Road trip Alpes 2018
5 days
1700 km
look at this beautiful weather
today is day 4
I'm leaving the ski resort of Valberg
and I will continue on
the Route des Grandes Alpes
to Saint-Martin-Vésubie or Vésubile
I'm no expert in all these names but it's over there
episode 3/3
Vésubie, Verdon and Ventoux
the first pass of the day is Col de la Couillole
yesterday it was Col de la Cayolle, now it's Couillole
it is very pleasant to ride on these small roads
in the morning
there's nobody on the road
no bicycles, no car
there is sun some time
it's really nice
and here, Col de la Couillole at 1678m
welcome to Tinée
M30, so in this area we find roads
that are named M for metropole
these are routes managed by the metropole
and not by the department or a city
it seems that there is only here around Nice
we find this kind of road
with a blue sign, not to be confused with a highway also in dark blue
the car honked, so I'm honking too!
it was not a truck, we had enough space
and the ride is continuing on the Route des Grandes Alpes
to the Colmine?
I'm not sure of the name again
the Colmane?
or Colmaine?
I have to find a sign
to tell you the right name
Colmiane, voila!
I had almost all the letters
Colmiane
and now I'm going to the Valley of Vésubie with Saint-Martin-Vésubie
and now I'm leaving the official track of the Route des Grandes Alpes
I'm going back a little further west
to the Gorges du Verdon
Lake of Sainte-Croix and I'll end up with Mont Ventoux
before going back to Montpellier
for me, it will be a 5-day road trip
with 300/350 km per day
so a little more than 1500/1600 km
and the bike has now 30000 km
and as I bought it new
this is I who did it, and only I
but I will talk about it in another about the 3 years and 30000 km
the road trip in the Alps continues
oh, nice this crossroads here
I'm continuing to
Castellane on the Route Napoléon
and it will be the gateway to the Gorges du Verdon
overlooking the lake of Sainte-Croix
and here on the left, the lake of Sainte-Croix
last day
and this the last stage of the road trip
it will be Mont Ventoux, and as you can see the bike is still wet
there was a big storm last night
the sun is not shining, the sky is cloudy
but it should be better in few hours
but in my opinion the top of Ventoux will be a little hazy
but if it can avoid all the tourists and cyclists, it's not so bad
speaking of cyclist, there's one on the road
closed road?
I have a little buggy on the sign
there was written "closed road"
on September 16th
and is often the problem in all these passes, if there is a sport event
they close the road
and unless you read the local press, you are not aware about it
oh dear, they all stopped to take pictures
and here for the top of Ventoux
time to downhill
and here for the descent of Mont Ventoux
there are still many bicycles
even if we are at the end of summer
by cons actually, I admit there are not a lot of cars
and almost no motorcycle
it's time to take stock
and that's the last roads
before going home
still 1:30 and 65km to ride
So finally, 5 days in the Alps
Last year in September, I had only 4 days
So I was able to go a bit further
do some more passes and in the other direction
from north to south on the Route des Grandes Alpes
but it was again a road trip in roaming mode
every night I took my stuff and I went in a new city, in a new hotel
for a road trip, I thought it might be not so bad to have a fixed location, having a hotel
always the same place
you have 1 day to go, and 1 day back
and then you navigate everyday
with loops from your hotel, you would travel lighter
not with all your stuff
I told you, I have a cylindrical saddle bag
it is at the rear and with a donkey or when braking
it tends to move forward, against my back
it is not very pleasant
you will say, there is also another solution
is to have a bike a little more suited
for travel with suitcases or topcase
yes, but it's not the same cost
a €90 bag to a €14000 motorcycle for example
it's not the same budget
the budget, finally
there is gas, one per day
almost €20 for SP98
hotel, meals, breakfast
it's about, let's say, €80
so it is about €100 per day
So, I did not do the accounts
but for 5-day road trip, you count €500
in short, a road trip
it's not an economic way to travel
it's not cheap vacation, this is what I wanted to say
and here for the Alps
Now, what next?
actually, it has to stay in a mountainous area
the Pyrenees, I already did, Auvergne I already did
but it can redo
if you have suggestions about road trip
which can be done easily
from the south of France with mountainous areas
give me your feedback in the comments
so see you soon, maybe not for a road trip
but at least for a one-day ride
because for roap trips
it will take a little longer to me to see again on the road
so I stop there, I talked too much, stay tuned!
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