31 July, 2021

July 2021 cycling goal mission accomplished, with a day to spare. My own personal Tour du Var with 1,250 miles ridden and 100,000ft of climbing over 20 days. Biggest month of cycling since August 2013. Still got it. Or to put it another way 2,000km ridden with 30,000m of climbing.

30 July, 2021

The Verdon Gorge following the D71 between Aiguines and Comps-sur-Artuby, quite simply one of the best cycling roads in the world. connect.garmin.com/activity/7215012911

29 July, 2021

Well done Kay. 3 climbs today including Col de Saint Arnoux and the complete Claviers-Bargemon-Seillans-Claviers loop.

And the same goes for Matt, great effort first time out on a road bike riding exactly the same route as Kay.

28 July, 2021

Damn it! So focussed on finishing this ride inside 3 hours I missed my best photo opportunity of the month by far. There was an articulated lorry stuck fast in the middle of Bargemon with the tractor unit at an impossible angle to the traffic island. Oops

27 July, 2021

Thought I’d take advantage of a cooler morning and ride La Montée du Grand Duc, a climb between Mandelieu-la-Napoule and Tanneron. Except it’s never cool on that climb. It’s only 7.5km long gaining 450m but always feels so much harder than it should. connect.garmin.com/activity/7197303394

25 July, 2021

Another great effort by Kay and another step towards cycling from Seillans to Bargemon over Col de Saint-Arnoux.

Short sharp post-Kay ride to get the heart pumping rather than pummeling the legs for a change.

24 July, 2021

Cooler today with rain in the air and only 14°C on Col de Clavel which made 125km and 1,900m of climbing a breeze. For the first time in years I cycled down Route Napoleon – Seranon to Saint-Vallier-de-Thiey – and no idea why I left it so long.

22 July, 2021

Being based in Claviers may mean a bit more climbing but the roads this side of Seillans are definately a lot quieter. Nice rolling 50 miler to follow my earlier ride with Kay.

22 July, 2021

Another great effort from Kay today, basically Sunday’s ride in reverse which makes for a slightly harder ride.

21 July, 2021

A wonderful ride on a fantastic route this morning. This has got to be my best day on the bike this year… so far.

19 July, 2021

Big ride out today with a lot climbing including my annual ride up to Col de Cornille from le Pas de la Clue. It’s not a big a climb but does top out at 1401m and is 3.9km long rising 293m with a maximum gradient of 10% and average of 7.5%. Views from the D5 overlooking the Route Napoleon. connect.garmin.com/activity/7151145098

18 July, 2021

Chapeau Kay great effort today on the bike especially the 3½ mile climb back up to Claviers and not forgetting the rolling road to Broves – all on probably the hottest morning since we arrived in France.

Despite the heat a really nice post-Kay Sunday morning recovery ride on a new 30 mile loop. Started with a climb up through Bargemon to the D955 followed by a long descent down towards Draguignan and then main road back to Claviers. One for you Dave Willow.

16 July, 2021

So much for my flat ride around Lac de Saint-Cassien today. Add in a Tanneron loop and home over Col de Saint-Arnoux and I’m back up to a mountain of climbing again. Don’t think there are any flat rides from Claviers.

15 July, 2021

Finally an early start and a much cooler morning on the bike. Great ride out to Castellane where I picked up the D952 and followed the Verdon River all the way to the D955 near the eastern end of the Verdon Gorge. Stunning and the tailwind home was a bonus. connect.garmin.com/activity/7151145098

14 July, 2021

Must remember to restore Kay’s Planet-X back to factory settings before I head out tomorrow morning.

13 July, 2021

Bike misbehaving today so thought I’d take the opportunity to compare it with Kay’s Planet-X. Despite being under-geared and 4 sizes too small for me Kay’s bike won hands down. A full 8 mins quicker over the same 28 mile route and way more fun.

12 July, 2021

I wanted a reasonable ride out with a reasonable amount of climbing today and got both. The 25km 1,000m climb from Fayence up to Col de Val Ferriere and Route Napolean accounted for more than half the climbing.

11 July, 2021

Been loving the Tour de France coverage on ITV this year. Just watched stage 14 Carcassonne to Quillan highlights and thought: “Hold on, that bridge looks familiar.” Throwback photos to last August cycling Col de Saint-Louis. The locals call it Col de l’Escargot cos it looks like a snail.

9 July, 2021

Quite possibly the most scenic ride I’ll do all year, highlight being the spectacular Gorges de la Siagne between Mons and Saint-Cezaire. Love this route and done it many times, and with plenty of ups and downs it’s always heavy on the legs. connect.garmin.com/activity/7095111261

8 July, 2021

After heading up Col du Bel Homme back to back days thought I’d have a flatter day. Except there aren’t any flat rides here. This ride did have 14 miles of descending before the climbing started though which was nice.

8 July, 2021

Early morning cycle ride with Kay down to Viaduct du Rayol near Seillans and back again – stunning views as always. connect.garmin.com/activity/7089166479

6 July, 2021

Great opportunity to find some new roads this year and today I discovered the D52, a really nice, quiet road that runs for 11 miles between La Bastide and Jabron. From Jabron I picked up signs to Comp-sur-Artuby and then Draguignan and finally Callas.

5 July, 2021

First time up to Col de Val Ferriere this trip. The ride down to Fayence is so much nicer in the sun. Last time out I was being peppered by hailstones and it was a struggle to stay upright.. connect.garmin.com/activity/7072692569

Above is a nice view taken from where the goats live near the top of the Col du Bel Homme road. And below is another nice view from the top of the Mons-Fayence road just after leaving Mons.

3 July, 2021

Overheated yesterday so made sure I left before 8 today. Good call as missed the midday sun and worst of the weekend traffic. First time up to Col d’Avaye from Seillans this year and felt surprisingly good considering yesterday’s 4½ hot hours in the saddle.

2 July, 2021

Not sure which I’m happier with today, my ride or my navigation. No I’m sure, definately my navigation down to Sainte-Maxime. Aside from a right I knew should’ve been left I remembered the route flawlessly.