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@clintsmoker
how odd that the two mountains we really came to climb should actually turn out so opposite to what we expected. Huez.....a battle from start to finish. that mountain did everything it could to prevent you reaching the top alive. Ventoux...welcoming, beautiful, never too outrageous and calming. huez felt like you were clinging to the side of a mountain for dear life. ventoux is open and visible from afar, huez is not only far down at the bottom of a gorge but to 'enter' (for this is how it feels when you turn into the first hairpin) it you are stood at the bottom trying to figure out where the road is and how it goes up.
ventoux was windy as hell above the trees. as you approached the top of the tree line you could hear the wind and it sounded like the surf. it really was like the sound as you sleep on a beach in new zealand. ventoux was exposed but that just made it different and awe inpiring. ventoux wa surrounded by bike lovers and had lots of stuff for sale at the top. huez was almost hostile and had no hint of it being the greatest tour climb except for some shitty hairpin signs ( i freely admit we did not hang around to see if there was a cyclists love in bar/shop/museum)
anyone coming to do ventoux.........relax it is magnificent
antone coming to do huez..........don't climb on a hot afternoon.....and be prepared to do battle
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