Great ride today! I slept in later than I usually do, but I got a good night’s sleep and I’m now on France time I think. I finished putting my bike together (really just needed to tighten everything up and tweak a few things), got organized and was on the road around 9:30. It’s mostly downhill from Vence to Nice, about seven miles to the coast (Cagnes-Sur-Mer) and then another three miles or so to the Nice airport. It was so wonderful to be riding in France again. I cruised along the Promenade des Anglais which runs for about five miles along the coast of Nice. Around the Nice port, up a short hill and before you knew it I was in Villefrance-sur-Mer the next town over. It’s just a mile or two of our Villefranche-sur-Mer that you turn up into the hills and head for Eze and a nice little climb it is. I’ve written about Eze (and La Turbie) before and it sure was nice to see it again. Then on to La Turbie, only a few kilometers away.

The weather was great, mostly sunny, warm but not hot. I was considering heading on up to Peille, but it looked like it might be raining up in the mountains that way, it was very dark and grey. I stopped and got an Orangina, called Carole and rested in a little park. A man and woman turned into the park off a steep side street, riding on hybrid bikes, clearly tired but in a good mood. I asked them where they had climbed up from and they said Monaco. It’s a nice climb (Les and I did it once years ago) and they were quite proud of themselves. The guy was German, living in Monaco and the woman was Italian, living in Beaulieu. We talked for a little while and then I was ready to head back out. By now the weather in the mountains looked better, so I decided to head on up to Peille. See the photo on the left of La Turbie as I headed up the road to Peille (click for larger version).

The road up to Peille is not that long, about nine kilometers. At about eight is the turn off for the Col de la Madone, famous as one of Lance Armstrong’s training rides. I’ve ridden up it three times from the other side, but never from this side, so I turned off and headed up. It’s not a long climb at that point, only about three miles and not real steep. During the ride up from La Turbie and on the Madone I kept seeing a lot of cyclists with little paper numbers on their handlebars. Clearly there was some kind of organized ride or race going on. I passed several riders on the climb, including two women. At the top I stopped to put on my light jacket before heading back down the way I came. It was significantly colder up here and there was even some fog. One of the women I had passed reachd the summit and I spoke with her. It turns out a club in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin had a big organized ride today, 100 kilometers over a lot of the same climbs I was doing. She and her friend were participating. They gave me a copy of the route and I’ll plan on doing this ride one day, maybe next year. The descent down Madone was great. Years ago Les and I had done this same descent for the first time, coming in from the St. Agnes side, and the road was a mess. It’s been repaved since then and is in great shape. From the bottom of the climb it’s a short two kilometer ride over to Peille. A quick stop there and then off to Nice. All downhill at this point. See the photo on the left of Peille from the climb up the Col de la Madone (click for larger version).

I stopped in Old Town at Nice and had some lunch, a typical French pizza, at one of my favorite restaurants there. Then I took a quick trip over to La Roue Libre, the great little bike store we discovered years ago in Nice. Turns out the one thing I forgot this year was my ride drink. I’d left the bag of powder on the hutch after my last ride in Nashville on Wednesday and forgot to pack it. They didn’t have the brand I use (of course), but I bought a can of some French stuff, poured it all into a big plastic bag, tucked it into my jersey and headed back towards Vence. It’s all uphill now. The climb to Vence isn’t that steep, up until the last two or three kilometers where it does get a bit steep. It’s a nice little kick at the end of a long ride. I got back to the hotel very happy with my first ride of the trip.

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.