Bikepacking - Imperia (It) to Antibes (Fr)

Day #

25

State of Legs

:-)

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	Distance (miles)	Distance (km)	Ascent (feet)	Ascent (metres)	Punctures
Today	64 miles	km	2877 feet	metres	0
Trip Totals	1205 miles	km	50428 feet	metres	0

Today's Route

Relive the Route

Route So Far

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Travelogue

I'm in France once again, having crossed the border from Italy early this morning!

And by "early", I do mean early! I was up at 4:30. No alarm needed. It was a hot and sticky night and I imagine many were struggling to sleep. The couple in the tent nearest to mine were up and about at 4 a.m., talking quietly, presumably also struggling with the conditions.

I'd sent some emails and made some calls yesterday, all aimed at securing me a reservation at a campsite in or near Antibes just beyond Nice. And on all counts, I failed. Nobody would make a reservation for a one night stay. So, for the first time on this trip, I didn't know where I was going to be staying the next day. To add to the uncertainty, I'd decided that if I found that none of the three or so campsites in Antibes could offer me a pitch when I got there, one option would be to continue further along the coast, perhaps to Mandelieu-La Napoule, beyond Cannes. So, not only did I not know what my accommodation was to be, I didn't really know what my destination was going to be! In the worst case scenario, I planned to break out the credit card and hit booking.com of course, so all would be well one way or another. Anyway....

There's a splendid cycle path that runs from at least Imperia, almost all the way to the French border and for about 25 miles. I got onto the cycle path a few hundred metres from the campsite and headed west.

The surface was perfect and it was flat too, something I'd not experienced for a few days!

More interestingly, I passed through a number of tunnels on the path. Apparently this was once a railway. 

Weirdly, in this first tunnel but none of the others, there was music playing along its full length!

One of the tunnels, which I think was more than 2 miles in length, had been used to showcase the history of the Giro D'Italia and many of the cycling greats, with signs mounted on the roof of the tunnel at intervals and information painted on the floor. It was absolutely fascinating and Britain's own Mark Cavendish was one of the names I caught. I just read that the tunnels were actually part of the Giro D'Italia race in 2015 as well!

Hard to read but that banner is about Cav as well

 After the tunnel ended, there were quite a few posters about the Giro as well. The Giro is big in these parts it would seem.

I passed through various towns, including Sanremo and was soon in Ventimiglia, the last Italian town before the French border. Signs for France started to appear and the road started to climb. My legs, which had been a little sleepy up to this point, seemed to perk up at the prospect of some climbing. It seems that crossing the Swiss Alps and cycling hard in Italian mountains the last two days has normalised for my legs the idea that climbing is what we do! Silly legs :-)  

Once again, crossing a border was a bureaucratic non-event but I felt a buzz of excitement nevertheless.

On crossing the French border, I rejoined Eurovelo route EV8 and will be following it for a good while.

The road took me through Menton, which is a French town to the east of Monaco and then started climbing up, up, up and, hugging the cliffs to the north of Monaco so that I cycled around Monaco rather than through it. I hadn't expected such a big climb but as my legs got back into climbing mode, enjoyed the changing scenery as I got higher and higher.

Part way up, I became aware of a vehicle close behind me. It started to slowly pull alongside with the driver repeatedly and gently using his horn. "beep beep beep beep". What's this all about I wondered, preparing for some road rage to come my way. But no, I think that just happens in Britain because as the guy pulled alongside me, pedalling away up this lengthy climb, he leaned towards me, a grin on his face and gave me a thumbs up! Apparently he rated my effort! I returned the thumbs up and smile but as he pulled away was actually thinking "This is nothing mon ami, you should have seen me the last two days. King of the Mountains!". We can all have our little fantasies, right? :-)

Somewhere along the way I stopped at a cycle shop cum cafe and enjoyed a coffee and cold drink, The owner filled my water bottles for me and put them in his fridge while I was drinking the coffee. Nice!

Eventually, the big climb turned into a big descent and before I knew it, I was in Nice.

Coming into Menton

That's Monaco taken from Roquebrune-Cap-Martin

That's the eastern end of Nice over there

I've been to Nice a few times. Today, it was full of holiday makers. The cycle path which follows the seafront was much used by cyclists and skaters and you had to watch out for pedestrians crossing the cycle path to get to the beach! My bell got a lot of use on this stretch!

From Nice it's about 10 miles to Antibes with the path staying close to the beaches apart from when it goes around Nice airport.

I'd shortlisted a couple of campsites yesterday and went to the nearest of the two first, fully expecting to be turned away and bracing myself for a frustrating time on a very hot day. There seems to be no shade in this part of the world anywhere by the way!

But I needn't have worried because there was a pitch for me! I was really relieved about this as I didn't have much energy left to spare. So, the tent's up, I've had a lovely shower, washed some clothes, bought some food and drink from a nearby supermarket and here I am once again, updating the blog from a seating area near reception.

C'est bon!

Apart from resting and eating, all I have to do now is figure out what my destination for tomorrow is to be.

Oh and here's today's profile: