Col hunting in le Var

Friday, January 9, 2009

It is early January and we were col hunting in the south of France. Unlike the cols back home in the Haute Savoie region, which are way higher (and currently closed due to snow), these lower cols along the Mediterranean are just perfect.

Eric had mapped out a trail for this ride. We were to pass by Col du Canadel (267m), Col de Barral (372m) and Col de Caguo Ven (237m).

We began our trip from Le Lavandou via the cycling path to Rayol-Canadel-sur-Mer. There we climbed our biggest climb of the day to reach Col du Canadel from sea level. From this col, we took a narrow and deserted road westward along the ridge (Route Forestière des Crêtes). Although we could not find a col sign at Col de Barral, our GPS confirmed we had reached this col.

The rest of the way to Col de Caguo Ven and subsequently to Bormes-les-Mimosas was not as deserted as we cycled past a few houses and cars. On reaching Bormes-les-Mimosas, we celebrated our ride with a cup of coffee.

 

- Katy, 4/4/2009