Cyclewhitney: 2024 Nice - Tour de France

Nice - Pretour

We started this trip in Salzburg after a wonderful visit with Mark, Lindsey and the boys! First stop was the flight lounge at the Salzburg airport. The smallest flight lounge of our journey but it had the best food.

We routed through Frankfurt to get to Nice, and arrived in Nice on time, but without our 2 bike boxes. Apparently there was not enough room on the plane for our bike suitcases. There are no humans at the luggage desk, but we made our report at an automated kiosk and headed to the hotel with our other luggage. No worries; we would not begin the bike portion of the tour for 2 days. We arrived at our hotel and got checked in.

The town is decked out for the Tour de France, even down the pillow treats! We stayed at a Mecure hotel in walking distance from the beach and old town that was arranged by the tour company.

We set out on foot for dinner and found Larry and Kris just leaving the hotel. We both were looking for a light dinner and they had found Bubu smashburgers on Google maps. We we headed over and had a great meal. We walked along the seashore promenade where they were already setting up barricades and grandstands for the race.

Breakfast was at the hotel and we decided to get out and get some sun and check out the town.

We used the Rick Steve‘s guidebook and took the old town and beach walking tours. Of course the first order of business was to sit in the seaside blue chairs and watch the world go by!

Even the blue promenade chairs were painted in the Tour de France leaders jersey colors (Yellow - General Classification, Polka Dots - Mountain, Green - Sprinters),

The beach was small stones, not sand. The water was warm and we wished we had our suits!

The yellow bike is an addition to this sculpture for the TDF. We could tell because the bike was not on the photo in the guidebook and it was attached with zip ties!

The Bubu burger was so good last night that we went back for lunch! It was not as crowded and the burgers were fantastic!

After lunch we returned to the hotel to cool off and check on our missing bikes. They had arrived on the morning flight from Frankfurt and were in the hands of the courier. They called and told us the bikes would be delivered between 8:30 and 10:30pm. Well, no need to wait around, we headed out for dinner and found a nice place in old town.

The bikes arrived around 11pm. I assembled one and we decided to call it a day around midnight!

The next morning we grabbed breakfast at the hotel and I finished building the second bike. There are plenty of things to see and do in Nice, but we decided to make it a beach day! We grabbed some towels from the hotel pool and some provisions from the grocery and made our way to the beach!

We found a spot on the public beach and settled onto the rocky shore. We were very glad we brought towels from the hotel, as the sun really heated up the rocks. It took a bit of getting used to, but at least sand in the clothes was not an issue. It was really heating up, and after a few hours we headed back to the hotel to clean up and cool off!

Another great meal at an outdoor cafe and this day was in the books!

Day 1 Nice

Originally we were going to do a flat warm-up ride on Embark day. But due to the Tour de France schedule of stages starting and ending in Nice over the next few days, we could only do the ride to Monaco and return via the Tour de France Individual time trial route on Embark day.

The route started from the hotel but soon followed flat sections of the TDF route in Nice. But once past the port area, we started climbing along the beautiful coast to Monaco.

Lots of climbing and even a few tunnels as we made our way along the coast.

It seemed that around every corner, or at the top of every climb, we would catch another great view. This town is Eze-Bord-De-Mer.

We entered Monaco via a tunnel and headed straight up toward the Prince‘s Palace of Monaco and the Oceanographic Museum.

The museum was very interesting, but we knew we had a lot of climbing ahead of us so we took a quick Coke break and headed back on the bikes.

The route goes from the Marina at sea level, through town and up and over those hills!

The route followed roads we recognized from the Monaco F1 races, here we ride the tunnel and hairpin switchbacks! Note the race barricades already set up for the TDF

The TDF route has two climbs, a long one out of Monaco, then a short one up the Col de Eze. At the top of the long climb, we rolled into the town of La Turbie. There was a bike shop cafe there and we decided to stop and take a break.

The second climb was a short steep beast up the Col d‘Eze. The last mile with an average grade of 9%, with ramps over 13%, Deb climbed it like a champ!

There were lots of twists and turns on the descent. Hay bales wrapped in red and white plastic were placed near hazards and walls along the route.

The route continues along the port and passes where our ship waited patiently for our arrival.

I guess COVID is over, we simply boarded the ship, were given our room keys and boarding passes and were in our cabin within minutes of boarding!

Day 2 Nice

The Tour de France stage 20 will depart from the port area where our ship is docked and continue to the finish in the mountains. Roads will be closed starting about noon and will not re-open until after the peloton departs at 1:30 pm. With the high afternoon temperatures, we decided to ride the flat route to Antibes first thing in the morning, and return in time for the racers depart.

The route was closed to traffic, but open to cyclists on the way out of Nice. Stage 20 and Stage 21 will both use this road.

Temperatures were perfect and the winds were light and cool coming off the sea.

Nearly the entire route was on dedicated bike paths along the shore.

The route included a gravel path around fortifications on the edge of Antibes.

Along the rampart in Antibes, there were several statues appearing to be balancing on the walls.

We stopped in town and picked up a sandwich and cokes at a bakery. We found a shady spot and had a light lunch. The sandwich was too good to share with this interested pidgeon!

By the time we got back to the ship, the team cars were lining up for the neutral start.

We hurried up to the balcony on our cabin, and could hear the rider introductions on the stage just across the harbor!

Soon the helicopter was overhead and the peloton rolled out. They would ride ‘parade’ style (neutralized) until they reached kilometer 0 just outside of town, when the real racing would begin. We saw the whole thing from the comfort of our cruise ship!

Where is the best place to watch a bike race? Once the peloton flashes by, on TV of course. The ship had the broadcast piped in and we enjoyed the rest of the stage from our room!

Day 2 - Nice

Sunday and the final stage of the Tour de France. A time trial that will start in Monaco and finish about 4 km from our temporary home on our cruise ship.

First things first, its Sunday and we had wide selection of Masses to choose from. All in French of course, and we decided to try Notre Dame du Port, only 600 meters from our ship!

When we left the church, this group of cyclists was lining up on the course. This would be one of several groups that were pre-riding the course. It looked like this one, that included some very small cyclists, was only riding the last 5 km of the course.

We made our way along the course to a cafe right across from our ship. Since the race was hours away, we were able to get a table right off the course and we watched many groups and race officials go by as we enjoyed the shade and some light refreshments.

We returned to the ship for lunch and continued to watch the race preparations!

We could see this camera crew and commentators using the same backdrop for their broadcast.

Soon the Caravan rolled by and we stood by the barriers dancing and waving to get race souvenirs thrown from passing publicity vehicles. We got great hats, soft drinks, key chains, and even a sweet technical t-shirt from Total Energies, one of the team sponsors.

Staking our spot along the barriers waiting for the Caravan this guy rolled up with his dog in a handlebar bag! Kudos for making shade for the pooch, it was hot!

We returned to the ship after the caravan and followed the race on TV, while occasionally going to the outdoor bar/restuarant on deck 5 to watch the racers go by. Conveniently the big screen in the lounge inside was showing the race and we snagged front row seats!

We decided not to ride and make it a rest day, but we were still exhausted! After the race presentations, we set sail for Corsica!

Day 4 - Bastia to Saint Florent, Corsica

There were 3 cycling options for the day. A long ride at 45 miles, medium at 37 miles, and short at 28 miles. Don’t be fooled by the distances, these rides followed a rugged coast and included many climbs and averaged over 100 feet of elevation gain per mile.

Debby and Kris opted for the short, Larry took the medium and I took the long route. The plan was to for me to catch Larry, and then we would both catch up to Kris and Debby. Busses and trucks would deliver the riders and bikes to the medium and short route starting points, but it took quite a while to sort everything out and match bikes with riders. I found mine and left the port ahead of the busses! I was able to get several miles out of town before the busses passed me by! I caught Larry a few miles from the start of the medium ride!

From the start of the medium ride. By the time I got here Larry had just started, and Debby and Kris were still on the bus to the short route.

Fantastic coastal views!

Look who I found! I was still passing riders from the medium group and spotted Deb and Kris a few switchbacks ahead. Larry and I had met a few miles back and we continued to bridge up until we met the girls.

The town of Nonza, where the bus and sack lunches would be available.

Before we hit the bus with the lunches, we spotted a great cafe and bar called the A Matsuletta. It was the size of a closet, but it had outdoor seating, fresh sandwiches, and cold drinks. Most importantly a shady patio across the street. We grabbed a table and had a great meal.

Saint-Florent

Our destination for the day was Saint-Florent. Its port was too small for ship, so we had a bus transfer to the larger port of L’ile Rousse. The bus arrived just as our ship was arriving at the ferry terminal in L’ile Rousse. By the time we cleared the port guards, and had a drink at the port bar, our ship was ready, and we climbed aboard to call this a day!

Day 5 - Ajaccio

We glided into the port of Ajaccio about 0600. It was a busy ferry port and we boarded busses for a two hour transfer into the Foret d’ Antone national forest.

The plan was to meet the bikes at the Col de Vergil, at about 4,800’ and ride back to the sea. Somehow we would need to climb another 3000’ feet to get back to sea level!

We were warned that there could be livestock on the road, and after just a couple of turns we saw a cow and a small herd of pigs enjoying the morning sun.

After nearly a week of heat in southern France, it was a joy to ride through tall pines in cool morning temperatures!

We made lots of stops, especially as we dropped out of the tall pines and had great open views on a perfectly clear day.

Much of the road was barely 1.5 lanes wide. Because a larger highway bypassed this route there was no commercial traffic. However, this ‘drive’ is highly rated on the Michelin Map/Guide and we had a bit of sightseeing traffic to deal with. Easy on bikes, but we had to wait several times as cars, and especially RVs stopped or reversed to find room to pass each other.

Some long-haired goats checking out the great views also!

Just outside the town of Ota, and around this bend, we met a road construction project where the pavement was being repaired. We had about 1.5 feet of space to get around the equipment. The road crew seemed surprised by the number of cyclists, but allowed us to pass through. Traffic on both sides of the work was stopped!

We planned for a coffee stop, but with the building heat and steep climb into town, we opted for Cokes and chips in a shady square adjacent to the town church! When the church bells rang at noon, we headed out.

We rolled out of Ota and continued down to nearly sea level before starting a seven mile climb toward the lunch stop in Piana.

Rock formations and the climb through the Calanques di Piana was spectacular, but with the heat and many stops in the shade, it took nearly 2 hours to get to Piana. The plan was to find a cafe to park Debby and Kris, while Larry and I rode an extra 5 mile loop to a scenic view. With the heat (nearly 90F and high humidity), we decided to have our sack lunch provided by the tour and get this ride done.

I spotted a roadside fountain on the last segment of day and stopped to top off our bottles. The water was cold and Debby took full advantage of the evaporative cooling effect of wet kit.

The view at the water stop

By the time we reached the busses in Cargese, our kits were dry! We climbed aboard the next bus and enjoyed some AC on the way back to the ship.

Adorable fruit penguins

We arrived back at the ship, cleaned up, and headed to the outdoor patio bar area to close out the day. Each day the bartender used fruit to make little animals, our favorite was the penguins! We staked out a table that looked out over the stern of the ship and stayed there through dinner!

Day 6 - Calvi

Sunrise in Calvi

Bill’s daily route map

There were several route options for the rides out of Calvi. Ride the two routes for a loop, or ride the bus either way to the town of Galeria where lunch bags could be found and ride either ride back. One option included a climb over a Col that was used in the 2013 Tour de France. The supported ride would be the both routes along the coast and only the return via the TDF route. Debby and Kris figured that 24 miles and 2400 feet of climbing was enough for them, so they decided to take the bus to Galeria and ride back along the coast. Larry and I headed out on the TDF route first and planned to meet them in Galeria and ride back together.

Clear water in the Calvi Harbor

The harbor is not big enough for our ship and we used the tenders to get into town. Larry and I caught the first tender, grabbed our bikes and headed out before the next tender arrived. We started out on the Main Street but picked up a nice bike path for most of the ride through town.

We had a good head start on the girls, they were just loading busses as we approached the climb

We hit the summit and found a monument to local Air Force fliers that were killed in an accident. The views were great and we wondered if the busses would use this highway, it was wide, smooth, and a more direct route to Galeria.

We were off the summit and only a few miles from Galeria when the busses passed by!

By the time we rolled into town, the busses had just unloaded and Debby and Kris literally walked up to a cafe as we rolled in. We had snacks and cold drinks before heading out for the coastal route back to Calvi

We enjoyed low traffic and great views, but the building heat took its toll. We stopped when we found shade, especially on the climbs!

Again, it seemed like a better view was always just around the next corner!

The route went inland through some vineyards before heading back to the coast.

Here is the team on the last climb into Calvi!

We arrived in Calvi and took the next tender boat back to the ship. We cleaned up and jumped into regular clothes and returned on another tender to explore the town on foot and find some dinner.

Kris and Larry joined us for an early dinner. We found an outdoor cafe with huge umbrellas and misting fans and had a great meal.

We were both beat from the long day and decided to take an early tender back to the ship. This trip we rode in a Zodiac boat, complete with personal floatation devices.

We got back on board, and enjoyed some cold drinks on the balcony. As we sailed out of Calvi, I ran up to the top deck to catch this photo!

Day 7 - L’ile de Rousse

There were three rides on offer today and Debby did not want any part of any of them. She rode like a champ on the tour and knew I wanted to ride the long route so she stayed on the ship to relax and start packing.

The route climbed away from the port and then descended into a huge valley

There were signs along the way that indicated the climbs that were available out of the valley.

On the second climb to Ville de Paraso I spotted this roadside fountain. I finished one of my bottles and topped it off with nice cool spring water. The temperatures were reasonable, still early in the morning, but with the high humidity, I was soaking wet!

The route would follow one valley wall, cross a stream and continue on the other side.

Climbing into the town of Costa.

The Col de San Colombanc was the high point of the route, and was actually behind the ridge line visible in the distance.

The Col was not marked and soon I was bombing down the descent. Suddenly my Garmin started beeping with a warning of an upcoming turn.

I’m glad it did, as I would have likely blasted past the turnoff. It looked more like a farm trail, but was actually the old highway that has been bypassed by a newer alignment.

A portion of the route followed this rail line. It disappeared into a tunnel, the road continued up!

After a short, steep, and rough descent, the road featured smooth pavement and gentle S curves nearly all the way back to the main coastal highway. It was about 10 miles, and I saw only one motorbike and one Jeep!

Back on the coastal highway the traffic was heavier, but most of the road had a good shoulder, and the cool breeze from the sea was welcome!

About 8 miles to go and I saw a roadside cafe and jumped in for a Coke before the final push to the ship

Barely visible in the distance is a huge orange ferry ship, with our little cruise ship parked alongside. I pointed the bike toward the harbor and pressed the speed to put this one in the books. About 2.5 miles from the ship, I had the only flat tire of the trip!

With the tire repaired I rolled through the last few miles and past the beachgoers into the port.

Deb had moved the her bike and the bike boxes into our room. I grabbed some yoga mats from the fitness center to protect the carpet and packed the bikes up for the journey home. We returned to the pool/outdoor restaurant for some cold drinks and grabbed a table. We had our last dinner on board and called it a day.

Day 8 - Nice

We woke up in the Nice port, and put our luggage out to disembark. We caught the last shuttle to the airport and made our way back home without delay or luggage issues.

It was a great trip and we hope it wasn’t too hot for you!

Steve

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