Sites near Mont Ventoux (1 Viewer)

Apr 25, 2012
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In the middle of May we will set off for a 6 week trip to Italy, taking our road bikes with us. En route we are going to tackle Mont Ventoux, hoping to fare better than Tommy Simpson. I've spotted there is an Aire at Sault, which is the starting point we aim to use, but I wondered if anyone knows of any good campsites down that way as we may well spend 2 or 3 days in the area.

Happy to hear from anyone who has also done the ride!

Gary and Sue
 

Riverbankannie

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We stayed at a Dutch owned/ run ACSI site with a fabulous pool and lovely views of Mont Ventoux. We also wild camped on the summit one night which was magical.
Give me a few minutes and I will come up with the details.
 

Riverbankannie

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This is a thread with some info on camping on Mont Ventoux
https://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum/threads/off-to-gorge-du-verdon.154047/page-4.
Here we are in the middle of the three MH that stopped overnight. It was a lovely calm and very warm night last June. Use weather forecast for walkers before deciding whether to stop.

F934BDF5-5860-4873-AEA8-EA701A3C6768.jpeg


This is the campsite and post number 64 in the above thread has a photo taken from the pool.
https://www.campingcard.co.uk/franc...ur/vaucluse/mazan/campsite-le-ventoux-111554/
 
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@Riverbankannie and @scotjimland
Thank you both. Looking forward to anything you can tell us Annie.
Jim, I love my bike, I ride a lot, three or four days a week and around 200km a week on average, and am really looking forward to riding in Italy, but when Sue said "why don't we do Ventoux?" You could have knocked me down with a feather. She is younger and much fitter than me (she regularly does 20 mile coastal runs down here in Cornwall) but she only started biking a year ago and although she has an excellent bike and is certainly determined, I think she may find it tougher than she expects. But I wouldn't bet against her making it!

Gary
 

scotjimland

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have always enjoyed cycling but only too it up seriously last spring.. go out regularly and do 20 - 30 miles .. 80 - 100 per week.. so looking forward to building it up this year .. haven't been to for a couple of weeks. We also do a bit off road, plenty of trails and forest around us, but I prefer the road.. last Oct Jan did the Swarm sportive ride at Ipswich and really enjoyed it . my daughter stole my bike to do it ..lol
 

Riverbankannie

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I can tell you that we didn’t even get our electric bikes out to ride from that stopping place just below the summit! If we could have made it up that relatively short distance, our brakes would not have let us down safely!!
Full of admiration for those making it. On the first afternoon, we found some Brits at the summit throwing up. I congratulated them and then they said that they had cycled up three times that day, once from each starting point and had ridden between the starting points too.

The next morning I walked back to the summit at 7.30 am and there were many early arrivals, once again mostly Brits. They were sensible though as it was very hot.

Love Mont Ventoux!
 
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HymerB544
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@Riverbankannie and @scotjimland
Thank you both again. One of my cycling friends has done the three routes in one day. Mad, but he's Belgian and thinks he's Eddie Merckx. Sault is the "easy" route apparently, though you still have to climb to the top whichever way you go.

Jim, we have friends in Norfolk and this year - August I think - we will be doing the Tour De Broads with them. It's over 100k but pretty flat, and Peter, who turns 70 next month, averaged nearly 25km per hour last year so I reckon it should be a pleasant ride.

Annie, your dead right about the brakes. Unless you're a Wighins or a Froome - and we definitely aren't - fast downhill is tougher than uphill in many ways.

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Riverbankannie

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Yes, it was easy driving up from Sault:LOL:, mind you we still had to stop for refreshments at Chalet Reynard:whistle:
 
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I got tired just driving up it! AUDI were testing a new model car - driving up and down with a whole load of measuring equipment/laptops in the passenger seats.

Memorial to Tommy Simpson is worth a look just a short distance from the summit.
 

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I've been over it twice, once on a push bike then in the MH. Avoid weekends if at all possible I think and even if it's sunny if you plan on coming down on the north side take windproofs and gloves - it could be very cold for the first part of the descent. We had to stop to wiggle fingers and toes several times.
A light snack before the ascent will help. :)

IMG_0455 Breakfast in Bonnieux.jpg

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HymerB544
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I've been over it twice, once on a push bike then in the MH. Avoid weekends if at all possible I think and even if it's sunny if you plan on coming down on the north side take windproofs and gloves - it could be very cold for the first part of the descent. We had to stop to wiggle fingers and toes several times.
A light snack before the ascent will help. :)

View attachment 217326
That "light snack" looks appealing and might just fit in the back pocket of a cycling top - Sue's , not mine! We'll be returning by the same route back to where the van will be. I usually breakfast on scrambled eggs and avocado, and save the full monty for when we finish. Can't wait now, and in September we're doing the Tourmalet en route to Murcia.
 
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Riverbankannie

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There is an aire in Sault should you wish to do that route up, however it is just a dusty piece of ground with random parking and no shade. We parked up there for a few hours because we wanted to make the drive up later in the day when there are fewer cyclists on the road.
 

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Mont Ventoux is the daddy of them all, fantastic on bike.
Drove up it in the Moho with the bike Garmin on the dash, never really dropped below 9.5% all the way up. Coming down was interesting as had to stop and let the brakes cool down.
Stayed at http://www.camping-ventoux.fr/ at Bedouin, was a nice site and handy to get to Ventoux
Got up early the next morning and took just under 2hrs to ride up, but was a lot quicker on the descent!
My post ride nutrition when I got back to the van was a 500g bag of peanut M&M's
Loved every minute of it:)

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HymerB544
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Mont Ventoux is the daddy of them all, fantastic on bike.
Drove up it in the Moho with the bike Garmin on the dash, never really dropped below 9.5% all the way up. Coming down was interesting as had to stop and let the brakes cool down.
Stayed at http://www.camping-ventoux.fr/ at Bedouin, was a nice site and handy to get to Ventoux
Got up early the next morning and took just under 2hrs to ride up, but was a lot quicker on the descent!
My post ride nutrition when I got back to the van was a 500g bag of peanut M&M's
Loved every minute of it:)
@Gcs thanks for tip on the campsite. It looks like there could now be three or four of us from our local cycling group doing the climb (Probus Pedallers) so will pass this on. Two hours sounds pretty good to me. Gary
 

mustaphapint

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I rode it 4 years ago on my 60th birthday. I started from Bedouin, had a brief stop at Tom's memorial to pay my respects and went down the other side to make a circuit of about 60k. I was on my ride to work
ventoux.jpg
bike and it really took it out of me. I wasn't anything like fit enough to do it really as I haven't done much cycling in the last 20 years. It's something I've wanted to do since the day Tom died, I just didn't expect to wait around 47 years to do it
 

suavecarve

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Ventoux.....memories.
Was there for le tour on bastille day a couple of years ago where they stopped the race 6 miles from the top. The previous day we cycled up a bit to a pub. (No intention of making the top) and it was a sunny day but windy, people were coming down frozen, they were selling cycling jackets at the top for 100 euros over their normal price. People were saying they were nearly blown off the mountain.
Sault is fine for a stop and an overnight but not 2-3 days.
We stopped at Sault a few years ago and met with some keen cyclists, the first brits we had seen in a couple of weeks, the wine flowed. they told me they were going up Ventoux the next morning. Now I am a relatively fit chap even though i dont do any training, I still play a very good standard of football and ran a half marathon in 1 hour 53 with no training. I thought it cant be that be bad, a couple of hours cycling, its just uphill, one turn after another, i m up for it. Now i only had a cross bike and thought i had better start an hour before them and got up, had a litre of water take up there with me and a couple of bananas. I go to leave and the couple have just woken up and advise me that my tyres are flat so they pump them up for me and i go off.
At this stage, i have just reread what i had planned to do and realise i was a blithering idiot. I dont cycle and this mountain is a beast.
I made it half way. If i had the right amount of fluids and food I could have made it, IF, i had started so early that the flies werent out. I couldnt put up with them. I was going that slowly and sweating that much that i was infested with them. The couple overtook me so i reckon up to here 44°08'28.0"N 5°20'38.9"E took me 2 hours. I have never made such a bad alcohol infused decision in my life.
Have fun, still waiting to sleep at the top and passing that way this year. Had to talk @Riverbankannie into trying it out for me last year so i knew it would be OK

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Riverbankannie

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Ventoux.....memories.
Was there for le tour on bastille day a couple of years ago where they stopped the race 6 miles from the top. The previous day we cycled up a bit to a pub. (No intention of making the top) and it was a sunny day but windy, people were coming down frozen, they were selling cycling jackets at the top for 100 euros over their normal price. People were saying they were nearly blown off the mountain.
Sault is fine for a stop and an overnight but not 2-3 days.
We stopped at Sault a few years ago and met with some keen cyclists, the first brits we had seen in a couple of weeks, the wine flowed. they told me they were going up Ventoux the next morning. Now I am a relatively fit chap even though i dont do any training, I still play a very good standard of football and ran a half marathon in 1 hour 53 with no training. I thought it cant be that be bad, a couple of hours cycling, its just uphill, one turn after another, i m up for it. Now i only had a cross bike and thought i had better start an hour before them and got up, had a litre of water take up there with me and a couple of bananas. I go to leave and the couple have just woken up and advise me that my tyres are flat so they pump them up for me and i go off.
At this stage, i have just reread what i had planned to do and realise i was a blithering idiot. I dont cycle and this mountain is a beast.
I made it half way. If i had the right amount of fluids and food I could have made it, IF, i had started so early that the flies werent out. I couldnt put up with them. I was going that slowly and sweating that much that i was infested with them. The couple overtook me so i reckon up to here 44°08'28.0"N 5°20'38.9"E took me 2 hours. I have never made such a bad alcohol infused decision in my life.
Have fun, still waiting to sleep at the top and passing that way this year. Had to talk @Riverbankannie into trying it out for me last year so i knew it would be OK
You told me it was ok to stay at top and all that talk about sunsets and frozen grapes!!! I fell for it hook line and sinker and thank goodness, I shall remember it for a long time.
 

suavecarve

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You told me it was ok to stay at top and all that talk about sunsets and frozen grapes!!! I fell for it hook line and sinker and thank goodness, I shall remember it for a long time.
Did I forget to tell you my ulterior motive? so sorry, really sorry, no i really mean it, honestly,(y)
 

suavecarve

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In the middle of May we will set off for a 6 week trip to Italy, taking our road bikes with us. En route we are going to tackle Mont Ventoux, hoping to fare better than Tommy Simpson. I've spotted there is an Aire at Sault, which is the starting point we aim to use, but I wondered if anyone knows of any good campsites down that way as we may well spend 2 or 3 days in the area.

Happy to hear from anyone who has also done the ride!

Gary and Sue

Do you have a date in mind for Ventoux? We leave Barcelona on 7th May and need to be in Venice about 24th May. Probably making Provence 12th to 20th May and need to do Ventoux, weather permitting, overnight. Might have a hot chocolate waiting for you up the top

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I did it in September 2015,took me 3 hours 25 minutes and had to walk the last 3km as my legs turned to rubber. Did it from Bedoin which I think is the steepest,there is a campsite with an Aire beside it at Bedoin.It was a lovely day when I started but as I climbed the clouds came in and by the time I got to the top it was really cold. Only got a mountain bike,well it is a mountain.
https://www.campercontact.com/en/fr...-aire-camping-car-park-bedoin.aspx?fromsso=1;)
IMG_0998.JPG
 
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I can help with campsites and routes in the area. There is a fabulous little municipal campsite in Mont Bruin Les Bain. Problem for ventoux is that you will need to climb up to Sault from here but it is quite doable. There are two ways you can go up to Sault, we tend to go up the back way as it is quieter.

There are some amazing rides around the area including gourge du nesque, col du Perty, col st Jean etc.

There is also a campsite in Sault but it was very gloomy and tatty when we looked at it, so gave it a miss.

If you want some GPX files of our rides I can send them on to you, it will take few days though. We did all the rides on a tandem so you will wizz round them on solos!

Finally we went up ventoux on a tandem via Sault, just keep a very close eye on the weather and make sure you have wind proof tops for the desent. It can get very cold.
 

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