France: Col d'Eze and La Grave de Paille

After a week in France acclimatising after the long flight from Australia it was time for a last ride before a week off the bike visiting parents and family in the UK. It was a leisurely start at 11am and, being a weekday with busy traffic, I chose another trip up the Col d'Eze and the quieter roads of the Grande Corniche. 

There are three corniche roads connecting Nice with Monaco, about 25 km to the east along the precipitous coastline. All three have great views and which one you choose to drive or ride depends on the time of day and your objective. The Bas Corniche follows the coast and is usually choked with traffic and not especially pleasant to ride at any time later than 8 am. The Moyenne Corniche is a mid-level road that has less tourist traffic but a lot of fast commercial and local traffic. The Grande Corniche is the highest road, has the best views and is the quietest - the natural choice. But access requires a 540m climb to the Col d'Eze, another good reason to take that route.

Col d'Eze (again)

I pushed a bit harder to the Col on this ride than on the previous trip a few days ago and was rewarded with a time nearly two minutes faster at an average heart rate only 1 bpm higher. I'ld like to think I'm getting fitter at a faster rate than anticipated but it's more likely to be recovery from jet lag.

Followed the same route as previously through La Turbie and Paille towards the Col de la Madone then took a left on a minor road towards Escarene and La Grave de Paille - a village 500 metres below the other Paille which I have wanted to visit for a while, largely due to its macabre name. The Escarene road offered 28 km of almost traffic-free solitude through the gorges and wooded hillsides of the Alpes-Midi. The road itself is like one of those single lane roads in the Scottish Highlands with passing places and grass growing in the middle.

Eventually arrived at the grave of Paille and spent a pleasant 30 minutes cranking up the 7.2%, 6 km back to Paille to complete the loop, receiving a "bravo" from an old fellow at the top. On a previous occasion I once rode into the middle of Paille for a coffee and discovered what it was like to be invisible. This little village dates from the 11th century and the access roads are wide enough for foot and bike traffic, but not for cars. I took my coffee at a table in the tiny village square with bike propped up against a tree. Village life continued around me with no one making eye contact or seeming to be aware that I was there. Weird!

83 km, 1,350m, https://www.strava.com/activities/149369777

The village of Peille from the approach road, which accesses the village through a series of tunnels.