Tour Details

 France: Cote d’Azur & Alpes Maritimes 3 – 11 June 2016
Price: £895 Land Only This tour starts in Nice, and explores the Alpes Maritimes to the North West of Nice. From the busy Cote d’Azur it heads into the hills, at first busy, then onto quiet roads in an area that is little frequented. Explore a limestone plateau at about 1000m with lovely gorges. Visit small historic villages perched on hilltops. And see the Gorges of Daluis and Cians, which are red schist. Spend two nights at most hotels, allowing a rest day or a ride without luggage. The mileage can be extended or shortened on rest days. The ride is hilly.
Itinerary Km Ascent m Style: touring moving on every 2 days Day 1 Meet at hotel in Nice Grade: Effort E3, Altitude A2 Day 2 Cycle to Pont du Loup via St Jeannet, Tourettes. Continue to Gourdon. Stay night in Pont du Loup. 70 1200 Av daily distance: 60k (80k) Max distance: 110k Day 3 Circular ride: Vence, Col de Vence, Coursegoules, Le Broc, Saint Jeannet, Pont du Loup. Stay night in Pont du Loup. 84 1770 Support Carry Own Luggage Day 4 Cycle to Greolieres, Andon, Le Logis du Pin. Stay night at Le Logis du Pin. 50 1090 Accommodation: Hotel Meals: Half board Day 5 Circular ride: Les 3 Clues – Saint Auban, Riolan, Aiglun. Stay night at Le Logis du Pin. 94 1900 Day 6 Cycle to Castellane, Saint Julien-­‐du-­‐Verdon, Saint-­‐André-­‐les-­‐
Alpes, Annot. Stay night in Annot. 71 1165 Group size: 14 Your Leaders Neil & Gerry Goldsmith Day 7 Circular ride: up Gorges du Daluis to Guillaumes, Valberg, Beuil, down Gorges du Cians, Puget-­‐Théniers. Stay night in Annot. 100 2358 Day 8 Cycle to Puget-­‐Théniers, Col de St Raphael, Toudon, Gillette, Saint Jeannet, Cagnes-­‐sur-­‐Mer, Nice. Stay night in Nice. 110 1500 Day 9 Leave after breakfast Price includes: 8 nights hotel * Half board (bed, breakfast & evening meal) Cycling Gems leaders Sketch maps and GPS tracks * rooms are based on 2 people sharing. A limited number of single rooms are available for which a supplement is payable. For details please ask Cycling Gems Price does NOT include: Travel to and from the hotel in Nice Lunches or refreshments during the day Drinks with evening meals Travel insurance Payment Deposit of £200. Final balance to be paid ten weeks before departure. Cancellation You must notify us in writing. Charges are as follows: Before 24 March 2016 Deposit (£200) 25 March to departure 100% (£800) Grades E2 Easy days in the saddle. Usually no more than 50 km with frequent stops for photos, drinks, leisurely lunch and sight-­‐
seeing. E3 Moderate days. 50 to 70 km per day. Still plenty of time for photos and drink stops. The faster will have plenty of time for sight-­‐seeing. E4 70 km+ per day. Can be up to 120 but mostly under 100km. The preserve of experienced cycle tourers used to riding day after day, enjoying scenery but with determination to get to overnight stop. A1 Up to 200m per day. Almost flat. Terrain typical of the Fens and parts of Cheshire. A2 200m to 1000m climb per day. Typical of Normandy, much of the Loire and Lot Valleys, crossing the Massif Central and the limestone gorges of Southern France. Usually not steep, but longer steady climbs. A3 500 – 2000+ m climb per day. The preserve of the keen mountain climber. Typical of Alpine passes and Pyrenees. Some steep sections of up to 17% are possible. These are usually on supported trips so they are done on a ‘sporty bike’ without panniers. These climbs are a challenge when combined with a long day in the saddle! www.cyclinggems.co.uk 1 info@cyclinggems.co.uk Additional information Getting to the Tour Since travel to the start of this tour is not included, it is very important that you note that neither your leader nor Cyclinggems ltd are responsible for you in any way until the appointed time at the designated meeting point. Should you fail to arrive at the appointed time for whatever reason, we will not be responsible for any additional expenses you may incur in order to meet up with the tour group. Before finalising travel arrangements to meet the tour, you should ensure that you have read and understood our booking conditions. Should this tour not attract sufficient bookings to reach the minimum operating size, we may cancel the tour at any time up to 10 weeks before departure. It is therefore recommended that you book fully flexible and refundable transport and accommodation as, in the event of the tour being cancelled, we will not be responsible for any losses incurred. Travel and cycle transport The hotel in Nice is close to the airport, and has a pick-­‐up service. We will store any bike bags/cases for you in Nice. Travel Insurance Make sure you have read the section on Insurance in the Booking Conditions. It is a condition of booking that you have adequate travel insurance. In addition to travel insurance, EU nationals should carry a European Health Insurance Card. This enables you to take advantage of emergency medical services free or at a discount under a reciprocal provision that exists between EU member states. Your travel insurer may refuse to meet the extra costs of medical treatment if you do not carry this Card. We advise that the minimum requirement covers repatriation of you and your bike in the event of an accident and also cancellation insurance. Accommodation and Meals We use small, 2* family-­‐run hotels. Occasionally a good 1* or a 3* hotel. We will almost always be sharing rooms. A light breakfast and substantial evening meal is the norm. Where the hotel does not provide half board, we will eat at a local restaurant and this is arranged for you, included in the price. The evening meal is included on arrival in NIce. Vegetarians and people with other dietary requirements should discuss their requirements with the tour leader, as choice is very limited. Maps You should carry a map in case you become separated from the group. The route is all on one map, Michelin 1:150,000 Local series (yellow) no 341. Route-­‐sheets will be sent 3-­‐4 weeks before departure including a map of how to find the hotel for the night. GPS tracks will be sent on request, please say what type of GPS you have. Support There is no back-­‐up vehicle. Rides We will generally cycle together, but you are welcome to ride separately at your own pace if you prefer. Especially when going uphill, everyone needs to ride at their own pace. We will usually stop at a café for coffee, lunch (often a picnic) and tea. However we may be in a remote place where there is no café. So it is important to make sure you always have some emergency rations with you. The leaders will try to ensure that no one gets lost and you will be provided with the leaders mobile phone number in the event of emergencies or you getting lost. Bikes and Gearing Touring bikes able to take luggage are the most suitable. The cols can be long but not steep. Most touring cyclists use lower gears than are standard on most road bikes. Triples are common and mountain bike gearing is often used. (see the section on bikes in the information pages on our website). The area of the tour Once we have negotiated the very busy roads around Cagnes-­‐sur-­‐Mer on the Cote d’Azur, we climb to Saint Jeannet. Here we stop for coffee and an opportunity to look at this quaint old village. Then to Tourrettes, established on a rocky spur, the medieval village is intact. We continue to Gourdon, which is built on a peak whose impressive slopes will, after many hundreds of rock falls, end their days in the Loup river. This is a day for getting to know the group and visiting touristy villages. www.cyclinggems.co.uk 2 info@cyclinggems.co.uk There is a choice of circular rides from Pont du Loup. The planned ride includes the Col de Vence (958m) and th
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Coursegoules (1000m), a perched village with remains from the 13 century and its main buildings the 17 , which is very quiet. On the return there are wonderful views to snowy peaks. The Gorges du Loup provides a long climb the following day, up to the village of Greolieres (810m), a pretty Medieval village perched on a ridge against the southern flank of the Cheiron mountain. On to a remote limestone karst plateau at about 1000m, very isolated. We maintain this height through Andon (1182m) to Logis de Pin, a tiny hamlet. From here we can explore the impressive ‘les trois clues’ on a circular ride. Saint Auban, Riolan, Aiglun. Clue is the local name for a limestone gorge, and there are plenty of these in this area. (And consequently, plenty of ups and downs!) We then ride to Annot, a town on the Vaire river. The scenery becomes quite different. First along the Route Napolean over the Col de Luens (1054m) to the town of Castellane (724m) for coffee. It’s the opposite of a perched village. Tucked down in the throat of the steep Grand Canyon de Verdon the town is invisible from a distance, except for a tall rock jutting straight up out of the valley, with a stone chapel (from 1703) perched on top. We climb out of Castellane past the large Lac de Castillon, to go up to Saint-­‐Andre-­‐les-­‐Alpes (804m). Cafes. Turn around and descend to Saint Julien de Verdon, where turn left to follow the main road through a long gorge. (The village of Vergons has a café.) A bit later, don’t forget to turn left into Annot. Annot (680m) has a station where the Train de Pignes stops. Wander up to the station for a look. Annot is overshadowed by the tall cliffs of grés, a sedimentary sandstone rock created about 60 million years ago when this area was under the sea. From Annot, the circular ride visits the impressive Gorges du Daluis and Gorges du Cians to the North. First a descent before a left turn climbs steadily up the Daluis to the town of Guillaumes (792m) for coffee. Then climb to Valberg (1673m), a ski resort (mainly closed). Descend to Beuil, and all the way down the Cians to the main road. Take care – there is fast traffic, though not a lot, and it’s a wide road. Don’t forget to explore the pretty village of Entrevaux on the way back. Entrevaux is a fabulous sight: a medieval village guarding a narrow pass, a draw-­‐bridge entrance high across a fast river, and walled walkway zig-­‐zaging up through 20 fortified doorways to a 17th century citadel dominating the village and the surrounding valleys. The ride from Annot back to Nice descends to Puget-­‐Théniers (409m). Turn right to climb the Col St Raphael (876m). Once this is done we are on a beautiful, quiet balcony route through little villages (coffee at Ascros?) until we descend at Gillette to the valley of the Var. Suddenly roads become busy – we are back on the Cote d’Azur. We take a dedicated cycle path down the valley. Turn off at the Pont de la Manda to go up to Saint Jeannet and back down to Cagnes-­‐sur-­‐
Mer, and along the cycle path to Nice. Traffic Conditions and Risk Assessment Wherever possible we use minor roads and cycleways. However, at some points in our tour, usually approaching larger towns, heavier traffic can be encountered and riders will need to be careful. We have ridden all of our tours and are comfortable with the road and traffic conditions and their suitability for a group. On occasions in traffic, we will ask you not to cycle in a large group (this can frustrate motorists and lead to risky driving). Going into and out of towns we will ask you to keep in sight to prevent you getting lost. Helmets are a contentious subject with cyclists. We strongly advise you to wear one and we do so ourselves. Please check the conditions on your insurance to see if your insurance requires you to wear one. Am I fit enough for this tour? None of our tours are a race! They are a holiday. The joy of a group holiday is that you are likely to find someone to cycle at a similar pace to you so you don’t need to try and keep up with the fast ones at the front. Everyone has their own style of riding and approach to enjoying the day. Some like to amble and take lots of photos, others like to cycle hard. Having said that, you do need to check the grading and see whether the tour is suitable for your level of fitness. Touring with panniers is more demanding than the same ride without panniers. Finishing each day knackered and just in time for dinner is no holiday. www.cyclinggems.co.uk 3 info@cyclinggems.co.uk