After our success cycling up to the Col de la Cayolle the previous day, today we were back on our bikes to try another part of the Route des
Grande Alpes, this time heading to the slightly lower altitude Ski Station of
Valberg at 1665m some 16 kilometres away from Guillames. The route was a
challenging one, not least as the road maintained a constant gradient of 6-7%
the whole way and started just 100m away from our motorhome! No time for warm
up today then.
Easing into our pedalling rhythm as we
wound our way along the steep sided gorge, tracking the river and climbing
towards the village of Peone marking roughly the halfway point of the ascent,
we marvelled at the engineering accomplishments required to construct a road
through this precipitous landscape. Looking up at the overhanging cliff faces
bordering one side of the road was enough to give us vertigo at times, but we
pedalled on as the temperature rose.
Peone was a very pretty little village
which boasted very impressive needles of rock, Les “Demoiselles”, towering
above the village. After Peone, the
switchbacks began relentlessly as we had reached close to the head of the valley
and so began winding our way straight up the western slope. At least the forest we had now reached helped
to keep us cool until we emerged close to Valberg on the exposed mountainside
with just 200m more ascending to go.
Finally, we reached Valberg to find a
surprisingly busy ski station and found a handy bench to rest our weary legs
and enjoy our lunch while watching families bustling through the square and
enjoying the Alpine summer activities.
After our rest we decided to push on a
little further on the Routde des Grande Alpe, following the signs passed
Valberg and freewheeling down towards another pretty village, Beuil and then on
to the Gorge de Cians, knowing that each metre further down would need
re-ascending if we were to get back to Guillames later on. Following the river
into the gorge, the red rocky cliffs closed in, towering above the narrow road
until we eventually stopped our descending at 1150m and just before a 440m
tunnel. Had we been able to complete our loop from Puget-Theniers a few days
earlier this is the way we would have gone (down all the way), however, today
it was time to turn around and start climbing again back to Valberg.
Reaching Valberg an hour or so later, with
tiring legs and greying clouds gathering we decided it was time to head back to
Guillames, this time taking a different road than the one we'd climbed that
morning. Cruising over the stunning viewpoint of the Col de Valberg at 1672m,
we then snaked our way down the hairpins and sheer cliffs looking out of the
Gorge de Daluis and river below. I'm not sure our brakes have ever worked so
hard, but it felt like just a few minutes until we arrived safe, hungry and happy back at the motorhome.
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