Day 9 – Fréjus to Diano Marina

Firstly – sorry for not posting this yesterday. I arrived fairly late and was lacking a bit of urgency. But anyway, better late than never.

Yesterday was incredible. I set off about 9 – later than I would’ve liked but the hotel didn’t serve breakfast until 8. It was still quite cold but pretty spectacular. The first 20 miles held one of the best climbs and descents I’ve ever done. After everything that’s happened this past week, I couldn’t help but have a massive grin on my face.

From there the day only got better. Riding through Cannes and then Nice was a bit surreal and the amount of other cyclists was incredible. The view of the Med was an amazing backdrop and it even got warm enough to take my jacket off.

One fairly odd moment came on the Promenade des Anglais when I overtook a cyclist who was pedalling along making motorbike noises. Just goes to show, there are weirdos everywhere – even on the Côte d’Azur!

After Dad and I had had lunch in Beaulieu-sur-Mer, I headed on towards Monaco – which proved to be a bit of a nightmare to navigate, so progress was slowed a little. Nevertheless, not long after was a very sunny (and uphill) welcome into Italy. The last stop of the day came in San Remo – quite an iconic place for any cyclists amongst you. Unfortunately though this is where my Dad had to head off back to the airport. Very sad to see him go… it also meant I had to carry all my kit again! On a serious note, massive thanks to him, these last 2 and a half days have been a breeze and I’m so glad I was able to spend them with him.

My knee has improved, but today (Monday) I’m having a day off, in the hope it will fully recover. So I’m afraid no riding today.

In summary: Yesterday was genuinely one of the best days I’ve ever had on the bike and I hope Italy can live up to the memory I’ll leave France with.

Some photos may be up later… hopefully

Stats:
Distance: 101.63miles / 164.3km (about 2-3km short because my GPS got cut off going through tunnels)
Riding Time: 7:03:50
Av. Speed: 14.4mph / 22.9kph (tunnels took a little bit off)
Elevation Gain: 1,283m