Perfect Provence

For years I have been telling my riding friends about the wonderful cycling mecca in the hills of northern Provence, and especially in the area around Mont Ventoux. No doubt they have grown weary of me talking about the wonderful little roads that curve and climb and descend through vineyards and villages where coffee and culinary delights await. And almost free of auto traffic.

In June 2023, I was in Piedmont for my 14th European cycling trip with 44|5 Cycling Tours. I was on their very first week long tour way back in 2014, and while sipping an aperitivo in Cuneo I realized that 2024 would mark the 10th anniversary of that trip. Over an Americano cocktail 44|5’s owner, Gerry Patterson, and I cooked up an idea for an anniversary custom tour.

First a word about 44|5 Cycling Tours. Everyone asks about the name. 44|5 refers to the latitude and longitude of Mont Ventoux. It is a one person business, and that person is Gerry. He is route planner, logistics expert and chief guide. I have ridden literally thousands of miles with him as a guide, and while I am a client I think we are pretty good friends too. You can find out more about 44|5 here: https://www.445cyclingtours.com/.

44|5 gives riders a free jersey when they do a week long trip with them. It’s good publicity for the ride photos that get put on Facebook and Instagram and on the website. Since I’ve done so many tours I have quite a collection

The trip I had in mind for 2024 was centered ‘in the shadow of Mont Ventoux’. 3 nights in Gordes, ride to Mazan and spend 2 nights there, then pedal to Malaucène and spend 3 nights in the village where Stoker and I rented a house for a month 3 years running. Several of us extended the Malaucène stay by 4 nights. Since Stoker and I used to spend a month there without getting bored I figured we had plenty of riding options without repeating ourselves.

The rides were to include a couple of my Malaucène favorites, with two metric centuries (100+ km, about 62 miles) circumnavigating Mont Ventoux,, a tour through the North Country via the Col de Fontaube and Brantes, and finally a climb up Le géant de Provence itself. With the extension we did 11 rides (in 12 days; one rest day) totaling 450 miles and 39,000 feet of climbing. Not as hard as some tours, but as my friend John says, ‘not nuthin’ either.

With this outline Gerry went to work putting together hotels and restaurants and cycling routes, and I got started on my job: recruiting guests to fill the tour.

I compiled a list of 14 potential riders. People on the list had to be people I knew and liked riding with. They had to be strong enough to do the tour without struggling. This was no problem since everyone I approached was a strong cyclist. They also needed some disposable income. 44|5 trips are really good values for what you get, but 3 and 4 star hotels and first class restaurants are not cheap.

I sent a few e mails and answered questions when people responded. My goal was to get 6 riders plus me for a total of 7. Seven is considered a ‘full’ 44|5 tour, since they have a 9 person van to accommodate the riders plus 2 guides.

I was kind of shocked that we ended up with 12 riders and one non-cycling spouse for a total of 13. I know Gerry was happy that the tour was going to be a winner financially but a group this large was going to require some extra work on his part: He would need a second van and a third guide to assist him. He pulled it off flawlessly.

I took on a few logistical issues myself. I booked my flight and helped another person navigate the Air France website, which can be a challenge. I arranged airport transportation to and from SFO for those of us flying on the same day. I also booked an airport hotel in Marseilles for some of us to stay in before our very early (6:30 am) flight home. I also answered a whole bunch of questions about the rides and the weather and the rental bikes and what to bring. This brief introduction to being a tour organizer convinced me it is not a career I would want.

Since everyone on this trip was there because of me, I felt responsible in case someone would not agree that these cycling roads were some of the best in the world. I wasn’t worried about 44|5’s part of the trip; I knew everything would be first rate. But people trusted me enough to do this trip mostly because I recommended it, and I am very happy to report that everyone, at one time or another, told me how great the trip was and how glad they were that they came along. Me too!

We had a wonderful time. The routes were superb, just as advertised. Delicious food and comfortable accommodations. The weather mostly cooperated. There was a bit of rain on one ride but it wasn’t a downpour and we could put the rain jackets away after just a few miles. There was never any really hot weather and riding temperatures were quite comfortable. Most important, the Mistral stayed away. The winds in Provence can be a real problem for cycling, but we only had light breezes to deal with.

Near the end of the trip, we started to consider what we could do for a reprise next year. 44|5 has a signature week long tour in the Cévennes, a mountain range in southwest France. I enjoy this tour so much that I have done it 4 times. My friend Jack has done it on three occasions. Gerry decided to start an ‘early interest’ list for June 2025, and he already has 10 people on it including Stoker and me. Stoker isn’t going to ride it on a tandem with me, but she loves the area and wants to return as my roommate. And she volunteered to wash out my shorts! “Greater love hath no woman”… Gerry, you best rent another van…

I leave you with some photos from our Perfect Provence trip. As Stoker says at the end of the videos we posted on Facebook from France “Au revoir!”