View this ride on MapMyRide.

This is a great route, part of which my friend Connie and I rode last year from the opposite direction. Today I was hoping to add on some more mountain villages and was really looking forward to the ride. That all went to hell about one kilometer into the ride.

I left Vence a little after 9:00 am and headed up the Col de Vence. The climb has been featured several times in the famous Paris-Nice cycling race as well as the Nice Ironman race. There appeared to be rain and thunderstorms scattered all around the area and the forecast was not good, but I decided to head out anyway and see what developed. The Col de Vence begins immediately upon leaving Vence, there’s no warm up. It’s about nine or ten kilometers to the summit and this was my first time climbing it. The first kilometer seemed to be about 8 to 9 percent grade and then things eased off a bit. It began to sprinkle about one kilometer into the climb and that soon turned into a steady, light rain. I kept going, passing a few riders on my way up. There were quite a few riders coming down the Col, they had obviously gotten an earlier start than I had. Most of the climb seemed to be about a 7 percent grade. I kept a nice steady pace, not too hard, and reached the summit in about 40 minutes. Towards the end of the climb I could see lightning and hear thunder all down along the coast to my left. The sky was almost black and the lightning was impressive. Luckily, all I had to endure was the steady, light rain, some rather strong winds and rapidly cooling temperatures. By the time I reached the summit I was soaked through and through and it was 45°. Not a great way to begin a fast descent. I had my light jacket with me and a pair of glove liners which I immediately put on. With those temperatures and as wet as I was, they weren’t a lot of help.

Since things looked so bad behind me I decided to go over the summit and down the other side rather than returning to Vence. The sky looked a little better in that direction. The first village on the north side is Coursegoules, about eight kilometers down from the top. It was tough, it was still raining and I was very wet and very cold. I pulled in Coursegoules, found a little market and bought some orange juice. I noticed a little bar that was open, so I went in there for some warmth and to escape the rain for a little while. My bike odometer said it was 47°. I bought a bottle of Badoit (French fizzy water) and rested up for a spell. I was chilled and shivering a little bit and all my clothes were soaking wet. After about 20 minutes I was feeling a little better and it seemed the rain had subsided so I headed down the road towards Bouyon, about 12 kilometers away. See the view back from where I came at the top of the Col and you’ll understand why I chose not to go back that way. Click on the image for a larger version.

Once again, it was all downhill from Coursegoules to Bouyon. I would have actually preferred to climb at this point as it would have kept me warmer. Connie and I stopped in Bouyon for lunch last year on a much different day, warm and sunny. I ducked into a small grocery store that was open and was greeted warmly by the man and woman running it. “C’est eté, oui?” I said (“It’s summer, right?”). The man laughed and replied, “Demain, demain.” (“Tomorrow, tomorrow.”) I asked if it had been raining all morning and they said yes. He pointed to the mountains in the distance and said there was lots of fresh snow, unusual for this time of year. This was the point at which I was hoping to head off towards a village named Les Ferres, where I haven’t yet been. But the sky looked quite dark in that direction, whereas here and on towards the route back to Vence things were looking much better. I decided I had better head back in that direction and save Les Ferres for a better day.

Next stop, Le Broc, again, all downhill. The sun actually started to come out, the temperatures were up in the upper 50s and the rain was almost gone. By the time I passed through Le Broc and then Carros Village everything was much better. It’s still mostly downhill from Carros Village to Vence and thing steadily improved for the rest of the ride. By the time I arrived back at my hotel the streets were almost dry, the sun was out and it was in the mid-60s. See the view on the left of Bouyon from the road to Le Broc. If you look closely you can see the fresh snow on the mountains in the distance. Click on the image for a larger version.

Overall, not the best day. The climb up the Col de Vence was nice, but the weather sucked. I really didn’t get to enjoy this ride as I would on a warm and sunny day. My plan is to make the same trip tomorrow. When I get to Bouyon I’ll head up to Les Ferres, then over to Conséqudes, Roquesteron and Gilette before returning to Le Broc, Carros Village and Vence. That will add a bunch of climbing to the route and take me to at least four new villages on my list of those I want to see. Hopefully, the weather will be better.

We head out from our apartment to the Promenade des Anglais. In English it means “Walk of the English” and it’s a much celebrated promenade along the Mediterranean coast in Nice. It’s quite wide and has a bike path its entire length. There’s plenty of room for lots of walkers and bikers. We head east, towards Italy. As the Promenade ends the road makes a small little turn into the Nice port. We circle around that and headed up a nice little climb. The weather is perfect, in the mid-70s with lots of blue sky and sun, a few clouds here and there to offer an occasional bit of shade.

After working our way around the port we come to Villefrance-sur-Mer which is the first town on the road to Italy. It’s about 4 miles east of Nice. It’s a beautiful little “commune” (city or municipality) with a wonderful bay. Very scenic. Exactly what I think of when I picture the Côte d’Azur. Just after we circle around the town and are heading out along the coast road we come to the road that climbs up to Eze. Eze is one of the most famous of the southern French “perched villages,” probably in part because it’s so close to Nice. These are tiny little villages/towns that were built hundreds of years ago on the top of a very high cliff or mountain. The inaccessibility offered some much needed safety and defense to the early inhabitants. These little villages have fascinated me ever since I first saw Peillon many years ago and I’ve made a hobby out of trying to visit as many of them as I can via bike.

The climb up to Eze is not too long and not too steep, but it’s a good little climb nonetheless. After traversing a series of switchbacks we connect with the “Moyenne Corniche” (the middle road that runs along the mountain coast) and that takes us up to Eze. We cross a big bridge and there we are. The Paris-Nice cycling race almost always passes by Eze on the final stage of the race and it’s fun to watch it on TV and recognize this road and bridge we’re now cycling over ourselves. The road up to the entrance of the town itself is very steep, but fairly short. We make the quick climb and hop off the bikes. Eze proper is only accessible via foot. No cars, no bikes. It’s a series of twisted stone paths that wind in and out and around. It’s a little bit of a tourist destination these days with lots of little craft shops. Even so, it’s still a spectacular place. We carry our bikes up the little paths to the top where the ancient ruins of the original city are. It costs €5.00 to get into this part, which is also a big garden, but Connie says, “What the hell, I may never be here again,” so we pay the money and wander around for a little while.

From Eze it’s a very short trip up to La Turbie, only 5K or so. We’re there in no time. La Turbie is built on a cliff that overlooks Monaco and Monte Carlo. There’s a nice little scenic spot where you can get a spectacular view. There’s also a very famous ancient ruin named “Trophee des Alpes,” a Roman monument which was built in 6BC to mark victory over the local tribes. We consider visiting it, but it’s closed for lunch. So, a quick look around the town, a stop at a small grocery store for Orangina, a stop at the town fountain to refill our water bottles and we’re headed back down to Nice. We take the back route, over the Col d’Eze, which runs through what I think is a National Forrest. It’s a beautiful ride, not much traffic at all. A very nice, fast descent down into the back side of Nice and we’re done. “Is that all we’re going to ride today?” asks Connie. We’ve only put in 25 miles or so. “Well, we can do more if you want,” I reply, “but we’ve got some big days ahead of us and I think this is a great little warm up ride.” She seems satisfied as we head back to the apartment.

Approximately 25 miles.

Here’s a map of the route via www.mapmyride.com.