Cycling Tour of the Southern Alps: Day 2 - Puget-Theniers to Guillaumes

Wednesday 25th August

So, we had our breakfast of tea, coffee, juice and chocolate milk to wash down about 8 varieties of croissant and bread, then made our way to the bus stop for the 8am bus to Decathlon in Lingostiere, just outside Nice. However, the bus was full and there wouldn't be another one till the afternoon. We waited an hour then made it to the station for the 9.30am train to Lingostiere, but that too was full. It is impossible to account for the inefficiencies of provincial life when you're used to the arguably reliable London tube. So, we sat outside our Hotel Alize and ordered a cab hoping that, assuming the cab too wasn't full we might just make it there that morning and be on the road by 11am...OK well at least that day.

Though not the hardest day of our tour, it was the longest, yet still only 73km, and with 1525m of height gain. Logistically though it was always going to be tough, following our rushed trip to Decathlon in the morning. We only got going at 3pm and it was a very slow start as we found our legs, adjusted our bikes, bags and even offloaded luggage. I think we were both shocked at how restrictive the heat was and what a hinderance our luggage was going to be. A heavy bag makes climbing out of the saddle a very different experience.

When we found ourselves gliding along the river valley of the Gorge Daluis however, at 10pm, illuminated only by the light of the moon, it felt like we had lost our way somewhere, even left this world and taken a detour to some other more celestial place! It was hard to fully appreciate the awe-inspiring surroundings: the moonshine sparkle of the river, the ominous silhouettes of the mountains as they closed in with the growing darkness, the secretive cut-through tunnels which we were forced to negotiate on foot in the pitch black. At the forefront of your mind at times like this is the logistical stuff, the need to eat, drink, sleep, get to the hotel before it closes. But somewhere among those anxious thoughts was a contented admiration for the unbelievable scene around us.

Adam's thoughts summed it up perfectly. It may not have been the smoothest day, but this is what it was all about. 5 days a week, nearly every week of the year we work in boring jobs, in offices made of glass, brick and steel. It's important to remember to look up now and then when you're surrounded by such environs, and simply appreciate what you see before you.