My best ride so far this year! Riding from Gilette up the whole length of the river Var from Nice to the source of the Var, just below the snow line of the col de la Cayolle (2326 m.)
Leaving behind the busy GLME Ascension camp at Gilette, I rode independently and in the other direction to the organised rides. I crossed two groups and exchanged the biker-biker salutations which make riding in France so friendly. It's been really good to welcome here my friends from GBMCC, arriving tired from the roads, trying to help them settle in and then to enjoy watching them ride without the encumbrance of baggage on routes like the Col de Turini (1604 m.) and Col de Braus (1002 m.). Now they understand why biking is so much better here than in the south-east of the UK!
The gorge of Daluis is a weird environment with the contrast between the red rock, the green vegetation and the melt water of the river Var surging below. There are a couple of block-houses from the Maginot Line, a biker posing readily looks Star Wars or extra-terrestrial!
The road at the summit of the col de la Cayolle was clear of snow but still a little wet. No marmottes to hear or see this time unlike previous times there: Col de la Cayolle - May 2013, Col de la Cayolle - June 2011 The skies were clearing and the route back down towards the Mediterranean dried whilst I enjoyed lunch in the little village of Estenc.