France: Col d'Eze and Col de la Madone

Collected the bike from La Roue Libre, the local bike shop, yesterday. Had to pay an extra 10E for an additional month of storage but worth it as the bike was delivered with tyres pumped up and in good order. Purchased a set of arm warmers ('manchette'), gloves, a couple of bidons and bidon holders - and ready for action. Set the alarm for a 6am start today (Sunday) to make the most of the quiet weekend traffic conditions.

Col d'Eze

Not quite sure where to go for a first ride so picked a route I did once last year - a circuit of La Turbie and the village of Peille, taking in a couple of famous cols. Col d'Eze is often ridden as a time trial in the last stage of Paris - Nice. It's not a big col, only around 500 metres, but rises straight out of Nice and maintains an average gradient of 6% over 10 km, with patches of 8 - 10%. The first two thirds look inland but then you cross a saddle and the last third hangs precipitously over the Mediterranean until it tops out at the village of Eze. A couple of years ago Ritchie Porte won the stage in a touch under 20 minutes. He does it in 24 minutes in training and it took me 34 - but 1.5 faster than last year's best with perhaps a bit to spare.

Arrived in La Turbie too early for the fountain to be switched on so could not replenish the bidon. Took the Peille road and then the tiny minor road, pock marked with stone-fall and pot holes, around the back of the mountain to St Agnes and picked up the Madone road from Menton.

Col de la Madone

This used to be the famous test piece of he-who-shall-not-be-named - so famous that Trek even named a bike after it. If he could do it in a certain time he reckoned he was in Tour de France winning form. It's a lovely climb to 950 metres, where you find the famous sign has long since been pinched and there is only a small wooden walker's marker to denote the place.

Dropped down the back side onto the Peille road again and started to meet lots of riders now that the hour was more respectable. Downhill all the way back to La Turbie, Eze and Nice.

71km and 1,700 m, https://www.strava.com/activities/147966718

The village of St Agnes, perched above Menton on the Madone road.

Vino

Nice is hosting an Italian food and wine fair on the Promenade des Anglais this week, so we took a wander to see what we could see. Piedmont (think truffles and Barolo) is just over the border from the Alpes Maritime. We chatted with a few producers from the region and bought a mild sheeps' milk cheese, a bottle of Prosecco and a very nice 2012 Dolcetto. Dolcetto might be described as the poor man's Nebbiolo but this one was rich and spicy enough to accompany garlic sausages. Unfortunately other people must have had the same opinion as they had sold out when we returned for more on the following day.