A bit of Provence and French Riviera
Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2006 5:24 am
For a first ride this January it was decided to use on of our tour rides, or at least part of it.
One advantage with the French Riviera and province is that in January there is a good chance you will get a fantastic sunny weather while most of Europe stays under the clouds. Starting from the little sea side town of Saint Raphaël (from where the 2006 Unicorn Adventures Tours start), we took the road along the coast down to Saint Tropez. One good thing is that the speed limit is set to 70 km/h (approx. 44mph), which by European biker standards can be a bit slow, but it gives you plenty of time to enjoy the vista and admire the lovely houses.
This time we didn’t stop in Saint Tropez to buy a Tropezienne neither to walk around the tinny streets nor along the port always filled with lovely yachts (keep in mind that Saint Tropez is one of the fashionable places along the French Riviera, attracting a lot of VIPs).
Right after Saint Tropez don’t miss the right hand turn to go on the coastal road and cross places like the Pampelonne beach, famous last century for its outlaw naturism.
The road climbs up a little pass and offers delicious little curves in the middle of the forest until it reaches the Corniche des Maures coastal road. From one little sea side village to the other one it will take you to Le Lavandou where the secret right turn should not be missed!
Speed limit of 30 km/h (approx. 20 mph) getting out of Bormes les Mimosas, a place no one should miss in early spring when the Mimosa flowers are blooming. From there the trick is to catch the Babaou pass road. For bikers this is a dream: perfect road surface, curves every where, nearly no cars, but a lot of cyclists some times! From the tire skid marks in all the curves you already know this is a road the local bikers enjoy a lot! But one should avoid to get as extreme as some did, as some marks end up in a tree or some where lower on the hill! After working hard on the perfect curve riding a new road arrives taking you either on towards more curves or to Cuers after having passed the ostriches farm.
Seems short when described on an article but that little ride takes at least 2 hours to reach Cuers.
Thomas
One advantage with the French Riviera and province is that in January there is a good chance you will get a fantastic sunny weather while most of Europe stays under the clouds. Starting from the little sea side town of Saint Raphaël (from where the 2006 Unicorn Adventures Tours start), we took the road along the coast down to Saint Tropez. One good thing is that the speed limit is set to 70 km/h (approx. 44mph), which by European biker standards can be a bit slow, but it gives you plenty of time to enjoy the vista and admire the lovely houses.
This time we didn’t stop in Saint Tropez to buy a Tropezienne neither to walk around the tinny streets nor along the port always filled with lovely yachts (keep in mind that Saint Tropez is one of the fashionable places along the French Riviera, attracting a lot of VIPs).
Right after Saint Tropez don’t miss the right hand turn to go on the coastal road and cross places like the Pampelonne beach, famous last century for its outlaw naturism.
The road climbs up a little pass and offers delicious little curves in the middle of the forest until it reaches the Corniche des Maures coastal road. From one little sea side village to the other one it will take you to Le Lavandou where the secret right turn should not be missed!
Speed limit of 30 km/h (approx. 20 mph) getting out of Bormes les Mimosas, a place no one should miss in early spring when the Mimosa flowers are blooming. From there the trick is to catch the Babaou pass road. For bikers this is a dream: perfect road surface, curves every where, nearly no cars, but a lot of cyclists some times! From the tire skid marks in all the curves you already know this is a road the local bikers enjoy a lot! But one should avoid to get as extreme as some did, as some marks end up in a tree or some where lower on the hill! After working hard on the perfect curve riding a new road arrives taking you either on towards more curves or to Cuers after having passed the ostriches farm.
Seems short when described on an article but that little ride takes at least 2 hours to reach Cuers.
Thomas