Another great (short) day! And once again significantly less elevation gain than expected, but we did go through many short tunnels today. I think there were 5 in the last couple of km into Guillaumes.
We had a very nice breakfast at Hôtel des Étrangers. The place was “special”, as Al put it, and I agree. The only negative was the number of flies buzzing about, but given we’ve never seen window or door screens in Europe and there are flies everywhere at this time of year, we can’t hold that against them. I wish I’d taken more photos but you’ll have to see for yourself if you pass that way.
We hadn’t got very far, not even out of this tiny village, when we had to stop for a paving project. Once we got past that, it was clear sailing, downhill, all the way to Guillaumes, about 12 km. So different than our last few rides, where we started climbing immediately or almost immediately.
Saint-Martin-d’Entraunes is tiny and extends around a hairpin bend in D2202. Our hotel was down a narrow cobbled street extending away from the bend.
Guillaumes looked like a pleasant place, but today’s climb started here and the day was going to be hot, plus we had a lunch reservation in Roubion.
On the descent to Guillaumes, we could see Le Var down below us. The valley bottom was wide and full of rock. I wouldn’t say gravel because many of the rocks were very large. Leaving Guillaumes, we were now climbing beside Le Tuébi, with the same appearance. The floods here must be huge!
Le Tuébi, upstream of Guillaumes (where it flows into Le Var). Somewhere in all that rubble there’s a river.
We eventually arrived in Péone, another pretty little village. Al was waiting for me in its shady main square. A short break to refil bottles at the fountain and then the climbing was steeper, though never ridiculously steep. Some switchbacks (the sign said “8 lacets” but I lost count after 2) and on upwards to Valberg. Al was waiting for me in Valberg’s big square but it didn’t have the small-village charm of Péone. On the other hand, Valberg had shops and services, some of which were even open. Valberg is a ski town.
The descent to Beuil was longer than we expected based on the profile and then of course, so was the climb to Col de la Couillole. Or maybe it just seemed long due to the heat. It was hot by this point, in the upper 30s according to my Garmin.
But now it was downhill to Roubion. We turned a corner and there it was below us! Wow! Glad we managed to get a place to stay in the village rather than at Les Buisses, the nearby (~2.5 km uphill) ski area.
And we were 45 minutes early for our lunch reservation. I’d made the reservation after our B&B host let us know that she didn’t do evening meals and there were only 2 restaurants in the village. As it turned out, only one was open on Monday and then only for lunch. Hence our lunch reservation. And after lunch, Marie, who runs the restaurant with her husband the chef, asked if we were staying the night in the village (we were sitting there in cycling kit and in no hurry to leave) and did we want to buy some charcuterie, cheese, and bread for an evening meal? The restaurant has a small épicerie on the side so we accepted her offer.
The restaurant was at the far end of the village from where we’d entered and just beyond it was a narrow tunnel with a sign indicating there was parking beyond. So we rode through just to see. I carried on a bit further…
We got back to Le Rupicapra just before the rain started and congratulated ourselves on having some food for the evening.
Our hostess, Elizabeth, was watching the news on her computer in the dining room while we are our light dinner. She was happy to chat, saying our French was better than that of many guests, who spoke no French or Italian, her other language. We got the feeling she gets a bit lonely in this tiny place, looking after the little business (B&B and a gite) that belongs to her niece and nephew. She also mentioned that it was unfortunate that there was nowhere for her guests without cars (she gets a lot of cyclists, bring on the Route des Grandes Alpes) to find an evening meal in the village. We learned that the other guest, a motorcyclist, had walked up to the (open) restaurant in Les Buisses for his dinner. Luckily he took an umbrella! Being a motorcyclist, he wanted a big of exercise, bug Elizabeth thought it was a big much for cyclists to have to go so far as they were always tired when they arrived.
From Hôtel des Étrangers to the restaurant in Roubion
My ride through the tunnel plus the ride from the main village to Le Rupicapra in the upper village. Much easier than hauling our bikes up those stairs!
