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CYCLING ON THE FRENCH RIVIERA

Written by Jamie Sawyer (Guest Blog) on 18th August, 2017

Our August traveller story comes from Jamie who shares why you have to get down to the French Riviera for some cycling.

Usually it’s Ferraris, Mclarens and other super cars stationed outside Café de Paris and the Monte Carlo casino. Last week though, my humble Cannondale got the taste of the glitz and glam of the French Riviera.

My wife and I decided we wanted a quick break, somewhere that Easyjet flies and isn’t too expensive if you book early enough. We settled on the French Riviera and Love Velo organised our cycling holiday from Nice.

We spent a lot of time just meandering the old quarter in Nice but when Love Velo asked if we would do a traveller story on cycling the French Riviera, we had to talk about our day ride to Monaco.

Cyclist takes a break

We started slowly. 2kms in and we had already stopped for a croissant and an espresso. My wife’s idea for breakfast. Honest. That’s the beauty though of the Riviera, there are lovely little cafes everywhere to stop and watch the world go by. We more than made up for our stop though as we headed for the Col d’Eze. Love Velo gave us a GPX file to follow as they told us the road heading up the Col d’Eze offered better views than the road just below it. We were not disappointed.

Bike at the coast

The road switched back through the forest before delivering us across a fairly flat road into La Turbie. I can honestly say that the view from just before La Turbie is one of the most beautiful I have seen. Crystal clear water glistened whilst super yachts bobbed up and down next to the Cap Ferrat peninsular. We could see all the way into Nice from some vantage points and into Italy from others. Whilst we weren’t that high, it did feel as though we were standing on a roof peering down.

We rode another km until we reached the beautiful old town of La Turbie. Throngs of cyclists relaxed next to its medieval water fountain and we stopped for another shot of espresso. Then, it was a long descent to the sea! Riding past quaint houses covered in Bougainvillea was quintessentially French and just 5km later we were riding the F1 circuit which was quintessentially Monegasque!

A great break and anyone who thinks Monaco and the Riviera is reserved for just the rich and famous, get a bike and explore!

Cyclist taking a break