A "Nice" Long Ride

To Nice, France -- 64.2 miles, 11.6 mph, 2250 ft

Today marks the end of our second week of riding and our longest day yet at over 100 km (64 miles)! We now have a grand total of 517 miles under our wheels since leaving Barcelona.  So, suffice it to say, it was a pretty long day, 9:45 a.m. to 6:15 p.m.... almost like a full day’s work! My neck and shoulders are sore to prove it, and Meg had some pretty impressive bruises on her booty.  I'd blame the shoulder pain on riding except they hurt before we left California.  Given our zero-miles training regimen, I'm pretty sure I have no choice but to chalk it up to old age.

The day's ride went through and around a series of iconic coastal towns -- San Tropez, Saint Maxime, Cannes, Antibes…. Most were quite busy and often we were right in the thick of traffic, the good news is no one was going anywhere very fast.

San Tropez on opposite shore

Heading into Cannes

Lunch was in the parking lot of a SPAR market. We waited until having “only” 41 miles to go. Four liters of fruit flavored water, a bag of ice, two Coke Lights (guess who), one bottle drinkable yogurt, four small yogurts, two mini quiche, a piece of cheese pizza (with one olive, thank you), a roll of cookies, and an awesome chocolate filled beignet fortified us for the awaiting climb.

Like yesterday, it was beautiful countryside and after turning on some tunes and getting into the groove, we were at the top sooner than expected. 

The down was awesome, leading to another 15 miles of riding along the coast. We were very grateful to reach our Hotel Azurea in the heart of Nice. Dex and Kylie helped haul the bags up to the fifth floor while I wedged the bikes into the lobby storage closet. 

The kids were sure we got the best room in the house with a narrow balcony wrapping around two sides. Dilapidated charm at its finest.

By the time showers and homework were done, it was almost 9:00. Not surprisingly, we didn't get more than a block away before turning into a quick serve pasta, sandwich, burger, and tacos joint. Why not?

Even better, the Portugal vs. Iceland game was on. Go Iceland!