We made our way back up Col de Vendeix this morning which helped us to forget the chilly (fresh) air. Once again we were treated to a Cevennes sunrise with special views. The highlight had to be the views atop Col du la Croix St Robert followed by a smooth flowing tarmac descent where you could see ahead of you for what seemed like kilometers.
Following that, we traversed along towards Feed Stop #1. Rust colored mountains and plateau views were plentiful for the first few hours of our ride. It was just a matter of looking around to take in what was around you - no staring at your top tube!
After Feed #1, there was a 40 km stretch with a few cols along the way. Just before lunch we were presented with some challenging tarmac, or lack there of, in certain places. A few 15%+ ramps greeted us before we plunged down to lunch.
After Lunch, there was about 30-40 km of flatter terrain by CCC standards which we tried to ride through quickly before the few final climbs. Unfortunately though, as we were about 10 km from Feed #3, it started to drizzle and by the time we arrived at the feed, it was raining.
The remainder of the ride was in the rain. As the sun angle lowered even more, rainy, shaded, wooded descents became quite cold. If we were at home, the forest roads we were on would have been gravel roads in the Capitol Forest. The final few km were all the more challenging on a darkened, wooded, single lane road with low visibility. It was good to finally arrive at the hotel, warm up and start to get things clean and dry to do it again tomorrow.
It’s hard to believe how different the day ended compared to how beautiful it started, but it is a CCC, the mountain can bestow us with extra challenges at any time.
Tomorrow looks to be wet, we’ll see how it turns out...
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