16 July, 2026

38.8 miles from Claviers-Bargemon-Seillans-Broves-Claviers-Callas-D55-Claviers.

15 July, 2026

38.3 miles from Claviers-(Callas)-Bargemon-Seillans-Broves-Figaniere-Bargemon-Claviers.

14 July, 2026

60.9 miles from Claviers-Bargemon-Comps-Col de Valferriere-Mons-Seillans-Bargemon-Claviers.

12 July, 2026

On the road nice and early again this morning for a 79 mile ride that included the Col du Grand Duc climb up from Mandelieu-la-Napoule to the village of Tanneron.

The 7.5km climb may only have an average gradient of 6% but, in my opinion, it is one of the tougher climbs in the area, with the steepest sections reaching 13% according to a mid-point sign.

Well worth the effort though for the stunning panoramas it offers of the Siagne Valley and the Bay of Cannes.

10 July, 2026

33.7 miles from Claviers-Callas-Viaduct du Rayol-Seillans-Bargemon-(Callas)-Claviers.

9 July, 2026

33.3 miles from Claviers-Montauroux-Callian-Claviers.

8 July, 2026

Out with Kay again today for a fairly demanding ride that included a ride up to Mons from Fayence. I believe it’s a Cat 2 climb, not steep, but nevertheless gaining 2,000ft or 600m. It is quite long though at close to 10 miles, and unless you leave early it can get hot because there isn’t much shade.

The reward for all that climbing effort was a descent down the stunning Gorges de la Siagne. It’s quite a technical descent but nothing Kay can’t handle, and so much better now that the road has been resurfaced. And because it’s a minor road it’s pretty much traffic-free which allowed us time and space for some undisturbed photo stops.

At the bottom of the gorge is the Siagne river, a popular swimming spot located between the Var and Alpes-Maritimes departments. From here there are two options; climb up Saint-Cezaire or up to Callian. We chose Callian, stopping at Le Bellevue for a coffee, before heading back to Claviers by way of Fayence and the old railway line.

6 July, 2026

I was up at 3am this morning to watch, as it turned out, England beat Mexico in their World Cup round of 16 match. This provided me the perfect opportunity to get an early start for a ride out to Castellane.

I was away for 6.15am and it was glorious. Quiet roads and pleasantly cool, bordering on chilly in places. Claviers, through Bargemon, straight up to Col du Bel Homme, then follow Route Napoleon all the way to Castellane.

Immediately before the bridge that brings you into Castellane I turned left, taking the D102 balcony road to Le Bourguet – a very quiet road that snakes and climbs its way through a canyon carved out by the Rayaup river.

Picking up the D52 and D955 I then headed to Jabron and Comps-sur-Artuby, extending the ride the ride to 75 miles by taking the long way round to Claviers – basically ignoring every opportunity to turn off left and head home through Callas.

4 July, 2026

I wasn’t going to ride today but after spending the morning tweaking my GoPro camera setup I thought I’d try it out again on a short ride. I took it with me on yesterday’s ride to Flayosc where I had mixed results. I was sure I didn’t like the helmet mounting though and wanted to try the handlebars instead.

While my legs were a bit shot after yesterday’s ride, the real issue was literally setting off in the midday heat. It’s been 35°C and above since we arrived in Claviers and today was no exception. Just too hot to be out cycling. On the plus side I learnt some more useful things about operating the camera.

3 July, 2026

A ride out with Kay today with some new roads for me. Destination Flayosc, a really nice medieval village that’s surrounded by vineyards and olive groves. The ride started with a loop around Bargemon before heading through Callas and down the old railway line.

The climbing started as soon as we hit the main road, 3 miles up to Col de Saint-Andrieu, a short descent, and then a further 8 miles up through Chateaudouble and Ampus. The road started to flatten out after Ampus before we started a glorious descent into Flayosc.

Flayosc has been on Kay’s radar for a while so we stopped for a coffee before continuing our descent into Les Arcs. Leaving Les Arcs we then headed past Chateau Sainte-Roseline, a prestigious Cru Classe wine estate, and into La Motte.

I was a bit concerned that the final 10 miles of climbing from La Motte up to Callas would finish Kay off but it didn’t. While she may have been a bit uncomfortable, she set her own pace and managed it fine with very little complaining.

At 51 miles with 5,000ft – 1,500m – of climbing it was a big day out for Kay. I liked this new ride though because while there is a lot of climbing, it’s front and end loaded with pretty much 20 miles of gentle descending in the middle. Something Kay steadfastly refuses to accept.

1 July, 2026

I’m looking to up my mileage this month to around 800 miles – 1,300km – over 16, possibly 17 rides. A big increase from averaging 35 miles a ride in June, to averaging up to 50 in July. We’re here until 25th July and my hope is to get in shape enough for a ride out to the Verdon Gorge towards the end of our stay.

Depending on the route, the gorge is around a 90 mile round trip with a significant amount of climbing. So, the work starts today with a 47 mile ride down to La Motte, across to the lookout point at Col de Blavet, and home via Bagnols, Saint-Paul, Fayence and Viaduct du Rayol along old railway line.