Vars to Nice

The wonderful thing about riding your bike through the Alps with full support, is that when you reach day five broken in body and soul, you know that there are people there to see you through the final 200km.  The guys at GMP10 could not have been more lovely:  Ben accompanied me on the descents that I was most scared of, Sandy provided a steady and speedy wheel wherever it was needed and Mark kept telling me that I was floating up climbs like an angel.  The other benefit of travelling with Mark & Co. was the local knowledge. Half way up the col de Cayolle the group paused for a coffee in the most picturesque Alpine village I've ever seen.

 

I found that I relied heavily both on Sam's wheel and on my Garmin on this last day.  I'd deliberately kept my heart rate low the day before so that I might stand a chance of getting though these last kilometres.  The Cayolle is stunning and although the gradient never approaches the severity of some of the other climbs I'd done, I was relieved when the 30km ascent was over.

 

From the summit it was a fast downhill to lunchtime and then a speedy few hours into Nice on Sandy and Ben's wheels.  The last climb of the trip was an 8km ascent to Aspremont just outside of the city.   We all raced up it and arrived in Nice tired and happy cyclists.