With a Tour de France stage finishing at the top of Mont Ventoux tomorrow, today was the perfect day to ride up one of the paved ascents as traffic is restricted to cyclists, services and residents most of the way. The last few miles are reserved exclusively for bicycle and pedestrian use. Bedoin was going to be a mess (it’s the tour route), that left Maulucene. The day started with rain, but by the time we left to fetch ride snacks from the bakery the clouds had parted and roads were drying out. The atmosphere on the ride up was festive, with far more riders than usual for a Monday. There were notably fewer folks milling around the summit, and obviously the parking lot was empty, but there we plenty of happy cyclists. We briefly descended the Bedoin side, but turned around after a mile or so. Between the riders, walkers, and Le Tour service vehicles it was clear the Maulucene descent would be both faster and a lot more fun. By the time we arrived back home the signage and barriers were going up for tomorrow’s race, and the road below the house was a constant stream of cyclists.
