Arrived in Nice, and it’s, well, nice.
After a 48 plus hour journey I’ve finally arrived in Nice. Many thanks to Peter Sedin for making my flight more pleasurable. On that Air NZ flight from LA to London there was a gy that needs to be DNA assessed. He managed to sleep for the whole10 hours. That in itself is not amazing, but he didn’t get up for a piss for the whole flight. Sitting next to him made it a real pain in the arse.I tapped him on the shoulder to move so that I could take one. Nothing. He didn’t flinch. I left it until I couldn’t not hold it any longer. A shake this time and he managed to stir.
I landed in London, what a pleasant surprise to find that they really know how to get you through customs quickly, and weren’t even rude. This is in stark contrast to LA. What a shit show that is. I caught the train to my hotel. Now, if you’re staying London before making the journey to France for the Haute Route, I recommend staying at the Renaissance Hotel in St Pancras. Yeah it’s expensive, but if you can afford it, do it.I caught up with a friend who I last saw about 30 years ago. It was also, as always, such a pleasure to see my brother. He’s simply the best. He has all the qualities of a successful employee, yet ever so grounded. A few beers and dinner later and it was time to head to bed.
The next morning I hopped on the Eurostar to Nice, with a connection in Paris. Now, for those of you who will do the same, I’d recommend flying to Nice. The train takes far too long, and it’s boring as fuck. Sure you see lots of terrific French countryside, but that’s not enough to warrant a 10 hour journey.
So I unpacked my bike from its Scicon Bag and it made it with no damage, unlike my last bag and journey. Pumped up the tyres. Attached the Garmin and camera. All ready for the morning, oh, it was the morning when I unpacked. That’s what happens with jet lag and someone phoning you from NZ to ask about your daughters netball game!So now I’m up. I’m ready to explore. I’d planned to do a large ride up the Col de la Madone. Too tired. So I just explored the Col d’Eze. What a climb. Not long, not high, but very beautiful. I hooked on to the tail of a couple of riders from Marseille. I asked if they minded that they had a jet lagged wheel sucker. They were fine.
Climbing the Col d’Eze takes you around the port and with some cracking views it’s an easy climb. I then hooked a left and back along the ridge with the sea on one side and inner Nice on the other. It’s worth it for the views alone. I then cruised back down in to Nice. I would have gone faster but my Garmin/camera mount wasn’t tightened enough and threatened to come off. That was pisser!
Now for tomorrow, oh, and for lunch.
