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ITINERARY
June 17 - Vence
We’ll meet your flight at the Nice/Côte
d’Azur airport and transport you to our hotel in
Vence. This ancient walled village,
only six miles from the beaches of the Côte
d’Azur, is high enough in the hills to be free of the
crush of beach cruising tourists. We’ll all be busy assembling
bikes, sightseeing, or just relaxing from our travels, so we
offer several suggestions for a quick shakedown ride before our
get-acquainted dinner tonight. Dinner will be at the hotel
overlooking the garden and pool.
June 18 – Castellane – 50mi, 4300ft
Most of this trip will be on small country roads and we will
seldom be in dense tourist areas. Many of the following days
show a fair amount of elevation gain, though there are very few
hard climbs, most being gradual or rolling. We leave
Vence and wind our way up to Gordon
for our first pastry stop and our last view of the
Mediterranean. After a climb to the Plateau de
Caussols, we traverse a series of
ridges and high valleys. Amazingly, after just leaving the
hustle and bustle of the Côte d’Azur,
we are on small roads in a fairly remote and rugged area of
Provence and the Maritime Alps.
Since there few villages and almost no restaurants, we will have
a group picnic, a typical Provencal feast. We continue our
traverse on the Route Napoleon and finally descend to the
mountain village of Castellane. We
will meet at the local bar for drinks and recount the events of
the day.
June 19 –
Moissac-Bellevue – 48mi, 3800ft, or 51mi, 4500ft
For sheer, staggering, awe inspiring, scenic beauty, today‘s
ride is probably the best. The Grand Canyon
du Verdon
is one of the most impressive natural wonders of Europe, yet it
was not discovered until 1905. Of course the locals knew it
well, but its remoteness kept it hidden from the world.
Agriculturally useless, and almost inaccessible, the 13 mile
canyon has sheer limestone cliffs 1000 to 3000 ft high and from
a couple hundred meters to half mile apart. Shortly after
leaving Castellane we enter a narrow
canyon, climbing to a small col,
continuing across the rolling terrain we burst upon an
incredible view as the vertical cliffs plunge 500 feet to the
river below. We now follow the cliffs around the entire
southern side of the Canyon du
Verdon. After descending out of the
canyon and a stop for lunch, we have an easy ramble to our hotel
for a relaxing afternoon by the pool.
June 20 –
Manosque – 43mi, 3500ft, or 62mi, 4200ft
Today is
pure Provence as we ride past
lavender fields in full bloom, visit small villages and ride
narrow winding roads with little or no traffic. First we have a
stop in Aups for pastry and a café
au lait, before meandering to
Tourtour, one of
Provence’s most beautiful villages.
Then we have a long rolling ride through the pine and scrub oak
forests with the scent of Provencal herbs filling the air. A
steep climb from Lac de Ste Croix to the plateau above brings us
to purple fields of lavender stretching as far as the eye can
see. After lunch in Riez, we cycle
past Valensole on our way to our
hotel outside Manosque. But first
be sure to explore the pedestrian only center of
Manosque and enjoy an ice cream or
pastry before the short finishing climb.
June 21 – Sault
43mi, 4600ft,
Lavender grows in many environments around the world, perhaps
even in your own garden at home. But it produces a superior
essence when grown under harsh conditions. At 2000-4000ft, the
high, arid, sparsely populated Plateau de
Vaucluse is just such an environment; cold and dry during
winter, hot and dry during summer. The fields of lavender will
just be blooming, attracting honeybees and butterflies. It’s
hard to overlook these vast fields with their tidy, rounded
rows; yet we’ll see many other wildflowers in bloom this time of
year, as well as wild herbs—thyme, rosemary, marjoram, basil,
savory, and sage—producing a heavenly medley of sweet smells.
This will be one of the loveliest, most fragrant days of
cycling. The rolling hills and gradual climbs at the end of the
day will be hard on tired legs, but our wonderful country hotel
will provide a relaxing end to a great day of cycling. A dip in
the pool will renew us in preparation for one of our best
evening meals yet.
June 22 –
Vaison la-Romaine
– 58 mi,
6000ft
The heady scent of recently bloomed lavender distracts us from
the looming presence of Mont Ventoux. A short distance after
the lavender fields we cruise to the top of the Gorges de la
Nesque. This is not only a very beautiful gorge, it is also a
20km, winding, gradual descent, perfect for an exhilarating,
high speed pace line or a fast tandem. Up next we will tackle
Mont Ventoux from the south; perhaps the hardest climb in the
Alps. The constant 8 to 11% climbing with no relief is very
difficult and will make the battles of the Tour de France even
more impressive. The fast descent to Malaucene is a welcome
relief, and visions of our wonderful hotel in old town Vaison
pushes us to greater speeds.
One option is to climb Ventoux directly from Sault up the
gradual eastern slope (33mi, 4200ft), and another option is to
avoid Mont Ventoux altogether and cycle the famous ‘Route du Vin’
(51mi, 1600ft).
June 23 –
Vaison – Rest day or loop rides
After five days of hard riding a rest day is in order, and
Vaison is a great place to relax. Take time to explore the
cobbled walkways and alleys of the old town, including the
castle ruins from the 12C and 15C. Cafes and restaurants are
plentiful on the main square and shops line the pedestrian only
streets. After some shopping and a leisurely Provencal style
lunch, an afternoon at the pool finishes a totally relaxing
day. For those who would like to spin the legs there is the
‘Route du Vin” loop (32mi and 2000ft), and for those who would
like a good hard go at it, there is the Montagne de Bouye loop
(42mi, 3200ft).
June 24 –
Orpierre – 63mi, 6300ft, or 45mi, 4300ft
Today’s route has no big name cols, though lots of climbing, it
has no tourist attractions, but still incredible scenery, there
are no big cities, only small villages, all in all one of the
best days of cycling in a tour of great days of cycling. Our
route goes through one of the more remote areas of Provence, if
not all of France. There are almost no restaurants so we have
planned a nice picnic (long route only). There are even fewer
hotels, so our wonderful little country hotel is quite a
surprise. After a swim in the pool, be sure to try the
excellent beer and if we are lucky the owner will prepare
homemade potato chips.
June 25 –
Digne-Les-Bains – 73mi, 5700ft, or 53mi, 1300ft
An early morning climb brings us to the start of a wonderfully
long gradual descent to Sisteron. A hearty lunch is in order to
fuel our afternoon challenge. From here we venture into a very
remote area as we climb through a series of three high valleys,
followed by two of the best rip-roaring descents of our tour,
into Digne-les-Bains. Our hotel is quite elegant but the beers
should be enjoyed at one of the nearby outdoor bars.
June 26 –
Barcelonnette – 58mi, 4200
It
will be hard to leave such a beautiful city as downtown Digne,
but today we start the challenge of the
Maritime Alps. Our ride starts fairly easily, as a mater of fact
the entire 40km of the first climb averages less than 2%. We
cycle up a beautiful gorge before bursting out into a high, wide
mountain valley. The shorter route over the Col du Fanget is
beautiful and very steep. After lunch we climb the Col St Jean
and descend to the Ubaye valley, where the final 21km climb to
Barcelonnette is again less than 2%. Named after
Spain’s
Barcelona, Barcelonnette has since developed a relationship with
Mexico. Many from this region have moved to Mexico for business
opportunities, but return often to visit or retire.
June 27 -
Barcelonnette
loop
-
77mi, 10,700ft, or 25mi, 3400ft
After the past three tough days of cycling, today might be a
good day for a rest, but hold on to your handlebar tape, because
we have an amazing ride in store. Three big passes await us,
the Col d’Allos, the Col des Champs, and the Col de la Cayolle.
One might recognize these names from past Tour de France stages,
and these climbs are considered leg breakers even for the pros.
This area is so beautiful, that any unused pixels (film) in your
camera will be long gone by the time we coast back to our hotel.
An easier option would be to just climb the Col d’Allos and
return to Barcelonnette for lunch.
June 28 –
Barcelonnette – Rest day,
Today is a true rest day, with no mandatory rides lined up.
Barcelonnette is a very active mountain village with plenty of
small shops, open air markets, cafes and restaurants, and
pedestrian walkways. This village sits high in a mountain
valley so there are plenty of great mountain views with out
leaving town. For those still wanting a challenging ride, a
great option is to climb the highest paved pass in Europe, the
Col de la Bonnette and the Cime de la Bonnette (42mi, 5600ft),
or the easier Col de Vars (39mi, 3300ft).
June 29 –
Valberg – 49mi, 6900ft
The most beautiful of all the climbs in the region is the Col de
la Cayolle. Our route starts climbing up through the steep
walled Gorges du Bachelard, soon the valley opens up and we
enter pine forests changing to meadows and alpine firs.
Beautiful arched bridges span the many mountain streams and
grazing sheep dot the hill sides as we approach the wild flower
covered col. A long twisting descent, just as beautiful as the
mornings climb, brings us to Guillaumes for lunch. The climb to
Valberg, although very scenic, will be quite hard for our tired
legs.
June 30 -
Vence
-
70mi, 4400ft
This is our last day of riding, and what a day it is, some of
the best scenery of the whole tour. After a short descent past
Beuil, we enter the Gorges du Cians. The vertical cliff walls
are so tight that the sun rarely shines on our road, but the
intense red color of the rock gives an eerie glow to our rapid
descent. After crossing the Var River one might notice that the
vegetation is changing from dry mountain plants to a more
tropical nature. Here the climate is warmer and more humid; we
definitely are getting close to the Mediterranean and the end of
our trail. After a long, gradual descent to Roquesteron for
lunch, we climb up to the Col du Vence. One last all-too-quick
and screaming descent, we are at the hotel in Vence, where we’ll
pack up and enjoy our last dinner together.
July 1 -
Departure
– Van transport provided to the Nice airport or train station.
COST $3295.00 per person based on Double Occupancy
$550 Single Supplement
INCLUDES
·2-3 star Hotel Accommodations ·
·Breakfast daily (except arrival day) ·Dinner daily (except one night and arrival/departure
days)
·Airport transfers from/to Nice airport
·Bike mechanic and van
support with cellular phone
·Ground transportation for all passengers, luggage & bikes
·Regional map plus detailed daily route maps & cue sheets
NOT INCLUDED
·International airfare
·Tips, gratuities, laundry, telephone, & items of a personal
nature
·Lunches and alcoholic beverages (a supplemental fee will be
charged for those who want wine with dinner, and can be prepaid
before departure)
PRE-TRIP PLANNING
A complete trip packet will be sent upon receipt of your final payment, including tour t-shirt, hotel lists, maps, and luggage tags. Our guidebook containing
information on what to bring, how to pack your bike for flying, equipment list, and changing currencies, will be sent upon receipt of your secondary deposit (due by March 1). All participants must possess a current passport.
TRAVEL
INSURANCE Erickson Cycle Tours strongly recommends purchasing insurance for trip cancellation, injury, illness, and loss of effects. A traveler's insurance brochure will be included in your confirmation letter.
AIRFARE
We offer the services of our travel agent, Shannon or Steve of
Rogue Travel, in obtaining economical, expedient air
reservations, and we can assist with lodging for pre- and
post-tour plans. For flight information, contact Rogue Travel at
1.800.443.9216, or
shannon@mind.net. If you prefer you may use the services of
your own travel agent.
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