Today was a planned day off, to rest and explore Briançon. Tomorrow we ride over Col de l’Izoard to Guillestre for 2 nights and then it’s Col de Vars to Barcelonnette. Galibier wasn’t as hard as I had feared, partly because we started from above Valloire and partly because it wasn’t hot. But you never know when you’re planning months in advance.
Our B&B, Le Bacchu Ber, is in a house that’s the same vintage as the Cité Vauban and is close to the Église de Pont de Cervières. Our hosts are Georges and Marie, very friendly and welcoming. They offer a table d’hôte but not last night or tonight, sadly for us.
The entrance off Rue du Bacchu Ber. This is the address I’d used to create our routes but it’s not where you find Georges to check in. It is, however, the correct way in and out during your stay.
Breakfast was excellent and included made-to-order egg dishes. At the table were a couple from South Africa (hiking and trail running) and two pairs of European cyclists—we didn’t pick up where they were from or whether they were travelling by bike or driving from place to place.
When he heard we were from Vancouver, Georges told us he was a Canucks fan. He wore his jersey yo serve breakfast the first day.
We donned our walking shoes and set off. I only mention this because we have seen so many very lightly loaded bikepackers with only rubber slides or flip flops in addition to their cycling shoes, if that. In the hotel breakfast room in cycling kit and socks, or riding past with their other footwear strapped to the outside of a seat pack. I doubt they are travelling for more than a week.
Our landmark—l’Église de Pont de Cervières. There’s a date, 1731, at the top of the clock tower and another, 1714, on a small plaque near the lower arrow slot (?).
Our first stop was, of course, the premier bike shop in town (according to Google). No nice souvenir jerseys but I found a pair of gloves I like in my size (padding, no Velcro). Then upstream along the Durance River to take the shady path through the Parc de la Schappe up to the Cité Vauban.
Walking up the road beside the Durance. It has pedestrian and a two-way cycling path on the side beside the river and murals featuring famous TdF cyclists, presumably created in honour of Le Tour passing through in 2005.
From the website of the Serre-Chevalier Vallée (whatever that is):
Perched on its rocky spur since the Middle Ages and fortified by Vauban at the end of the 17th century, let yourself be surprised by the historic city of Briançon with its colorful streets and unique gargouilles.
La Grande Rue, Cité Vauban. The drain down the centre is a gargouille and is very effective on this sloping street. We thought there must be a water source at the top as it was flowing (and that would keep things clean).
We walked around, sat at a café for cold drinks and to upload photos (the negative about Le Bacchu Ber is it has both poor wifi and abysmal cell reception). Al was working on his Strava post and I on yesterday’s page of this journal, refreshed by Schweppes Indian Tonic. We walked around some more, decided we’d better find lunch before 1400h, and found a crêperie since we weren’t that hungry after our relatively late breakfast.
By this time, the day had heated up. We decided to take a look at the Pont d’Asfeld and then head back to our cool room in the stone house (stone walls being why it’s cool and why the wifi/reception is poor). Naps were taken!
