2 months ago
75
14
Posted On: September 9th 2026, 07:00 am
Tagged Users:
It’s taken me a few days to get my head around what we managed last Friday, so apologies for those anxiously awaiting this post 🤣
Fortunately @jenxmurphy answered my text last July - fresh off a week of the TdF route - about attempting to join @le_club_des_cingles - once up each side of Ventoux (Malaucene, Bedoin, Sault) in a day
Fast forward 13+ months to 5:30 on the morning of our attempt and the bike room lock won’t open. Panic then the realisation @tomek.fer and @balt_gini were going to sort this out, which they did with only a minor delay.
So up we went together on the quiet road from Malaucene as dawn slowly spread across the mountain. Conversational pace was the plan, and we stayed pretty closely together as we cranked our way up the first climb. Summit 1 done, photos, stamp, snacks, jacket on, and down we went past hundreds of riders coming up from Bedoin.
The Bedoin side was the toughest. All of us (@jenxmurphy @chicaheartsbike @marcia_.b @gretelseeley and honorary New Englander @sbonnett123 with @tomek.fer guiding) ended up mostly taking it at our own pace. Conversation out the window but trying to keep within ourselves for the 1500+m of climbing on that side. Everyone summited from Bedoin, then more photos, snacks, then some jumped in Balt Gini’s Van of Victory while the rest of us descended again down to Chalet Reynard before taking a left to Sault.
No jacket needed for the Sault descent - felt like riding into a hair dryer. But at least the gradient is gentle, so Jen, Tomek and I rode back up comfortably (it’s relative at this point…) up to Chalet Reynard. The support crew made the competition for Best Helper a tough one! Roadside massages, bike valet, snack retrieval and lots of laughs.
Two stops for sheep crossings then the final push to the summit to cheers from the gang and being able to call ourselves Cinglès! 14,400 ft of climbing done. We ripped it down the descent (even me) and celebrated with NA beers and Cinglès trinkets from the summit shop
I’m so grateful to have such wonderful friends (including you, Tomek and Balt) who will join me or cheer me on in these crazy adventures. Already planning next year…
📷 @tomek.fer
Fortunately @jenxmurphy answered my text last July - fresh off a week of the TdF route - about attempting to join @le_club_des_cingles - once up each side of Ventoux (Malaucene, Bedoin, Sault) in a day
Fast forward 13+ months to 5:30 on the morning of our attempt and the bike room lock won’t open. Panic then the realisation @tomek.fer and @balt_gini were going to sort this out, which they did with only a minor delay.
So up we went together on the quiet road from Malaucene as dawn slowly spread across the mountain. Conversational pace was the plan, and we stayed pretty closely together as we cranked our way up the first climb. Summit 1 done, photos, stamp, snacks, jacket on, and down we went past hundreds of riders coming up from Bedoin.
The Bedoin side was the toughest. All of us (@jenxmurphy @chicaheartsbike @marcia_.b @gretelseeley and honorary New Englander @sbonnett123 with @tomek.fer guiding) ended up mostly taking it at our own pace. Conversation out the window but trying to keep within ourselves for the 1500+m of climbing on that side. Everyone summited from Bedoin, then more photos, snacks, then some jumped in Balt Gini’s Van of Victory while the rest of us descended again down to Chalet Reynard before taking a left to Sault.
No jacket needed for the Sault descent - felt like riding into a hair dryer. But at least the gradient is gentle, so Jen, Tomek and I rode back up comfortably (it’s relative at this point…) up to Chalet Reynard. The support crew made the competition for Best Helper a tough one! Roadside massages, bike valet, snack retrieval and lots of laughs.
Two stops for sheep crossings then the final push to the summit to cheers from the gang and being able to call ourselves Cinglès! 14,400 ft of climbing done. We ripped it down the descent (even me) and celebrated with NA beers and Cinglès trinkets from the summit shop
I’m so grateful to have such wonderful friends (including you, Tomek and Balt) who will join me or cheer me on in these crazy adventures. Already planning next year…
📷 @tomek.fer
Comments (14)
2 months ago1acycling
It was not clear to me that you ascended all 3 approaches in a cingle day!!! Thanks for sharing this nugget. Holy smokes, this is truly inspiring.
2 months agosbonnett123
Utter legend. Jen too. What an outstanding day both outside and inside Le Van. 😄
2 months agojenxmurphy
Our album cover 🙌. Great write up. I am going to get a massage and then contemplate with the heck we just did :-)
Load More
More posts
