Nice to Sanremo – 47km (M6007, M2564, D6007, D6327, SS1, bike path) Italia!  Country #4! This evening we were called “strange” grandparents by our waitress at the La Porta Verde, which she corrected to “unusual”, as she intended it as a compliment.  Anyone who saw us pushing our bikes for two hours up narrow roads out of Nice onto ...

Cannes to Nice – 32km France Parkinson’s note: A link between exposure to pesticides and PD has been previously suggested and a recent study* from France, first presented at the International Congress on Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders in 2016**, provides strong evidence of such an association in men and women, including non-farmers. While association is not proof ...

SUN! With our still-sopping cycling shoes drying on the hotel windowsill, we joined throngs of others heading to the beach to nab a rented sun lounger (a steal at 15€!). After weeks of grit, wind, rain and trucks, a few hours reclining on the beach at Cannes was a little surreal, but wonderful! We had more ...

  Frejus to Cannes – 43km (D1098, D6098) As the forecast was for heavy rain in the morning, easing off in the afternoon, we had planned to look around Frejus while waiting for the storm to pass. Sunshine was expected for Sunday and we wanted to enjoy it on the beach in Cannes. When it hadn’t begun raining ...

Tavernes to Frejus – 77km (D32, D560, D10, DN7) Last evening, Yves, one of our hosts at the Au Puits  de la Fontaine, kindly gave us a lift into Barjols for dinner at the eclectic La Part Des Angels. In the car, we identified that Nina Simone was on the CD and on the way back and ...

Manosque to Tavernes – 45km (D907, D4, D554) You win some, you lose some. This morning was everything yesterday wasn’t – gloomy, cold, drizzle and a heavy truck route with absolutely no shoulder. However, it is still Provence and the scenery is stunning. While it remained cool (this is not the weather we expected to be experiencing ...

Aix-en-Provence to Manosque – 53km (D96, D621, D96, D996, D4096) Paul Gully:  The unexpected is the essence of travel. When we were suddenly confronted with 2km of steep hills before we had even left  Aix city limits, we momentarily questioned the wisdom of our route change. Thankfully, that turned out to be the worst of it and we ...

We awoke to a cold rain and decided to spend the day in Aix-en-Provence, the home of Paul Cézanne. Everyone keeps remarking on how unusually cold it is, “comme Novembre”. The hotel receptionist said people are normally wearing shorts and short-sleeved shirts by this time of year. After catching up in a few things – haircut ...

Arles to Aix-en-Provence – 88km (D453, N1453, D113, D5, D10, D64, D17)  May 1 in Arles marks the Festival of the Gardians and Election of the Queen of Arles, an event that celebrates the traditions of the herdsmen who have followed the bulls and horses in the Camargue. A candidate for the 3-year tenure as Queen of Arles  must ...

Montpellier to Arles – 80km (River Lez bike path, D21 – bike path, D59, D255, D62, D46, D58, D38c, D570) Raindrops and tears were falling as we bid farewell to  our Paris-based family after a wonderful week together sightseeing, eating, playing with and cuddling our 7-week old grandson and 21-month old granddaughter. Despite unseasonably cold weather ...