We arrived early at Maison Jouvaud to sit in the dimly lit interior and sip a café allongé while the Carpentras Friday market assembled. For a week we'd watched warm breeze melt the snow from the south western slope of Mont Ventoux. Finishing our coffee we collected our bread and set out to fetch supplies for the weekend: cheese, vegetables, preserved lemon olives, terrine. With rain in the forecast, this was the best, and last, chance to take a stab at Mont Ventoux, even knowing the road would be barricaded past Chalet Reynard. The climb is relentless, with few notable curves and nothing describable as a "break" until the outside switchbacks of the steepest sections allow plausible deniability of a zig zag. Past Chalet Reynard, hikers amble along the edge peering down to Provence below. A candy cane striped barricade reads "Route Barre". As we paused to layer up, a cyclist covered head-to-toe rounded the corner, and ducked under the barrier and informed us that the road is clear, and free of ice, but it is very very cold at the summit. Up we go.
