Tim McNamara wrote
it seems like there would be nicer options angling into Nice
from closer to Italy. Coming in from Saint-Martin-Vésubie
via the D19 . . . 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

I do think Gorge du Cians is a good candidate for the most interesting road
segment between Barcellonette and Nice. It was on my first single-day loop
route for riding over all the passes between the Mediterranean Sea and Lake
Geneva. I think if you're going to ride over Col de la Cayolle because it's
more interesting and pretty than the alternatives at that stage (though I
don't think most riders would pay much attention to Cayolle if it were found
in central Switzerland), that same logic points to connecting it with Cians.

So I was surprised to learn that Cians was not included in the official
"Route des Grandes Alpes" (and some popular organized bike tours). I think
it's because (like you discovered) it doesn't "connect" well on both ends
with other obvious mountain roads. At the time I rode it, I thought I was
going to connect to the Mediterranean at Cannes or St Tropez, not Nice or
Menton -- but with more exploration I decided that I wasn't so interested in
connecting between Cians and further south.

When I rode a clockwise loop with Cians and Col Coulouille (sp?), I was able
connect between the south (bottom) end of Gorges du Cians and the next
valley east by riding a secondary road which runs roughly SW / NE and sort
of cuts off the corner between the main valley roads. Then on a different
day I climbed from that next valley up to la Tour and on some obscure roads
up to Utelle and down to St-Jean-la-Riviere in the yet next valley to the
east -- which offers less-trafficked options for riding south to Nice. (but
I can well understand how Tim would not have risked trying something like
that in his short timeframe).

Other strategy for riding thru the southern French Alps is to go for the
"high pass" climbing accomplishments -- which must include Col Bonette /
Restefond, and then logically also includes Col Turini. That pretty much
determines the route between the two (and it doesn't include Cians). A
hybrid strategy would be climb the north side of Bonette / Restefond
up-and-back from Jausiers, then ride to Barcellonette and continue south
over Cayolle.

I didn't like Nice all that much, but maybe I just got off to a bad start
with it.

Other than exploring the Grand Corniche, and riding along the seacoast very
early in the morning, I didn't ride much in Nice. I did find that the old
quarter and the beach were pleasant at night. What I tried in the hills to
the north of the city seemed fun, and I'd be glad to explore that area more.
One idea for "cheating" (which I haven't tried yet) might be to take a train
or bus from Nice up to near one of the "perched" villages (likely with some
uphill riding?) I think maybe Peille, then ride south to la Turbie, then
west on the Grand Corniche road back to Nice.

Ken