Le Geant de Provence

This is how they refer to le Mont Ventoux around these parts. Glenn and I tackled the monster today -- je l'ai battu mais Glenn l'a conquis -- which is to say he reached the top an hour before me. We made the ascent from Bedoin, which is unrelentingly steep, and followed the Tour de France route. Judging from the painting on the road, the Schleck brothers (Andy in particular) are very popular. There were many signs of encouragement and a number of very well-

painted flags of Luxembourg. Quite a few people follow along in cars and stop periodically to take pictures of their friends/family making the ascent and to provide them with water or take their helmets off their hands (very popular to ascend helmetless with shirt unzipped). They are all quite friendly and interested in encouraging everyone who is making the attempt, however.

As I approached the summit I spotted Glenn in his bright red shorts and started shrieking at him that I was finally there and then received some direction as to how to get right to the marker at the top (1912 metres according to sign painted on road, 1910 according to sign on side of road), so he ran along beside me in my cleats telling me to bear left and stand up and pedal hard as the last 25 metres is really steep after a sharp turn. Then an unknown French women came up to congratulate me and shake my hand -- we both think it was a sisterhood gesture from one woman of une certaine age to another. I am glad to have done this for my 50th birthday, butI do not plan on doing it for my 60th.

The descent was not as hair-raising as I had feared because we followed the advice of Gail from Jet Fuel and threw our weight into the curves. When we got home, Rosanna had made us a lovely lunch and also bought me a "Ventoux Finisher" jersey for my birthday, although she came uncharacteristically bounding

out of the house when we arrived just to make sure I had in fact finished. All in all a very good day!