Castellane is lovely in the morning. The market is waking up, and so are the riders. I am brave and eat a yoghurt, this works. We pack out of the garage after watching a fish delivery truck turn around inside of it, without coming near the bikes. Either talent or practice, but totally pro.

My map fix is working, I navigate from point to point using the well-located directionals. This is a bit of a surprise, I do not expect such completeness from France. We head north on the D955 in the direction of Barcelonette, changing to the D908 near Le Coulet des Fourches. This takes us to the Col d’Allos. We rejoin the D902 in Barcelonette, where it turns into the D900. In Jausiers, we turn off onto the C4 and head for the roof.

We ride to Col de la Bonette – the highest pass in the Alps – and further out to Cime de la Bonette – the highest paved point in the Alps. Atop Cime de la Bonette is a small observation deck. I walk a bit up to take pictures, the ground is unstable and my boots are not really up for the task. The fog is pressing us, we ride to the actual pass and take some photos. Col de Restefond is on a dirt road to the side, unfortunately, we do not find it on the way and pass it. The road is now the M64. It further changes to the M2205 as we continue the descent.

From Bonette, we ride south to Isola where we pick up the M97 to Isola2000 (Isola at 2000m), and on to to Col de la Lombard. At some point, we pass a marker for the Col de Granges Communes, but cannot find it on any maps later. We do not find the old Lombard road, instead take the new one, SP 255, it is a nice ride and not as difficult as noted in the books we have read. I have maps for a short while in Italy. We turn northwest on SS21 north to the French border and Col de Larche. We rejoin the D900 on the French side, and I am Garmin-less again.

The D902 appears, we ride north and cross the Col du Vars.

We descend into Guillestre and continue north to Col d’Izoard, well-known from many appearances on the Tour de France. It is easy to see why – Izoard hides its magnitude in a gentle slope and not-overly-technical curves. It is a high pass, one that requires a lot of work. The road surface is painted with inspirational messages to cyclists. We encounter a unique type of bourne – milestone – that has the distance to the top, the slope over the next kilometer, the altitude, and various notes marked on them. At our speed, it is difficult to read them in detail.

Atop Col d’Izoard, we find one of the three remaining Refùge Napoleon hospices. Originally, six were built by Napoleon III to honor his grandfather’s various trips through southern France and the difficulties he faced in moving troops. The other two are on Col du Vars and Col de Manse. The hospice is in private hands and an overnight includes dinner and breakfast. We get a room that sleeps six. I pick up a tshirt with a motorcycle theme. We put the bikes in the garage and enjoy the beauty. Pass hospices continue to be the accommodation of choice, they offer all that is needed and the prices are great.

I frequently tell people that the view is very fine from GS Land, the mythical place that I inhabit when I am riding my old yellow GS single, sitting up above the sad little cagers, seeing the world with all of my senses. But if GS Land was actually a place, where would it be? It would be where the roads are questionable, the cows are plentiful, and there is always a little farm road or trail beckoning. The view is not of scenery, per se, but in scenery. A place of great majesty, where history is written in the stones by water and wind. Where every single sense is attacked, confronted with stimuli demanding attention and respect. It is a very good place to be.

We descend from Turini on the M70, a small road that carries us to La Bollène Vesubie. From there, we ride the M2565 north and west over the Col Saint Martin to Saint Sauveur -sur-Tinée and the M/D30, which takes us over Col de la Couillole. M appears to mean “single lane with cows” and D “double lane with sheep”. From Beuill, we head west on the D28 to Guillaumes, crossing the Col de Valberg, and ride the D2202 south through the Daluis Gorge.

Near Dèchetterie, we pick up the N202 west and cross the Col de Toutes Aures. We continue west to Lac de Castillione , where we pick up the D955 south to Castellane. From Castellane, it is the D4085 south over the Col de Luens and the D6085, the Route de Napoleon. In l’Artuby, we pick up the D21 and begin the proper tour of the Grand Canyon du Verdon, but not before first crossing the Col de Clavel. In Comps-sur-Artuby, we pick up the D71, and in Aiguines, the D19, then the D957. We get separated looking for fuel, and meet up later in Castellane. At the D952, we head east, turning off for the Route des Cretes, the D23.

The Grand Canyon du Verdon is a gorge cut through the south of France during the ice ages. Six million years of running water have left lower France scarred and wounded by nature, leaving some of the most beautiful views in the entire country. We ride the left route – Route Gauche – and look into the cavern as we ride. We travel through the Tunnel du Fayet, which will be visible from the other side. We cross the Col d’Illoire and Col d’Olivier near Aiguines. On the right side, we cross the Col d’Ayens, and then ride the Route des Cretes – a loop that takes us around the mountain and looks out over the gorge. The Route des Cretes is very poorly maintained, and for the first half, is one-way. The two-way part is rather tight with motorhomes and other traffic. This is another area that I would consider for multiple trips through in the future. Like Nufenen and Furka, it is difficult to find comparable riding and scenery all in one place.

It is on the Route des Cretes that I realize that I have found GS Land. It is the south of France, tucked in between the great gorges and bleating sheep, waiting for someone to visit.

After the Route des Cretes, the road is often covered by overhanging rock. It is breathtakingly beautiful. We follow the D952 back to Castellane and stay at the Grand Hotel du Levant, which is fully renovated inside. The view from the room is of the market place, where I capture some nougat to take home as a prize for my sons. Fog looms menacingly.

In Novi Ligure, we encounter our old adversary, the Italian automated gas pump. After losing 20€ to a mistaken pump grab, a kind Italian lady offers to buy our credit slip. Then, she makes the same mistake. Oh, Italy….

From NoviLigure, we get back on the Autostrada and head further south, eventually picking up the A10 west. We ride through the Italian soap and spice region and everything smells amazing. We stay on the highway until we exit for Monte Carlo, Monaco, which we visit prior to returning to Menton, France, the base point for the Route des Grand Alps. It is a heady ride, we stop at the Monte Carlo beach for a snack and try to find our way up to the palace. Monaco costs us time, but is fun, and crosses another country off the list, no matter how small it is. At this point, I come to the conclusion that my Garmin unit is not broken, but missing maps. Somehow, the set of maps called “Alps” by Garmin and NavTec does not include the Alps Maritimes. Crap.

We ride back to Menton on the D6007 coastal road, a road I know well from visiting my cousin who has lived in Menton for many years. It is fun to take the turns on a bike instead of fighting them in the car. We stop again in Menton for a proper meal. These old FIAT Pandas pop up everywhere. The Panda was the last car built with flat glass panes instead of modern curved ones and was resold under many nameplates, including SEAT Marabella. I pull out the big map of the Alps, a Freytag 1:500K tablecloth and begin marking up the overview maps I printed using www.gpsvisualizer.com. I have seven segment printed, so I sort out what is missing and mark the appropriate ones with cities, passes, and road numbers.

From Menton, we start the climb of the Route des Grand Alps following the Route de Sospel. Sospel is a little hippy artsy town north of Menton and always makes me smile with the people one sees there. We continue on the D2566 north to Col de Turini.

Turini!! Highest point on the Rallye de Monte Carlo! Every bit as cool as it sounds, and slightly terrifying in the process. The road is poorly maintained and narrow, our first taste of what riding in France will largely be like. Far from the commercial passes of the north, the passes in France are more of afterthoughts. Think along the lines of Hey! We built a road over a mountain! How cool is that! Oh, look, those Swiss guys call the top of it a pass! Let’s do that, too! But we have nothing to carry over it except cows, so um, let’s not worry about maintenance. Those silly automated carriages are never going to be used here! All over France, we see what amounts to road ruin.

On the way up, we ride through a short tunnel that marks the Col de Castillon. To the left is Col de Braus, but is is getting late and we are unsure if there will be a hostel on the pass or not. There is, the Hotel les Trois Vallees, host of the aforementioned rallye and about one hundred other French driving events. The inside of the hotel is papered with rallye placards and photos of cars and drivers. It is a total rush to be there. Dinner is a welcome piece of salmon with rice and veggies. The room looks southeast, with a small balcony perfect for airing out boots and such. We are not the only riders there, a group of diverse bikes has shown up from Germany, seems like one of everything.