Wow I'm very jealous Its a pilgrimige I will have to make one day.
There used to be wild boar on the slopes of the Ventoux. Many years ago cyclists in the tour were not allowed to accept water bottles from team cars and one member of the team would be designated a watercarrier and Carpentras would have been one of the places they would go into to raid bars and cafes for water or even something stronger.
The locals will all of heard about Tom Simpson from the 60's he died having taken a cocktail of drugs to try and get over the Ventoux in a good position.
Tom Simpson made a big mistake and he paid the ultimate price, sadly for him and his family. The tour is obviously massive over here, I haven't seen it live, though messages of encouragement for the cyclists that have been written on the roads can be seen all over the place.
Having driven up the Ventoux many times, I can confirm that it must be horrendous physically for the cyclists, sometimes I'm surprised the car makes it up there, never mind a bike!
Wow ayrton it looks like you live on a patch of grass
Logged