Tim McNamara wrote:
the better choices for riding into Nice are relatively indirect...
Here's my experiences in this part of the Alps:
http://www2.bitstream.net/~timmcn/alps2002-1.html
Looks like you toured lots of pretty roads and some worthy
accomplishments.
Reading your report for Day 8, I can see your concern for finding
"indirect" better choices for riding into Nice -- after your
experience trying a more direct approach.
Yes, that stretch (the D6202 after about Saint-Martin-du-Vars, I
think) did pretty much suck. It was like riding on an interstate
except that Europeans generally seem to have a clue about how to
drive around cyclists. There was generally a wide shoulder in good
repair. Once on the Promenade des Anglais it was much better. I
didn't like Nice all that much, but maybe I just got off to a bad
start with it. The folks of Nice were very friendly and helpful,
I'll give them that. (Interesting thing I noticed about the French,
they use the full names of all streets when giving directions- no
shortening street names like we Americans tend to do).
From other touring reports that I have read, it seems like there
would be nicer options angling into Nice from closer to Italy.
Coming in from Saint-Martin-V?subie via the D19 looks like it would
be better, for example; I had thought about this in 2002. It would
have been hard to go that way after going through the Gorge du
Cians, which really is a "don't miss this" stretch of road (a
descent all the way from Beuil to the intersection with the D6202
through a narrow slot in the rocks. Spectacular). We'd really have
needed another day to make that work comfortably, which we didn't
have due to the time constraints of one of the folks on the ride.
http://nicolase.declochez.free.fr/sp...d_document=749
http://nicolase.declochez.free.fr/sp...d_document=750
http://nicolase.declochez.free.fr/sp...d_document=751
That looks like the Gorge du Cains alright, but rest assured that the
French HWY department is being pressed to tunnel past these scenic
places as they have on the Roya river below Tende at the Gorge du
Saorge. Gotta get those skiers up the hill without difficulty, They
are city folk after all.
Jobst Brandt