Finis!

HE DID IT!

We both had trouble with the directions to the final stop in Antibes (the "Espace Piscine" behind the station...ask where is the station and you get "which one?" and what the heck is an espace piscine anyway?) but somehow a guiding hand brought us both there at exactly the same time! (The Espace Piscine is a water park, and there is only one station with an espace piscine behind it!) It was such a contrast to finish under the brilliant Cote d'Azur sky after starting in the worst rain we'd ever seen in the Alpes. The mountains had a few last words, though as Rick crested the biggest col of the final day (Col de Bleine) a flash of lightening from behind him lit up the road followed immediately by a huge "CRACK" of thunder. He pointed that front wheel downhill and flew down that mountain!

Afternoon thunder showers are nearly a given in the Alpes and he had just finished and packed his stuff into the car on day 5 near Auron, when it let loose. Thus, when the sky blackened late afternoon heading toward Grasse (see photo below), I pulled over and waited for him. He was wet, but doing OK and we agreed to meet down the road a bit further at a crossroads called Sigale. Then we had to drive to Grasse to our hotel, knowing we'd have to backtrack to that point for his morning start of the last day. Although we looked for a quicker route than his ride route to take to Grasse there didn't seem to be one, so we headed off down the little D10 which started out tiny and got worse. That was the longest drive of the whole trip! Not much traffic, but not much road either. Two and a half hours to do about 70 kilometers (a little more than 45 miles!) The next morning, we reconsidered the "long way around" back to Sigale. It only took us two hours and that was with two stops for coke and a boulangerie. I then hit the N road for Antibes and our hotel!

I have categorized these roads over these past few days. A great road is one with white stripes in the middle AND on the sides, a good road doesn't have room for stripes on the side edges but does still have an "advisory" center line. Many, if not most of the roads we were on this last week, however, have no room for any stripes at all. These are the "go as fast as you can but be ready to stop instantly" roads... I really love it when you're on one of these and there is a sign that says "road narrows ahead!"

But yes, Laurel, driving these roads beats beach landings any day!

The last couple of days were in the part of the Alpes they call Maritime Alpes. Scenery very different, but still amazing. A lot of the rock down here was a purple-red and the road is carved out of these red rock cliffs in many places. Once I saw a pile of broken furniture at a tiny turnout in the road and I thought, who would come all the way up here to dump furniture? I thought maybe it had fallen out of someone's truck, and then Rick said maybe they hit the over-hang! In one place the huge boulders hanging 15 feet above the road I was driving on were held together and ?up? with a wrapping of burlap and pitons! These overhangs worried me more than anything else. The car crushed on Snoqualmie a year or so ago reminds us these things do happen.

One day as I was chasing Rick after a morning of packing up and morning chores, I came to the top of a col ( Col de la Couillole (1168 meters/3500 feet elvation gain) and saw a group of cyclists doing the photo thing in front of the col sign. I looked again and saw that Rick was the middle guy! The others were David and Guy from the Toulouse area. We had run into them a couple times before. They are on a three week trip with "BOB" trailers and camping gear, so were taking a bit different route. Rick said he came up one side of the col and David and Guy came up the other at exactly the same moment. Then I arrived a couple minutes later.

The traffic of the city streets of the riviera is a shock after all the petite villages of the mountains, but we have to admit to a sigh of relief at the sight of our room in the Holiday Inn here in Antibes. Twice the size of any room we've had thus far, with a large modern bathroom and (yeay!) air conditioning. We also have a private balcony with table and chairs and a great view of the wind-surfers and para-surfers on the Med (and the Nice airport.) While the room is "free" everything else is expensive. Reminiscent of Cabo San Lucas on Lyra. I keep calling the beach front walk a malecon, too!

We are hanging out here for today, then wandering north. We have a hotel booked in the Loire, but are actually kind of hoping to get a gite somewhere instead. Feeling a need to stretch out and work on the bikes in the peace and quite of our own little space.

Wish you all well. Thanks for the comments. They are fun to get! (Yes, ski resorts on a bike ride, does seem like a dumb idea, huh?)