South of France
 

Hi Guys
Done the French and Swiss Alps a couple of times:mchappy: (and absolutely loved it !!:thumbup1:), but was thinking of doing the French and possibly Italian Riviera (Cannes, St Tropez, Monte Carlo and across to Portofino), is this good biking country and what are the possible up and downsides to biking in this area ?

Thanks for any advice :clap:

Neil

I was in Nice and Montecarlo about a month ago. Taffic was very congested. Back from the coast you have very twisty mountain roads. There was also a lot of roadworks in the towns and along the coast.

A fantastic region to ride around awaits you guys! However, i've always found the ride around the coast from Monaco to Genoa to be a pain. I say this as the old road passes through the centre of every little town on the coast (every few km's), and is very slow going with a high level of concentration required. The Autostrada, however, is really fast and the sheer quantity of tunnels mean you're in them as much as out of them - and very few areas to pull over for a breather (and you pay a toll...). It's a difficult area to avoid as the mountains tumble straight into the sea so going inland is a long detour. Perhaps heading inland from Monaco and heading more towards the Alps proper and indulging in a bit of Pass-bagging?:funmeteryes:

Coastal routes tend to be plugged up - sitting in jams with a baking engine under a baking sun creeping forward just isn't for me (anymore!)
Monaco is a royal PITA- with nowhere to park and cops moving you on (only wanted to stock up on food from market )as if overlanders are some sort of disease- (null points for that place)
Head inland - avoid touristy/coaches places/and you'll find real gems.