Good luck to my husband Emil & Giulio Genuardi who today start their 4 day bike journey from Geneva to Nice The itinerary Day 1: Meet Geneva On arrival in Geneva, you can check into the hotel then head for the lovely lakeside gardens and famous fountain. We meet up in the evening for dinner and a detailed trip briefing before getting a good night’s rest in preparation for tomorrow’s efforts. Day 2: Geneva – Allevard Cycle approx 132km (85 miles) Heading south out of Geneva, we leave Switzerland and the Geneva Valley behind us. A gentle climb on quiet back-roads takes us into France. Beautiful views of the Alps accompany us almost the entire time today – a very inspiring start! We ride south to the beautiful town of Annecy, a lakeside jewel nestled among mountain peaks. We cycle alongside the shores of crystal-clear Lake Annecy for a few miles before continuing south on an undulating road through the forests and quiet villages of the Massif des Bauges. A steady, gradual ascent through lovely scenery takes us to the Col du Frêne – at 950m not a high mountain pass, and not a steep climb, but nevertheless our first real encounter with hair-pin bends! We descend via more sweeping bends to the Isère river, crossing it and climbing again on a quiet road up to Allevard, a lovely village partway up the mountain-slopes. Night hotel. Day 3: Allevard – Corps Cycle approx 120km (75 miles) Starting the day with a gentle descent back to the Isère valley, we pedal parallel to the river for some time before approaching the historic city of Grenoble. Situated in a broad valley between mountains, the terrain is flat for many miles, though new views of the surrounding peaks continually open up to us. Skirting the city, we follow quiet roads which steer us between the high ridges but give us only a few lumpy undulations to tackle! We climb a gently sloping hill to Roissard, pausing to appreciate the spectacular views of the twists and turns of the lovely Drac river, before continuing through to the small village of Mens. A stretch of more rolling road takes us to the shores of the lovely Lac du Sautet; we then have a short climb up into the small town of Corps. Tomorrow we will start riding on the Route Napoleon, a classic stretch of road that traces Napoleon’s route from Elba in 1815, and you can’t fail to notice that Corps is proud of its position on the route – there are references everywhere. Night hotel. Day 4: Corps – Digne-les-Bains Cycle approx 144 km (90 miles) Leaving Corps behind us, we continue our journey south through the southern Alps. Many of the roads we ride on today have featured regularly in the Tour de France. Our morning’s ride takes us predominantly along the scenic, hilly Route Napoleon: look out for the flying-eagle road markers that commemorate the route. Striking out on back roads for a short while, we climb the relatively gentle gradient of the Col de Manse – at 1268m our highest point of the challenge – before reaching the Alpine town of Gap. Continuing south on back-roads, the landscape around us gradually changes to thickly-forested limestone hills and sheer cliffs – spectacular scenery. Entering Provence, we reach the ancient, picturesque town of Sisteron, situated in beautiful scenery on the riverbank between towering mountain ridges. From here it becomes more and more evident that we are leaving the high mountains behind, as we ride east to the lovely old spa town of Digne-les-Bains. Night hotel. Day 5: Digne-les-Bains – Nice Cycle approx 140 km (88 miles) Today is a long day, and a hilly one, but it’s also our last day of cycling so we enjoy every kilometre of beautiful countryside! Setting off from Digne, our day starts on a quiet rolling road which warms us up nicely before the Col de Corobin (1230m), which sees up pedalling uphill for almost 10km. The well-earned descent is wonderful, and you’ll be glad to know it’s steeper than the side we ascended! Rejoining the Route Napoleon, we tackle several more testing climbs and descents as the road winds through stunning hilly scenery, passing the lovely town of Castellane on the river Verdon en route. Taking our leave of our historic companion, the Route Napoleon, we head east on very quiet back-roads through small villages. The landscape is made up of rocky outcrops and ridges, verdant forests and deep blue rivers, and provides a breathtaking backdrop to our final day. We reach the photogenic medieval hilltop town of Gréolières, perched high up in the hills behind the coast, and then we can freewheel almost all the way on quiet roads right to the coast! Our descent takes us through the stunningly beautiful Gorge de Loup, before reaching sea level; we join a lovely flat cycle path and pedal our way on the famed Promenade des Anglaises into the heart of Nice. We finish this long day and our incredible challenge beside the Mediterranean Sea. Night hotel. Day 6: Nice - London After a leisurely breakfast, we have time to relax on the beach or wander the Promenade until it’s time to transfer to the airport,
Posted on: Sat, 13 Sep 2014 06:42:40 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015