A Three Climb Day

To Six-Fours-les-Plages, France -- 37.0 miles, 10.8 mph, 3000 ft

We were not in a particular rush to get going this morning, possibly because this originally was going to be a rest day in Marseille.  The big city was a lot easier to take on a Saturday mid-morning compared to a Friday in the late afternoon. There were the usual wrong turns and backtracking to get going.  We actually rode right past the stadium where the soccer game (England vs. Russia) would be played later today.

Three climbs showed up on the route profile today.  The first reminded me of highway 9 back home behind Saratoga and was a pretty doable.  A very nice French bicyclist saw us and offered to take pictures as we approached the summit.

Unfortunately, there was a near tragedy on the way down.  Kylie and I were just attempting to exceed 40 mph when we hit a bump and something flew off the bike.  I suddenly realized there was a missing passenger...Mr. Monster was gone!  Fortunately, the search and rescue mission proved successful. The missing mascot was located and found not to have sustained any life-threatening injuries.  We'll be paying much better attention to Mr. Monster's safety restraints in the future.

The second climb was pretty brutal. Kylie and I stopped three times going up to catch our breath, and Meg and Dex ended up walking the steepest section.

Rest stop friend

Once at the top, we veered off onto a side road -- a pot-holed and crumbling asphalt path running right down the hillside.  It was awesome and eventually led us to a series of narrow paved roads lined with seemingly endless walls of perfectly stacked stones.  Someone apparently had a lot of time on their hands.

We've fallen into a routine of stopping at a gas station or market a couple hours after lunch to resupply with water, fruit drinks and other snacks.

It was today that I noticed Dex and Kylie's growing dependency on Tic Tacs. Like all addictions, it started with a small container a couple days ago, a larger one yesterday, and a mongo, special edition container today.  Without hesitation, I told Kylie to buy a second container at the first hint of squabbling between her and Dex.  Surprisingly, the 5 euro note I'd supplied was not enough. I realized upon examining the receipts that we had just paid 8 euro for drinks and a candy bar but a whopping 11 euro 60 cents just for Tic Tacs!  Although the multi-colored, emoticon, "edition limitee" candies are pretty cool, we may have to consider a seven step program for the kids.

The rest of the ride gave us a taste of what may be in store for us over the next few days as we continue along the Cote d'Azur. The roads were narrow and traffic heavy as we alternated between riding on the sidewalks and in the road.  Neither was ideal.  Nevertheless, we made it to the Hotel Aryana and made a beeline for the pool.  Once again we paid more than we wanted, but in return, we have our own bathroom, kitchenette, table and balcony. Luxury.

Dinner at Mafana Zen Cafe, down the street and across from the water, was -- we all agreed -- one of the best of the trip.  Admittedly, our supercharged appetites may have resulted in some grade inflation. On the menu were Mexican super nachos, Italian pasta with chicken, Vietnamese noodles with beef, and a giant cheeseburger.  Totally awesome.