June 4, 2017
Castellane to Entrevaux: Shortcuts Come With Risks
Yesterday's rest day was welcome after completing over 600km on the trip. So, we started the day with fresh legs and were looking forward to an easy day riding to Entrevaux. We began with a 16k climb to the summit of col de St. Barnabe, which had a steady pitch of 7%, gradually decreasing to 4% by the time we neared the summit. Early on, we passed a dam on the Verdon River, which created the Lac de Chaudanne. The surrounding hills cast their reflection on the perfectly still surface of the aqua coloured lake. It was a perfect morning of cycle touring along a tiny mountain road. There are hiking trails galore sprouting from the road in the higher elevations.
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The descent from the summit took us down a snakey road to the village of St. Aubans. These towns are so quiet, you'd wonder if anyone is home. Then you'll hear a voice as someone passes by and into a house. If it's close to lunchtime, they'll be gathered around a table enjoying their two hour lunch.
We stopped for a banana break and after resuming, the road took a sharp turn and entered a short but deep gorge, complete with a balcony road (overhanging rock) and a rushing river. We paused to watch a group of adventure seekers rappelling down the river (canyoneering). Not only that, but there was a chapel built into a small cave under one of the overhangs. These surprises make our jaws drop and hands grab for the brakes so we can halt to take it all in.
A bit further on in our ride we made a decision to take a deviation from Scott's route to Entrevaux. This section was blanked out on our paper Michelin map by a small map of the region so we didn't see the profile of our chosen route (paper maps indicate the severity of the grades). Actually, I'm making excuses for some poor map reading on my part and ignoring the warning signs of what was to come. A sign at the start of the road warned of 10% grades ahead. And this is where cycle touring demands that you persevere. To get to Entrevaux, we encountered roads covered with fine gravel in grades between 10% and 18%. Needless to say, we had to get off and walk going up and going down. Aside from the danger of slipping on the gravel, our rims were getting very hot on the downhills so this all took longer than expected. The motos that passed us were being very careful too.
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The views over Entrevaux on the final descent were spectacular. The entrance over the rushing Var River has a drawbridge. All of the streets inside this walled city are pedestrian only. Since it's only 60km from Nice and there is a steam train to get here, it attracts day trippers yet it remains very genuine medieval village. There are two hydraulic mills on the edge of town, one for grinding wheat and the other for producing olive oil. The billy goats in the crowd will want to make the 800m trek up to the Citadel where the views are best.
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After a quick reconnaissance of the village we rode another 3k uphill to our chambre d'hote, showered, then rode back into town for a well deserved dinner of handmade gnocchi and ravioli.
Today's ride: 62 km (39 miles)
Total: 706 km (438 miles)
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5 years ago