Vence sits in a dramatic position, on a balcony a thousand feet above the sea, with wave after wave of mountains beginning immediately behind it. It really is a gateway to the southern Alps, which are startlingly close when you look at the map. Fifty miles more or less straight north brings you to Barcelonnette and the famous passes surrounding it, or to Col de Bonette, the highest paved road in France. Heading northeast instead, fifty miles will drop you into Cuneo, the Piedmontese town tucked up against the Italian side of the mountains. Actual distance may vary of course, since we’re not crows.
It’s an ambitious place to have based ourselves for five nights, one we wouldn’t have considered this late in the season if we hadn’t been seduced by the vision of the mountains rising above Cannes and Nice and by the unexpected prospect of another string of fair, sunny days.
Really though, it wouldn’t have hurt us to look at the map instead of just the tourism articles about attractive Vence itself before booking a hotel here. We might have noticed before getting here that unless we just headed back to the coast from here it’s up in all directions.
Now that we’re here, we stare at the map together and consider the options. Rachael is ready to sign on for two bike rides here alternated with a pair of hikes, so I get to work looking for ones that are apt to work best for her. There aren’t many choices really because the way north is blocked by a wall of mountains except for the climb up to the Col de Vence. The most obvious ride is biking west a few miles to the Loup River and then following it north as it cuts a deep gash through the nearest mountains. We biked a part of this gorge four years ago on a day ride from Antibes, and it was terrific.
So we’ll start here. And we’ll start today, since it promises the best cycling weather of the four days - sunny, light winds, a high of 63F. Rachael will hike tomorrow, when it promises to be a little cooler. We begin by biking west out of town, generally following the contour of the cliffs for about six miles, gradually climbing until we pass through the outskirts of Tourettes-sur-Loup and then dropping until we come to the lip of the Loup Gorge.
Rounding a hairpin as we drop to and cross the Bouirades, a small stream beneath Tourettes-sur-Loup.
We’ll follow the Loup for the next fifteen miles, but we won’t see it for awhile as it’s running so far below in the deep gorge it’s carved through the rocks here. It’s about 800 feet below us when we first come to the gorge, and for the next three or four miles we’ll gradually converge as we drop about five hundred feet while it rises, until we finally reach and cross it about nine miles into the ride. This is our low point today, until we return. From here it’s all uphill as we follow the river north into the mountains.
We’re in the mountains! For the rest of our ride uphill we’ll get regular updates on our progress. We’ll continue climbing until just a short ways from Gréolières.
Still descending. Too hard to make out in this photo, but that thin green line along the top of the cliff is the road up to Gourdon. That looks like an amazing climb, one I think we took back in 2003, on our way back to Nice from a tour of the lavender fields.
We pass through a series of three tunnels as we drop toward the river. Two, like this one, are quite short; but one was long enough that we were glad it was illuminated. We’d have had to turn back otherwise because we didn’t think to bring the lights with us today.
We cross the river, which isn’t much more than a stream at this point, and then start climbing along its west bank. We come to the turnoff to Gourdon, a village dramatically perched at the top of the cliffs high above the river. The road up to it angles up the face of the cliff, and would be an amazing ride - it goes in the mental hopper full of ideas for what to do when I’m riding solo. After that we cross the river again and continue climbing.
Fantastic. The formation ahead is the Cheiron Massif, topping out at 5,800’. Just on the far side of the crest is a winter ski resort. Views from the top are alleged to be sublime, north to the higher mountains and south to the Riviera. On a clear day, you can see Corsica.
We’re more or less at elevation here, following the Loup left as it bends at the base of the Cheiron Massif. We’re continuing climbing, but have our eye out for a spot to stop for lunch. Hopefully there will be some views when we find one.
The ride back is almost but not quite an exact reverse. This time we pick up a quiet side route between Tourettes and the gorge that we missed the first time. Much better, saving us from a few uncomfortably busy miles. It’s a thrilling experience racing down the gorge, seeing these same cliffs from the opposite perspective. This late in the day, the light on the trees shows off their wonderful autumn colors well, and every bend of the road brings out gasps of appreciation.
By the time we reach the river and start climbing again we’ve lost the daylight because we’re so deep down the canyon walls. It’s suddenly chilly, reminding us that it’s nearly December - days are short, and temperatures drop quickly when the light disappears. It’s something we need to pay more attention to.
