One big loop ride around, over, and down Mont Ventoux
Don't you love a loop ride? I think we all do, so when I get news of a great loop ride, especially one that meet the 100km mark, I want to share it. My brother Mike is still pedaling around France and this week he and his wife have been exploring the Vacluse, that area north of Provence with Mont Ventoux looming ever present in the back yard.
Today's recommended ride: "Great Ride - Crestet to Sault via Mollan, St Leger, Aurel, etc. Beautiful valley along the backside of Mt Ventoux. D40, then over the top back to Crestet. 100km. Definitely put it on your list to ride. A great day on the bike."
So say you were eating and staying at the two places recommended on the post I wrote 2 days ago Traveling to Mont Ventoux, and you have already tackled the other side of Mont Ventoux from Bedoin Three Sides of Mont Ventoux, and you are now ready to combine that great ride up from Sault and the highly rated descent down to Malaucene plus take in a nice quiet back road to make your ride a LOOP ride. This ride is for you.
The ride: 100km, elevation: it doesn't matter because it is a loop ride so you have no choice but to ride the whole thing. And you are on vacation!
Description: Beginning in Crestet, take the back road to Sault, climb to the summit of Mont Ventoux, and descend in Malaucene, returning to your starting point in Crestet.
Crestet - (D54) (D40) (D41) - Saint-Léger-du-Ventoux - (D72) (D942) - Aurel - Sault - (D164) - Summit of Mont Ventoux - (D974) - Maulaucene - (D938) - Crestet.
Maps:
Got the location down? Now when you are visiting France for the 2013 Tour de France, take a day off from your busy schedule of chasing the Tour and go ride Mont Ventoux. You will not be alone on the mountain.
Photos:
Departing the town of Crestet
Another Loop Ride:
Looking for another loop ride in the area near Mont Ventoux? Gerry Patterson of Languedoc Cycling offers this 74km challenging route recommendation: Beaumes-de-Venise – Mont Ventoux Loop,
and Gerry's follow-up ride report with a group that tackled the Bedoin + Malaucene climbs on 06/13/13: Try, Try Again
Go visit!
I like this hokey touristy video, it gives the feel for the roman ruins, food, wine, relaxed mood of the region, and the wind on Ventoux. This is a place to go, stay, and ride. Video of tourist options in Vacluse.
Do you want to ride a bike in France yet?
Still not convinced - read more
Related Mont Ventoux posts by Pedal Dancer®:
Three Sides of Mont Ventoux
Traveling to Mont Ventoux
I love Mont Ventoux
So what's up from France?
Tour Travel - Tour de France, Stage 15
Guess Where? #4
Recommended Reading: Ride Reports Climbing Mont Ventoux, By Gerry Patterson, Cycling Languedoc; Will from Cycling Challenge describes his ride here: Mont Ventoux – All Three Sides, By Cycling Challenge. More ride reports at Conquering the Beast, By the Wall Street Journal; Cycling Provence: Le Mont-Ventoux and Gorges de la Nesque, By Steephill.TV; and Rest Day, Up Mont Ventoux, by CyclingTips. Also for tourists please search through the blog Sablet House for more specific restaurant and tourist recommendations.
Other Pedal Dancer recommended LOOP rides:
Magnificent day in the Haute-Pyrenees (Horquette d'Ancizan and Col d'Apsin)
Recommended Bike Route in Pyrenees, France (foothills near Pau), Pyrenees, France
I conquered the Col de Marie Blanque today, Pyrenees, France
Recommended ride: Deckers, Colorado , USA
Colorado Copper Triangle, Colorado, USA
Colorado High, Mt Evans, Colorado, USA
Cycling The Peak to Peak Highway, Colorado USA
My other favorite loop ride includes the Col du Tourmalet, but I just discovered I have never written up that ride before to offer you a link. Must do.
Don't you love a loop ride? I think we all do, so when I get news of a great loop ride, especially one that meet the 100km mark, I want to share it. My brother Mike is still pedaling around France and this week he and his wife have been exploring the Vacluse, that area north of Provence with Mont Ventoux looming ever present in the back yard.
Today's recommended ride: "Great Ride - Crestet to Sault via Mollan, St Leger, Aurel, etc. Beautiful valley along the backside of Mt Ventoux. D40, then over the top back to Crestet. 100km. Definitely put it on your list to ride. A great day on the bike."
So say you were eating and staying at the two places recommended on the post I wrote 2 days ago Traveling to Mont Ventoux, and you have already tackled the other side of Mont Ventoux from Bedoin Three Sides of Mont Ventoux, and you are now ready to combine that great ride up from Sault and the highly rated descent down to Malaucene plus take in a nice quiet back road to make your ride a LOOP ride. This ride is for you.
The ride: 100km, elevation: it doesn't matter because it is a loop ride so you have no choice but to ride the whole thing. And you are on vacation!
Description: Beginning in Crestet, take the back road to Sault, climb to the summit of Mont Ventoux, and descend in Malaucene, returning to your starting point in Crestet.
Crestet - (D54) (D40) (D41) - Saint-Léger-du-Ventoux - (D72) (D942) - Aurel - Sault - (D164) - Summit of Mont Ventoux - (D974) - Maulaucene - (D938) - Crestet.
Maps:
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| You can't see all these stages, so go ride your bike! |
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| A Logis (hotel) in Aurel |
 |
| Dont' let this sign stop you, nothing more than a little fresh asphalt on your carbon road bike frame. Road work is very common on the roads of France in springtime. |
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| Chalet Reynaud cafe on Mont Ventoux - a rest stop on the way up Mont Ventoux from Sault to the summit. ©Photo by Mike for Pedal Dancer® |
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| Almost there.... ©Photo by Mike for Pedal Dancer® |
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| You have arrived! Sommet Mont Ventoux. ©Photo by Mike for Pedal Dancer® |
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| La Chalet Leotard cafe on Mont Ventoux - a rest stop on the way down Mont Ventoux from the summit to Malaucene. ©Photo by Mike for Pedal Dancer® |
A return to the town of Crestet
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| Return home to your Gite in the vineyard near Crestet |
Another Loop Ride:
Looking for another loop ride in the area near Mont Ventoux? Gerry Patterson of Languedoc Cycling offers this 74km challenging route recommendation: Beaumes-de-Venise – Mont Ventoux Loop,
and Gerry's follow-up ride report with a group that tackled the Bedoin + Malaucene climbs on 06/13/13: Try, Try Again
Go visit!
I like this hokey touristy video, it gives the feel for the roman ruins, food, wine, relaxed mood of the region, and the wind on Ventoux. This is a place to go, stay, and ride. Video of tourist options in Vacluse.
Do you want to ride a bike in France yet?
Still not convinced - read more
Related Mont Ventoux posts by Pedal Dancer®:
Three Sides of Mont Ventoux
Traveling to Mont Ventoux
I love Mont Ventoux
So what's up from France?
Tour Travel - Tour de France, Stage 15
Guess Where? #4
Recommended Reading: Ride Reports Climbing Mont Ventoux, By Gerry Patterson, Cycling Languedoc; Will from Cycling Challenge describes his ride here: Mont Ventoux – All Three Sides, By Cycling Challenge. More ride reports at Conquering the Beast, By the Wall Street Journal; Cycling Provence: Le Mont-Ventoux and Gorges de la Nesque, By Steephill.TV; and Rest Day, Up Mont Ventoux, by CyclingTips. Also for tourists please search through the blog Sablet House for more specific restaurant and tourist recommendations.
Other Pedal Dancer recommended LOOP rides:
Magnificent day in the Haute-Pyrenees (Horquette d'Ancizan and Col d'Apsin)
Recommended Bike Route in Pyrenees, France (foothills near Pau), Pyrenees, France
I conquered the Col de Marie Blanque today, Pyrenees, France
Recommended ride: Deckers, Colorado , USA
Colorado Copper Triangle, Colorado, USA
Colorado High, Mt Evans, Colorado, USA
Cycling The Peak to Peak Highway, Colorado USA
My other favorite loop ride includes the Col du Tourmalet, but I just discovered I have never written up that ride before to offer you a link. Must do.