Sunday

I woke very early, grateful to be able to open the windows and door and to start putting the bikes together. We had planned to do a short ride down the road into Montelimar and have breakfast at the Boulangerie. The bike seemed to be running smoothly and I was feeling OK. I was still coughing up crap but the dizziness had gone and I was generally feeling so much better.

After our ride, Colin loaded his bike while I changed and then we drove 75 miles to Bedoin - I hadn't realised that it was so far away. By the time we arrived, it was mid morning, the sky was completely clear and the temperature was high twenties. The town was buzzing with excitement - a market was running through the town on the official route of the Etape and cyclists were everywhere. We weren't entirely sure of the right route out of Bedoin to Ventoux so Colin just followed the crowds and eventually he met up with the right road. I bought lots of water, found myself a shady spot and tried to relax with my book again. There were times when I would completely forget about etape and would just enjoy the surroundings and the warmth and it was just like a little holiday. Then the thought of the Etape would sneak up and tap me on the shoulder and the butterflies would start.


After an hour or so, I got a call from Colin. He'd had a rear wheel puncture! He managed to fix it and had continued on but had fallen off shortly afterwards. He was returning to Bedoin. When he arrived, he was a bit of a state - his arm was scratched, his elbow bruised, and one of his lenses was missing from his shades - although he hadn't realised it! (I wish I had taken that picture!) Colin found the mountain very difficult in the heat and didn't make it up too far. He confessed that he would not have been able to do it with 90 odd miles in his legs and was glad that he wasn't taking part. We drove up a short way, just so I could get an idea of what the gradient looked like - it didn't look too bad in the car!

Back to Montelimar for some carb loading and a better look at the stands at the start village. It was absolutely ROASTING! Car said 39C. After we'd had our pasta, we didn't hang about in the heat for too long and went back to the camp site to get the window & door open. By 6pm, I had the bike completely ready, clothes laid out, bags packed and a hotel booked for the following day. We went to bed around 10 ish. Either the smell had gone with a few hours of open windows and door, or we had acclimatised - it was much easier to relax. I got the ipod on and eventually drifted off........