Page 77 - RADC 2016

a wall of tarmac going uphill. The ascent from Sault is the easiest of the 3 popular ascents. There are two reasons for this. First the elevation is much less and secondly,
the overall distance is longer than the other two at 26km. This means that the rst 20km of the climb from Sault at 694m to Chalet Reynard at 1417m with a total elevation of 723m, has an average
On day 2 of the trip the Sault route was undertaken by all three of the party. After a rest day on day 3 Rob and 87 undertook the classic Bedoin. I clearly had the arduous job of support and photography.
On the rest day we decided to pay our respects to Tommy Simpson. 87 had a large Welsh Guards badge, supplied to him by
Evans 24, and the RADC/RAMC had a pair of collar dogs that were attached to a large rock.
In terms of preparing for the trip we had to get mileage in and that had to include ascents. I
was grateful for the guidance from Rob who had previously cycled Lands End to John O’Groats and 87 who cycles a minimum
of 130 miles a week. A few years ago we cycled London to Paris on a 4-day charity ride. Unfortunately, my training came to an end a fortnight before the event because of
gradient of just 3.6%.
You still need to climb
the last 6km from
Chalet Reynard to the
summit but you arrive
at Chalet Reynard in
much better condition
than if you have just
slogged up through
the forest from Bedoin. The last 6km from Chalet Reynard are exactly the same as the Bedoin route, very exposed and weather dependent and has the reputation of being very windy. The last part from the Simpson Memorial rears up again and the last 1500 metres are at an average of 10% gradient.
...the last 1500 metres are at an average of 10% gradient.
an insect bite at the rear of the knee causing signi cant swelling and tissue tear in the leg either side of the knee.
A great trip for us and sense of self- ful lment for such a cracking achievement but of course boring for those sat with
us to watch the TdF and we were saying “Bin there!”. What’s next is not certain but I know I shall be paying attention to the conversation in future.
RADC BULLETIN 2016 75