, got me to Brignols (scene of Cav's first stage win this year) for a foot quench in the town fountain, then a salad lunch.

The afternoon ride to get me within 20 miles of Frejus was largely uneventful, apart from a block headwind, oh,and a dead snake at the side of the road!!
Rather makes you glad of sewn in ground sheets when you are camping!.

A cool in the site pool was most welcome before tea, & a relaxing evening, knowing that the next days ride to the airport was easily achievable.

A steady ride next morning down to the coast for breakfast at Agay (a resort I've camped at in the past with Lynn) & then along the coast to Cannes for the biggest Ice cream I've ever seen, & a paddle in the sea, then to the airport.

The flight back was on time, meaning I reached home by 9pm. Lynn & the children seemed pleased to see me, until I told them
"It's like Lance says.......No Presents"!

Stats for the ride, approx 380 miles covered, and just over 5000 metres of climbing ! .