I am not a real fan of the coast here, its crowded, over priced, polluted, seriously packed with tourists, car drivers are aggressive and the cops here seem to be worse then anywhere else. But in fairness I used to live here so have a different opinion than the normal biker just riding through.

However, if you do find yourself down here you only have to go 30km inland from the coast to find paradise!!! Perfect empty roads, even in high summer are an absolute treat, with small quiet villages perfectly placed for you to stop off for lunch. A host of deep gorges and valley’s in the Valberg area, or Gorge de Verdon are all within a days ride from Nice. And whatever you do don’t ignore the mountain roads leading into Italy where lunch or a hotel are generally less than half the price then on the French side. I met more than a few German/Dutch/Nordic and even French bikers exploring along Nice, Cannes etc from a base just across the Italian border where you get a lot more for your money. If exploring the French pre-Alps however you might think about planning your fuel stops as petrol stations don’t seem to exist up here except the one in Valberg or Entreveaux which can be closed for lunch.

One of my favorite 1 day ride outs here leads out of Valbonne on the D3 and leads up to Gordon, one of the famous perched villages and well worth stopping for a coffee. Keep following the D3 which at this point is a little rough, keep right at the 1st Y junction, this brings you to a T junction on the D2, take a left here and follow the sign for Greolieres. At this point pull back the throttle because this road is a f$%ken belter and almost always empty, its 8-10km of perfection even for a monster RT. You will need to cool it at the small village of Greolieres then she opens up again into another cliff cut sweeping beauty, you might even recognise this road from the 007 Bond films or the road chase in Ronin, the Robert de Nero film. This road will put a big stupid grin on any bikers face. Another 8-10km out of the village the road flattens out into a long flat sweeper but take the 1st right onto the D802, this is a dead end road to the ski station of Greolieres des Neiges, but what a road for the speed junky, and for the perfect photo pull over at the scenic sign on the left before the ski station and walk up a small rise for a gob smacking view of the French/Italian alps. And the best part? Well you have to take the same road back to the pub, a day does not get much better then this!!!!

After 2 days R&R I have to get to Spain asap due to dwindling funds, so leaving Nice at 9am I make a ridiculously stupid 1 day ride of 1400km to Alicante which took me far longer then anticipated, a full 12 hours on the bike + 3hrs for rest breaks. But at least I get to spend the next few days munching around Spain with my arse in a swimming pool while nursing a few cold beers and meeting up with some friends…

Viva Espania

Tags: 2010 euro bike tour, bike tour, biking routes, denis smyth, Google Tour, GPS location, gps republic, gps routes, Planning biking route, route des grande alp