Ride Reports October 2005

Several Frederick Pedalers Spotted On the Road in France
by Joan Wicks

What follows is a review of the exploits of several of the Frederick Pedalers as they visited the lovely region of Provence in France. The following members of the Pedalers were present on this invasion of the French countryside: Mark and Martha Anderson, Frank, Pepper and Jamie Scotto, and Joan Wicks and Serge, Theo and Liam Rousselle. Also joining in this invasion were Deb Guyot (a friend of Joan and Serge’s) and Jonathan Copper (Joan and Serge’s nephew) with a friend of his, Luke.

In order to house all of us, a three apartment "gite" was rented for the week of July 16 to July 22. The gite is a wonderful way to stay in France if you don’t mind cooking for yourself. It literally means "resting place". They are either full houses or apartments that can be rented to vacationers such as ourselves. Our gite was in St-Romain-en-Viennois, a small village a few miles from the larger town of Vaison-la-Romaine and about ten miles (as the crow flies) from Mont Ventoux. This region is in the upper part of Provence, and is a real cycling mecca for many, not to mention a very popular vacation spot. There's good reason for the cycling draw, not the least of which is great roads, outstanding scenery, and of course, Mont Ventoux. Oh, and let me not forget to mention the food and wine, which I will many times!

Saturday July 16: Everybody arrived in St-Romain-en-Viennois, each from their own direction. Some of us brought our own bikes and had to do some assembly, while others rented from the local bike shop in Vaison la Romaine. The rental bikes were adequate, but had a few issues e.g. weight and some drivetrain issues. We all got settled in and then headed out for a long, dinner at the local eatery complete with lots of good food and drink (see, told you I’d be mentioning this again).

Sunday July 17: The weather was gorgeous and proved to be a great day to warm up the legs for the more serious rides on subsequent days. But first – food and sustenance! Breakfast was the first order of business complete with fresh bread, croissant, yogurt and whatever else looked edible. For some of us coffee was the first order of business. For Mark, Coca Cola served as his caffeine fix every morning (judging from how strong he rode throughout the trip it seems to be a good approach!). We headed out to Faucon, a nearby village. After that we split up into two groups and all ended up with about 15-20 miles for the day. Then it was back to the gite for food (of course) and relaxation.

Monday July 18: Weather again started out lovely. We decided to head out for a more serious ride. We discussed possible routes with the owners of the gite. He directed us to an area that is known for its beautiful gorge. He mentioned some hills, but didn’t put a lot of emphasis on that aspect. He said that if we wanted to get some additional miles we would have the option to head to the small town of Dieulefit. There would be some nice pottery shops to see there. So Frank, Jamie, Mark, Martha, Joan and Deb headed out by bike while Pep acted as sag, planning to leave later and take the same road we took in case of any problems, and then meet us in Dieulefit for lunch. We headed out and after a few questionable turns we ended up on the road we were supposed to be on. We had very little in the way of expectations except the mention of "some hills". As the road kept steadily rising and as we saw more significant hills in the direction we were going we came to realize it might be more than a bit hilly. The road up was a pleasant winding road with a gentle grade bordering old olive groves. At this point we found out from Deb that she had a total of only about 100 miles logged in for the year! However, she pushed on. After crossing our first "Col", le Col de la Croix, we had a long pleasant descent. We took a break in the small village of Condorcet where Frank and Jamie found some incredible apricots at a roadside stand for us to savor before charging on. Just as we turned onto the road that would lead us to our next climb of the day we stopped under a tree for a short passing rain shower. As we did, several young gentlemen both riding hybrids and both sporting Rabobank jerseys stopped to chat. From their accents, and the jerseys, we came to the conclusion they were Dutch (although mere speculation on our part). They asked if we were heading in the direction they were coming from. We said yes. As they looked us and our bikes over they informed us with an air of warning, that it was a tough climb with a fairly constant 10% grade. We sensed they didn’t think we had it in us. We thanked them for the warning and we parted company. The first part of the climb was through the lovely gorge we were told about by the owner of the gite. The road was narrow as we passed through the gorge with room for only one car. As we got further up the climb the road widened. Despite the relative doubt expressed by our two Dutch friends (and our doubt that the grade was really 10% for very long), we got to the top (the Col de Valouse). Pep caught up with us there, with Deb happily sitting in the front seat. They pushed ahead and to get a bit of shopping in before we arrived. The descent overlooked a beautiful valley. Lavender fields were scattered around adding an aroma not usually found in our travels around Frederick County. As we stopped to admire the view we saw a young boy, about eleven or twelve, pedaling his way up to the col going in the opposite direction. Shortly after, a man of advanced age (he said he was in his eighties) stopped to ask if we had seen the boy. He looked like someone that had been biking all his life. He was French. The young boy was his grandson. He told us that we had ascended the tougher way and the way back wouldn’t be as bad. In Dieulefit we met up with Pep and Deb and sat down to a hearty lunch. We returned the way we had come. The old man had been right, the return climb up the Col de Valouse was a bit more gentle, except that now we had a few more miles in our legs. Once we reached home we had logged 70 miles. Dinner was much appreciated that night.

Wednesday July 20: Mont Ventoux via Mauleucene. Ride participants: Mark, Martha and Joan. The plan had been to climb Ventoux on Friday with Serge's brother Xavier. Xavier lives about 2 hours away and was looking forward to the chance to have someone to climb with (he's already climbed Ventoux about 15 times). It was decided that just in case we couldn't get a chance to climb Ventoux on Friday we should try to go up beforehand. We would be climbing Ventoux with Xavier from Bedoin so we decided to go up from the village of Mauleucene. There are three approaches to the summit of Mont Ventoux (altitude 1912 meters): from the towns of Sault, Mauleucene and Bedoin. Mauleucene sits at an altitude of 377 meters. The route extends for 21 km with an average grade of 7.3%. We biked to Mauleucene to give ourselves a bit of a warm-up. We had great weather with some wind, but nothing too bad. Climbing Ventoux is interesting not just for its challenge, but also because of the variety of riders one sees on the way up. One hardy fellow was actually climbing with a fully loaded bike with lots of panniers to give himself just the added challenge the rest of us were happy to not have. The route from Mauleucene has a mix of everything. Spectacular views act as a distraction on the way up. Along the route are road markers to let you know just what your altitude is and what the average percent grade is in that part of the climb. This has advantages and disadvantages. In a few areas the road actually levels off to a 3-5% grade, which actually feels like a good break. Best to enjoy it because it doesn’t take long before the incline increases again, then its back to the low gears. We all had triples, which we all happily used. With about 5 km to go the road narrowed and the percent grade stayed pretty consistently around 9-10%. After some time in the woods we come around a bend to see the famous bare, rocky summit of Ventoux. The only problem is although the end is in sight, it is a steep climb with several switchbacks. At the top it becomes tricky business to dodge cars, pedestrians and cyclists, and still stay vertical as you climb the last few meters. Being at the top of Ventoux one finds an international collection of cyclists and tourists. You find people asking you to take their picture and vice versa. There are several vendors selling things from candy to cookies to saucisson (dried sausage). We went for the cookies. After a recharge we headed back down the mountain the way we came up. We stopped every couple miles or so to let our arms rest, our rims cool down and to take a few photos. Then it was a pleasant ride home to the gite to (you guessed it!) partake in some good food.

Friday July 22: Mont Ventoux via Bedoin. Ride participants: Mark, Joan, Jonathan, and Serge's brother Xavier. The route from Bedoin climbs up the southern face of the mountain and starts at an altitude of 300 meters and climbs to the summit in 21.5 kilometers with an average incline of 7.5%. This is the approach used by the Tour de France and most stage races. We again biked from our gite to get a good warm-up in. We had to cross a small "col" as we work our way to Bedoin. As we came through Bedoin and turned onto a road out of town Xavier informed us that "this is it". Then we didn't see him again until the summit (he was on a mission to beat his personal best time). The approach from Bedoin proved to be significantly different. There is a gentle grade to start, then it hits a steady grade of 9-11% and stays at that grade until 5 km from the summit where it reduces to a 7-9% grade. The riders going up this route included a lot of faster, more serious looking riders. No chances for spectacular views until further up above the tree line, so it's just you and the road. At around 5 km from the summit the road joins with the approach from the town of Sault. At that point the road is a bit less steep. Now we faced a new challenge – le Mistral. Le Mistral is a strong wind that blows down across Southern France from the North. Once we were on the exposed area of the mountain we were repeatedly facing that wind on alternating switchbacks. The observation tower at the summit was constantly in sight but a lot of climbing, and a lot of wind, remained to overcome to get there. But get there we did. Xavier beat his personal best getting up the mountain in a hour and a half. Mark and Joan made it in just under 2 hours. We descended via the route to Mauleucene. Getting back to the gite, we had to pack up our things as we were headed over toward St. Etienne to see the individual time trial of the Tour de France which was being held the next day.

Saturday July 23: Le Tour de France Individual Time Trial, St. Etienne. What a thrill to be finally be seeing in person all the stuff we've been watching on television from home. The start, the finish, the warm-ups, the riders, the time trial bikes, the crowds, the media, the celebrities – it was all there. Some of us even ended up on OLN (Jamie and Frank). We split up and chose different places to watch, and each of us had different experiences, but I think we all had some great memories from that day, and from the trip in general.

Fourth Annual Chesapeake Bay Ride
September 18, 2005 by Glenn Angus

This was a picture-perfect day for a ride. It was sunny and very low humidity, not very hot, and there was very little wind. The air was crisp and clear as a bell. Unfortunately, the high price of post-Katrina gasoline kept the number of riders down. Three riders, Ken Reed, Isaac Neidinsky, and Glenn Angus met in Edgewater, Maryland [just south of Annapolis] at Central Elementary School.

We headed south on MD-2, a very lovely and sweeping road, featuring smooth, wide shoulders, which runs through rolling farmland and horse farms in southern Anne Arundel County. We left the main road in Harwood, and followed the lowlands along the Patuxent River to the Jug Bay Wetlands area, and then wandered through dense forests with some challenging but short hills, to West Friendship, and then south to Rose Haven, and on into Calvert County, where we arrived in North Beach and Chesapeake Beach, very lovely tourist locations, in high demand in the DC area and south. We were treated to pristine views of the Chesapeake Bay, as well as countless shorebirds and other waterfowl. The boardwalk in North Beach, along with its fishing pier were a wonderful backdrop for our trip. Our route took us northerly along the Bay all the way up to Deale, Maryland, a lovely boating and fishing village. We also rode past Tacara Farm, a very lovely working early 19th Century farm, with its intricate brick work and brick walls, complete with brick ha-ha's. Much of our day was spent in heavy shade, and it provided us with wonderful cover and comfort from the sun. The route also took us through horse country, and past turf, soy beans, and corn fields.

It was a really great ride. How much nicer it would have been had there been a larger turnout (we had 9 riders last year). Those of you who missed this ride really missed a good one.

Frederick Pedalers Club Century
September 24, 2005 by Bill Smith

On a cloudy, cool (74 degrees) day, a number of cyclists took to the roads of Frederick, Carroll, Adams and York Counties to do the club century, metric, and other variations.

The following did the full century: Stephen Walter, Laura Chaffiotte, Joan Wicks and our guest John Johnson from Mercersburg PA. On the metric versions were Michael Procario, Harry DeMoll, Michael and Betsy Lapadula, Vicki Crum, Bill and Carly Smith (tandem) and our tandem guests from Gaithersburg Irene and Alejandro Sanchez. Riding the 37-mile version was Milton Siglin. Pete and Petey Chaffiotte did a 32-mile version on their tandem. On the century there was also a fellow named Dean who has been seen on the CVCC and Civil War centuries, but I cannot recall his last name. We think that Mike Evans may have been out there somewhere, too.

The century route took a fairly direct route to Taneytown from Thurmont, then meandered up to Bonneauville, New Oxford and Abbottstown. Some of us lunched at Rutters, while the Sanchez, Smith and Wicks folks dined in leisure at Rigo’s restaurant. I can say that the French toast was well worth the trip.