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Sun 28 May: Rest day (38km, 1230m ascent)

We climbed from Lantosque through la Clapière and Villars, tarmac soon giving way to a gravel track. There are good views over the forested hills, reminding Colin of Corsica though there are more conifers and fewer campanili.

Lantosque valley

Old Roquebillière

We continued to the Granges de la Brasque (where there was no view) and turned back, this time descending on the loose gravel road to Roquebillière. There are some pleasant buildings here, and eventually we obtained an enjoyable lunch.

In the afternoon we returned to Lantosque.

Mon 29: Lantosque – Breil-sur-Roya (300m) (60km, 1800m)

A very enjoyable but hard ride. We headed up past the attractive perched village of la Bollène (where we were unable to buy supplies) and then climbed steadily along a quiet forested road with several sets of zigzags to the popular Col de Turini (1607m). There are a couple of hotels serving food at the col. We continued upwards to the ski station of l’Authion where there were more hotels. We were mystified that so much was available when the Cayolle and Bonette had been so bleak.

From l’Authion

Point des Trois Communes

the road makes a loop round the fortifications of Mille Fourches, somewhat above 2000m. Unfortunately there is an (anticlockwise) one-way system which we initially adhered to. Having made a three-quarter circuit we left the bikes and strolled through wild-flower meadows to the Pointe des Trois Communes. Back on our bikes we rode against the system to the crossroads at the south-east of the loop. Here there is a choice of two tracks following ridges and eventually descending to the Roya valley. Both are probably barred to motor traffic; the southern one which we chose certainly is. (The eastern one follows the Tête de Secca, and is the subject of an attractive photo on the IGN map.)

The southern descent begins as an innocent dirt track along a ridge; becomes forested;

Ventabren balcon

and then, reaching the col at the Baisse de Ventabren, bypasses Mont Ventabren to the west on a striking balcon road, presumably built for military purposes and barely wider than a car. To the south of the mountain it crosses another col, the Baisse de la Déa, and starts dropping to the east.

Tunnel

It has one further surprise in store, a cute tunnel, before becoming a rather routine gravel track with good views over Breil below.

In Breil we rewarded ourselves with pâtisseries before heading for our hotel.

Note: We stayed at the Castel du Roy, a comfortable place with a pool.

Tues 30: Breil – Castérino (1550m) (41km, 1460m)

From Breil the road follows the Roya valley north with a little more traffic than we’d have ideally liked. At St. Dalmas a minor road heads north-west to Castérino. However we knew that an éboulement (landslip) had closed the road, and also that there was a way through for 4WDs. We asked at a café at St. Delmas but didn’t fully understand the answer, rode on to Tende and found both tourist office and mountain bike centre ‘exceptionally shut’, asked again in a hotel, returned to

Perched rock

St. Dalmas and followed the road, now fairly confident that there was only a short section affected, and that it was easy to bypass.

The éboulement was half a kilometre east of the Lac des Mesches, and was bypassed on the footpath between balises 79 and 80 which had been laid with hardcore to support 4WD traffic.

Castérino was not much further. It was almost deserted because of the landslip. We went for a short walk in the clear still evening, a little cooler than lower down. We were dismayed to be told that tomorrow was forecast to be very cold with snow.

Notes: We stayed at the comfortable les Melèzes.

Our plan for tomorrow was the most ambitious of the trip. An old military ridge road, no more than a gravel track, follows the Italian frontier as far as the sea. It hovers around 2000m weaving between high passes. Evidently it would be infeasible in bad conditions. We were booked into a hotel at Pigna the following night.

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