| Given a 1/2 decent winter, you don't normally need to go to the Pays des
Paellas... I dashed this off as one of my favourite things ( thanks, Miz
Poppins)....
A Good Day out
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Between this time of the year, October, when the tourists go home, and
March, when they come back again, we tend to have a couple of trips
through the Esterels. Outside this period, the road is choked with
Dutch and Italian campavans and despite the inherent danger of this,
the local bloods twitch in and out on their 1000 cc motos most days.
The Esterel is a range of coastal mountains, more or less between
Mandelieu (Cannes) and Frejus, bounded by the N7 main road and the N98
coast road, an ellipse of about 35km by 25km. They are not high by
Alpine standards, Mt Vinaigre at 618 metres (say 2000') being the
culminating point, but their proximity to the Mediterranean makes them
very spectacular.
I quite often ride the 30 odd km through Grasse because it is
generally downhill and I can kid myself that I am a real swiftie -
especially when I get on the piece which is the last 10km of the
Paris-Nice stage to Le Grand Duc. the others ride or drive from
Cannes or Antibes.
We normally meet by the Greasy Spoon cafe, opposite the Petrol Station
in Mandelieu and take the N7 for a few km before turning left up what
is ostensibly a Route Forestiere opposite the Domaine de Barbossi. It
is surfaced, - only in the loosest sense, but is virtually
traffic-free so you can zig-zag to avoid the biggest of the potholes.
The Col des Trois Thermes is 250m over 3,5 km to a height of 303m,
with a nasty doble arrowed portion but you are rewarded immediately by
wonderful views over the blue sea and the red rocks of the Esterel.
On a good day, I can make this fairly comfortably on 39x22 and the
rest of the trip to the Med Coast is mainly downhill.
The Esterel here is deserted, with only a few walkers and VTT-ists
competing with the serious geologists, as an old volcanic area,
fossils are readily found amongst the scrub and rock. It's usually
possible at this time of the year for bikies to just doodle along
taking up the whole road. Quite amazing really, when you are less
than 40km from Cannes, not to mention Juan-les-Pins.
Four more mini-cols, Caudiere, Notre-Dame, Lentisques and l'Eveque,
and you start the descent through the trees to the coastal road at
Agay. This protected bay teems with sun-worshippers during the
Season, but is quiet and attractive outside that time, and we normally
have lunch or 11's or whatever looking out over the beach and sea,
generally chewing the fat and relaxing.
Getting back to Mandelieu is often more serious, usually with the
following wind, and the good surface (tres roulant after the forestry
roads in the Esterel) encourages a rapid pace. Even so, it isn't a
gift with several stiff rises, taking you from sea level to 80m,
following rapidly. There is also some competition for the last one,
the prime at Theoule sur Mer, with its normally spectacular view over
the Baie de Cannes.
Choosing the way home for me is usually a bit of a dilemma, it's
severely uphill all the way to Grasse, same via Cannes or Antibes and
Valbonne. On a good day, the best thing is to go all the way along
the Coast, round the Cap d'Antibes and to the Pyramids at
Villeneuve-Loubet, finally taking the Lower Gorges back to Bar sur Loup.
Distance: Mandelieu - Mandelieu: a bit over 50km
Bar - Bar: must be about 120km
Deniv: Hard to say but less than 600m for the main loop.
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