Monday, June 30, 2008

La Route des Grandes Alpes Day 7: Saint-Sauveur-sur-Tinée to Sospel

78.5 km total
Col Saint-Martin 1,500m
Col de Turini 1,607m

Back in Briançon, we had decided to stop for 2 rest days in Sospel (good 20 km before Menton) in order to avoid the holiday crowds at the Mediterranean. SW had booked us a chambres d’hôtes so the plan for today was clear.

The road down from St. Martin is perfectly surfaced and the turns seem to be calculated for maximum fun. By the time we entered the gorgeous village of St-Martin-Vésubie, we were so delighted with the fun descent that we wanted more of it and continued onward to Roquebilière-Vieux. Here we stopped for food and chose a restaurant “feeding the locals” rather than the Pizzeria “feeding the tourists”. Good choice.

When Rosario and Karsten caught up with us (yes them again ) and saw what we had been served, they decided to keep the sandwiches they had bought back in St-Martin-Vésubie to the side and to join us at the table. This lunch break was so good and relaxing that we nearly forgot we were here to cycle. Because Rosario and Karsten were heading for Menton, we said our final goodbye on the trip here.

Halfway up the Col de Turini, the clouds started to move in and the first drops began to fall. We pushed hard and managed to stay dry but ended up soaked anyway in our own sweat. No big deal. We were used to that by now.

The Col St Martin and Turini are part of the RGA, but many people seem to stop in Barcelonnette, a lovely little town and the perfect starting point for many famous climbs (Bonette, Cayolle, Allos, Vars …). Stopping the trip in Barcelonette means they miss out on the 2 exceptional climbs/descents we added to our list today.

Personally, I thought that St Martin had the most perfect descent and the Turini hairpins gave way to the most beautiful climb on our trip (even though I must admit that it is actually impossible to rank them as they are all fantastic). We found very empty roads here. It is important to note that the Col de Turini is the main attraction in the Rally de Monte Carlo. So, on some weekends, this col may be the playground for auto clubs. I was a little worried that some drivers would be on this road trying to imitate their professional idols. Thankfully, we did not encounter 1 single car or motorcycle pushing hard up or down this col.

Oh, we love this country and its people!

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