Day 2: Sat 28th June 2009

 

Ride: Nice to Briancon & Cime de la Bonette - 147 miles

 

Despite having a late one last night we woke early this morning and were glad we did. As the train slowly makes its way into Nice for the final hour of the journey you are treated to some truly beautiful views of the coastline and you begin to get that sun, sea and sand feeling, and instinctively you know that you've arrived on the Cote d'Azur. At 10.00am the train pulled into Nice as scheduled and it was hot, seriously hot - well over 30 degrees in the shade - and then we were told that they wouldn't be unloading the bikes before 11.30am. So we had a 90 minute wait before they started to get the bikes off, wearing our leathers in the sweltering heat.

 

Our discomfort was lightened however when we heard about the 5 BMW riders that we'd seen in Calais, putting their bikes on the Avignon section of the train. Apparently they'd got seriously wasted on the way down and not one of them had woken up in time to get off at Avignon. Net result was bikes in Avignon, riders in Nice facing a 4 hour train ride back to Avignon.

 

By 12.15pm we were on the road and rolling and 15 minutes later Nice was behind us and we were on the D6202 heading towards Digne les Bains and the turn off onto the D2205, signposted Col de la Bonette and Restefond. This road takes you high, in fact the scenic loop road that runs around the peak of La Bonette is as high as it gets in Europe topping out at 2,802m. The D2205 was nice with a decent road surface and some good twisties. At St. Saveur we stopped for lunch and some much needed rehydration at a nice cafe, and then it was on past Isola to St. Etienne.

 

 

The stretch of road to St. Etienne was quite modern with fast sweeping bends. Nice for a car or a bike. At St. Etienne the pass road up to La Bonette really begins and the gradual climb up the southern ramp starts here. As you would expect the scenery is outstanding. From this point there are few passing places and we were pleased to be on bikes and not in a car, on bikes we could get past virtually everything given half a chance.

 

Eventually we got above the tree line and got the panoramic views to which we had been looking forward.

 

The series of photos below were all taken at the top of the southern ramp just before the turn off to the scenic loop road that runs around the peak of La Bonette.

 

 

 

At the top of the southern ramp we turned off and headed up to the Cime de la Bonette via the 2km long teardrop shaped scenic loop that runs around the peak. The road was shut at the bottom for resurfacing so we had to go up anti clockwise and then return the same way. This road is completely pointless and we could only imagine that the local mayor decided to build it to get the title of the highest paved road in Europe - at 2,802m it's 32m higher than Col de l’Iseran.

 

 

From there we dropped down the northern ramp, barely noticing the Col de Restefond. The passage over the Restefond is easy to miss because the actual pass is situated on a gravel track leading off the D64 close to its summit. There’s no signpost to mark the top but you'll know you're there because there are various ancient blockhouses, remnants of the Maginot Line’s Alpine extension, the Alpine Line, that litter the area. The Ouvrage Col de Restefond consisted of three infantry blocks, all facing Italy.

 

 

The northern ramp from the Restefond to Jausiers is about 14 miles long and has been completely resurfaced. It's a superb road with something to please everyone from moderate straights to long sweepers, twisties and tight hairpins.

 

 

At Jausiers we turned right to go over the Col de Vars to Guillestre and then onto the N94 to take us to Briancon, our base for the next few nights. We stayed at Hotel de la Chaussee in the centre of the lower town. The hotel is family run, the rooms are nice clean, there is secure parking for bikes, and at €70 a night it's good value for money.

 

There are plenty of restaurants and bars to choose from in Briancon and we soon got stuck into them. Tonight we ate alfresco at L'Alpin - very good food and excellent service but very pricey although in fairness we did go overboard with the wine selection.