Riding Mt Ventoux/Grenoble in September?

[Joel]

I’m giving some thought to do the Mt Ventoux ride and areas around Grenoble. Velotel's killer posts have taken their toll on my riding psyche. And
if my wife gives me a hall pass it could be great.

Well almost…here’s the rub.

No opportunity to get any vacation until early September.

Is that too late to do an ascent of Ventoux?
Is that too late for the riding around Grenoble?

I’m a Florida boy – hills ok…
Freezing cold weather - not so much…

[mistermo]

I rode Ventoux last September, late in the month. Provence is September is phenomenal. The crowds are gone and the weather is ideal. Not overly hot, and cooler at night. I wore shorts and a sleeveless jersey the day I rode up. I sweat lots. You should too.

Highly recommend it. I rented a bike in Bedoin if you'd prefer to travel light. There are plenty of places to rent there and they speak English well enough if you don't parler Francais.

[echelon_john]

You'll be somewhat weather-dependent, but that would be just as true in August. It can be chilly, but the real issue is the wind, which can be significant.

Fall is definitely the nicest time of year there IMO. Still 80 degrees + most days, down in the 50s at night, harvest time, etc. Like Mistermo said, the crowds are significantly less of an issue then as well.

Check out Sault also as a place to stay; really cute town.

[mistermo]

You can see the weather the last week in September (2011) was ideal. You'll see lots of cyclists along the way. Grab a bite at Chalet Reynard about 2/3rds up.

[LouDeeter]

http://www.rhonewineholidays.com/

You can add a Rhone Wine tour with lodging and great meals at this place. We stayed there in September 2009. The little town is at the base of Mt Ventoux and a departure point for many riders for the climb. You can also rent bikes in the little town.

http://www.kingofthemountains.co.uk/

If you want to add the Alps, specifically L'Alpe d'Huez, I recommend the King of the Mountain Inn. It is run by a British couple who will take care of local transport and might even ride with you up the mountain. Great rates and meals there too, but not luxury living.

[572cv]

We might go in September too, to get the Ventoux off the bucket list. Last September, in the Vercor, it was generally fabulous weather for cycling.

France "off season" which is generally any time except July/August, is just superb cycling.

[cycle_chic]

Do itttttt!!!!!!

I did it mid-August of 2010 in shorts and a windproof jacket. (See below for awkward pic of me at the top)

It was windy as hell and cold on top, but I managed to smile for some pictures before zooming back down.

Oh, and I should also mention that I'm a born-and-bred Florida girl and I survived just fine.

[velotel]

First time I rode the Ventoux was 26 October, 2008, from Malaucène. Following year I rode it from Bédoin on 21 November. Last year I rode it again from Malaucène late fall. Fabulous time to ride the mountain. 21 November was definitely late but the weather was terrific and for an added bene, the road was closed just after Chalet Reynard to the summit. I was the only one up there. September is a piece of cake, unless the weather sucks.

[velotel]

Last year's ride up Ventoux from Malaucène was on 12 November. There's a post with some photos. I think there's also a post from my ride up the south side with photos. If you find them, you'll see the weather is rather fine.

[old_fat_and_slow]

...

[Karin Kirk]

September is pretty ideal for a trip like this. Lucky you!
Most likely you will be warm to hot on the ride up and freezing on the descent. You have lots of time to plan out your layering system, which will be key to being comfortable in both directions.

[cycle_chic]

How does a starving student afford a trip to France to ride the Alps? ;)

Man, things have changed since I was a starving student. Back then, we were livin' it up if we could afford a six-pack and a can o' SPAM on the weekends. Trips tah France ? Wow, being a starving student doesn't sound too bad. :)

It's called snagging a European guy, who's also a cyclist, and having him show you around gratis. No way in hell I could afford to go to Europa any other way.

[fogrider]

the wind can be killer! and things can change quickly. where a "huts" along the road that you can duck into when it gets too windy. be sure to bring your own clif bars and such, I couldn't find any when I was there!

[maxn]

still havent ridden Ventoux so can't comment on that, but September is usually great in the Grenoble area. Would be happy to show you around if you are a fellow col enthusiast!

[jerome]

Hi,
I can tell you a bit about the Ventoux, Provence and the Alps
I am living near by Mt Ventoux and Alps are my play ground.
I have also embark upon a career change toward cycling developing very special maps as "cycling navigators" for those places.

September / October is the best time to ride in Provence.

Be in Grenoble in September to have more chances of great weather.
You have awesome rides there too : Chartreuse, Vercors, etc... don't focus on Mt Ventoux and Alpes d'Huez the best rides are not there, for the best experience look around.
If you need more help I can tell you some great places to stay (clean, quiet, nicely arranged Inns where you can cook your meals if you wish), to eat.
Just feel free to ask.


http://gallery.me.com/jerome.tordo#100705
Jerome


PS: you have a friend there already

[jerome]

Perfect for a Florida guy !

but here it will be more than hills ! expect 2500 m elevation for a 80 km rides at least.
but a lot of fun, NO CAR I find myself out of the saddle for 4 to 6 hours crossing 5 or 6 cars, often I can climb a 900 m elevation col without crossing nobody, smelling natural flavors.
I will tell lyon the great place to grab some true provence grown food and avoid tourist traps as much as possible.
Leave your power bars and food supplements at home if you are addicted to them.
I run on bread, local honey, goat cheese, yoghourts, milk, lamps ribs, virgin olive oil....

[Joel]

Wow!

Thanks everyone!

Will likely get in touch with several of you for some more details if it all works out and I can make the trip.

This looks a lot 'saner' that last years' holiday ride which was through the mountains of Northern Vietnam and very flooded Cambodia!

All the best,

Joel

[jerome]

As all the other people here..
will be happy to help or give you a hand to navigate Europe once here.
If you need advice on how to find services how things work here : ask.

If I can help I will be happy to do so.


jerome

[fogrider]

Perfect for a Florida guy !

but here it will be more than hills ! expect 2500 m elevation for a 80 km rides at least.
but a lot of fun, NO CAR I find myself out of the saddle for 4 to 6 hours crossing 5 or 6 cars, often I can climb a 900 m elevation col without crossing nobody, smelling natural flavors.
I will tell lyon the great place to grab some true provence grown food and avoid tourist traps as much as possible.
Leave your power bars and food supplements at home if you are addicted to them.
I run on bread, local honey, goat cheese, yoghourts, milk, lamps ribs, virgin olive oil....
I'm not saying anything about the food there, I'm just saying it's messy carrying that lambs ribs, bread and honey in my rear pocket. and yes, I like clif bars over powerbars.

[onetwentyeight]

Great thread. I just joined the forum after being directed here from a friend who saw this. I'll be staying in Venasque the last half of September, and will be bringing my road bike. I'm looking forward to the trip, it will be my first time doing any serious riding outside of California.

[deanster]

Hi,
I can tell you a bit about the Ventoux, Provence and the Alps
I am living near by Mt Ventoux and Alps are my play ground.
I have also embark upon a career change toward cycling developing very special maps as "cycling navigators" for those places.

September / October is the best time to ride in Provence.

Be in Grenoble in September to have more chances of great weather.
You have awesome rides there too : Chartreuse, Vercors, etc... don't focus on Mt Ventoux and Alpes d'Huez the best rides are not there, for the best experience look around.
If you need more help I can tell you some great places to stay (clean, quiet, nicely arranged Inns where you can cook your meals if you wish), to eat.
Just feel free to ask.


http://gallery.me.com/jerome.tordo#100705
Jerome

PS: you have a friend there already

Thank you for sharing your photo album. Rode in the Austrian, Slovenian, and Italian Alpes the last 2 years. France is next. Looking at your photos and listening to your advice I will probably ride in September next year...again thanks.

[deanster]

Great thread. I just joined the forum after being directed here from a friend who saw this. I'll be staying in Venasque the last half of September, and will be bringing my road bike. I'm looking forward to the trip, it will be my first time doing any serious riding outside of California.

depending on your age and physical conditioning look seriously at your gearing combination...European roads tend to be much steeper than roads in California...you should have a good time.

[tiretrax]

European roads tend to be much steeper than roads in California

I rode in the coastal range outside of Monterey last year. Those were pretty darn steep. Fortunately, they weren't too tall 1000-1500'.

[rdparadise]

Mt. Ventoux is definitely a worthy climb. Being further south than the Alps causes the Ventoux to be rather warm in the summer. As others have said, September should be dandy.

I rode Ventoux in 2004. It was the rest day between the Pyrennes and Alps for the TdF before the Alp D'Huez time trial. By the time our tour got to the base of the climb it was already noon. Hotter than hell, around 90-95 degrees and scorching sunny.

Anyway, while I was riding up, most cyclist were already descending. Needless to say I was jealous. I took my time, no records broken and made it to the top and was very pleased with my accomplishment.

It's a pretty tough climb but well worth the effort. Go for it and best of luck.

Bob

[maxn]

I rode in the coastal range outside of Monterey last year. Those were pretty darn steep. Fortunately, they weren't too tall 1000-1500'.

Having ridding a reasonable amount in both places, I think it is hard to generalize about which is steeper. After all, it really depends on what you are riding in CA. I would say that the Bay Area at least has plenty of ridiculously steep stuff (the steepest thing I have ever ridden up anywhere is in Berkeley -- Marin ave.). However, the climbs are generally longer here. I ride a compact, but people with stronger knees ride standard doubles.

[mistermo]

depending on your age and physical conditioning look seriously at your gearing combination...European roads tend to be much steeper than roads in California...you should have a good time.
I went to school at CU and found the ascent to Ventoux to be pretty similar to any of the rides up the canyons near Boulder. And it wasn't nearly as steep as much of the ride up to Flagstaff. The Ventoux is very long, but I didn't find it particularly steep (compared to some places in the US (including many hills in CT)).

[onetwentyeight]

I live in Oakland, I know Marin Ave well. That thing's so steep I dislike going down almost as much as going up! I run a compact now with Campagnolo Chorus, but just found out that later this year Campy will release 52x36 rings that will work with the compact BCD. WANT. I'm 29, and ride between 150-200 miles a week, with my average ride having over 3000 feet of climbing. I'm pretty confident that I'll be able to get up Ventoux, it's more whether or not I get up there without wanting to puke at the top. The biggest local climb here is Mt Diablo at ~3500 ft over 11 miles, but gets steeper the closer to the peak you get, finishing with a short section that ramps up to 16%.

[fogrider]

I live in Oakland, I know Marin Ave well. That thing's so steep I dislike going down almost as much as going up! I run a compact now with Campagnolo Chorus, but just found out that later this year Campy will release 52x36 rings that will work with the compact BCD. WANT. I'm 29, and ride between 150-200 miles a week, with my average ride having over 3000 feet of climbing. I'm pretty confident that I'll be able to get up Ventoux, it's more whether or not I get up there without wanting to puke at the top. The biggest local climb here is Mt Diablo at ~3500 ft over 11 miles, but gets steeper the closer to the peak you get, finishing with a short section that ramps up to 16%.

Ventoux is longer than Diablo and a fair amount of it is about 15% and it is know for the wind!

[onetwentyeight]

I don't want to ride it because it is easy! :)

[Elefantino]

It's the ride of a lifetime.

Enjoy!

And don't forget the camera.

http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l84/gmmtwo/mikerbrventoux.jpg

[velotel]

Ventoux is longer than Diablo and a fair amount of it is about 15% and it is know for the wind!
Sorry, but on the classic climb, the one from Bédoin, it's possible there is a ramp or two approaching 15% but I seriously doubt it. Possibly the ramp just after the hard right when the road leaves the lower forest but again I have doubts. The road from Malaucène on the other hand has a 4,5 k section in the low double digits that is pretty rigorous indeed. The south side climb is the harder one with something like 16k averaging around 9%. What can kill you on Ventoux south side is the sheer size of the climb and that it's sustained all the way from the time you leave Ste Colombe.

For the infamous wind, pretty much a crap shoot. Just watch the weather. I've ridden it three times so far and not once was there any wind. A fine climb all in all. Either side. And as an aside, I think you can pretty much forget the various profiles of the roads you can find on the net; none of them seem to be all that good and definitely none of them correspond to the grades on the kilometer posts put there by the road department. Presumably they if anyone would have the numbers correct. On the other hand those numbers can be puzzling at times. Like when you ride past a k-post and see some fairly low percentage and there you are out of the saddle working hard in your lowest gear. Those percentage markers refer to the average grade of the kilometer after the post. If it's hard at the post, there's going to be somewhere in the following k that's easy.

[Elefantino]

Sorry, but on the classic climb, the one from Bédoin, it's possible there is a ramp or two approaching 15% but I seriously doubt it. Possibly the ramp just after the hard right when the road leaves the lower forest but again I have doubts. The road from Malaucène on the other hand has a 4,5 k section in the low double digits that is pretty rigorous indeed. The south side climb is the harder one with something like 16k averaging around 9%. What can kill you on Ventoux south side is the sheer size of the climb and that it's sustained all the way from the time you leave Ste Colombe.

For the infamous wind, pretty much a crap shoot. Just watch the weather. I've ridden it three times so far and not once was there any wind. A fine climb all in all. Either side. And as an aside, I think you can pretty much forget the various profiles of the roads you can find on the net; none of them seem to be all that good and definitely none of them correspond to the grades on the kilometer posts put there by the road department. Presumably they if anyone would have the numbers correct. On the other hand those numbers can be puzzling at times. Like when you ride past a k-post and see some fairly low percentage and there you are out of the saddle working hard in your lowest gear. Those percentage markers refer to the average grade of the kilometer after the post. If it's hard at the post, there's going to be somewhere in the following k that's easy.
I don't think there's anything approaching 15 percent from the Bedoin side, but once you enter the forest at Saint Esteve it's kilometer after kilometer of little white roadside markers alerting you to upcoming 9+ percent grades.

The hardest ramp is the final right turn up to the weather station. You're already wiped from the climb and then there's this impossible little upswing. It's hard, at that point, not to fall over.

[Lionel]

Ventoux from Bedoin makes Mt Diablo look like a very small hill.

St esteve to chalet reynard is very difficult and every kilometer there averages over 9%, several over 10%. The key word here is average.

If the mistral blows, chalet reynard to the top can be extremely hard.

IMO, one of the toughest climb in France.

[BCS]

I just came across this story. It was also in the RUSA magazine. Ventoux x 4 on a fixie--blows my mind!!

http://www.thebicyclestory.com/2011/11/paul-rozelles-24-hour-pre-pbp-fixed-gear-mont-ventoux-rides/#Chap6