Route Napoleon

briantrumpet

I'm planning on riding from my place in Die in France (see blog link in signature) down to some friends in Cannes over a couple of days in August, and wondered if anyone has experience of the southern end of the route, along the Route Napoleon. I know the roads as far as Serres, and am happy with what I've plotted as far as Sisteron, but have absolutely no knowledge of the roads south of there. In any case I'll be taking a map, and am quite happy making things up as I go, but if anyone's ridden it, I'd be interested to hear what roads like the N85 and D4085 are like. I'm happy with most French roads, but just the occasional one can be quite unpleasant if busy with HGVs. I'd rather not have to end up doing a major back-track if I've guessed wrong.

Anyway, here's the route: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/7728726 - I thought about routing via the D17 further south west, but it's somewhat lumpier and further. Comments welcome.

andymiller

You've probably already thought of this, but in absence of anyone with direct experience, Google Streetview might be a help.

briantrumpet

andymiller wrote:

You've probably already thought of this, but in absence of anyone with direct experience, Google Streetview might be a help.

A Facebook friend tells me that it tends to be numerous campervans populating the road, but that it's a very scenic route, not suited to speed - so probably OK. I did think of Streetview, yes, but it doesn't tell you very well how the traffic behaves. A 'for instance' would be the D538 near Crest, which looks lovely in Streetview, but in practice has too many fast-moving lorries to make it comfortable. (It's just about the only road in the area I avoid.)

mercia_man

I've only ridden a short section of the Route Napoleon - a very bendy and scenic descent down to Grasse in torrential rain. I have to say I was glad to turn off back onto minor roads at Grasse. The heavy traffic, combined with slippery road surface and being soaked to the skin didn't add up to a great cycling experience. I'm sure it would have been much better in the dry. But there's no getting away from the fact that it is a main road.

briantrumpet

Mercia Man wrote:

I've only ridden a short section of the Route Napoleon - a very bendy and scenic descent down to Grasse in torrential rain. I have to say I was glad to turn off back onto minor roads at Grasse. The heavy traffic, combined with slippery road surface and being soaked to the skin didn't add up to a great cycling experience. I'm sure it would have been much better in the dry. But there's no getting away from the fact that it is a main road.

OK, thanks. I suspect it's no worse than the D1075 south of Grenoble, and though that's not my favourite road, I'm OK with that. I'll probably give it a go on the southwards part of the jaunt, and if it's not to my taste I can reroute on the return leg.

mercia_man

briantrumpet wrote:

Mercia Man wrote:

I've only ridden a short section of the Route Napoleon - a very bendy and scenic descent down to Grasse in torrential rain. I have to say I was glad to turn off back onto minor roads at Grasse. The heavy traffic, combined with slippery road surface and being soaked to the skin didn't add up to a great cycling experience. I'm sure it would have been much better in the dry. But there's no getting away from the fact that it is a main road.

OK, thanks. I suspect it's no worse than the D1075 south of Grenoble, and though that's not my favourite road, I'm OK with that. I'll probably give it a go on the southwards part of the jaunt, and if it's not to my taste I can reroute on the return leg.

Yeah, Brian. It's on a par with the D1075 south of Grenoble - at least the bit I did. Obviously, the appalling weather made it much worse for me. The views were great (through gaps in the fog!).

briantrumpet

Mercia Man wrote:

Yeah, Brian. It's on a par with the D1075 south of Grenoble - at least the bit I did. Obviously, the appalling weather made it much worse for me. The views were great (through gaps in the fog!).

Right, thanks. And the D1075 with rain and fog wouldn't be much fun, so that sounds like a useful comparison.

briantrumpet

Hmm, just found this on a motorbike forum:

"3. Briancon- Castellane – Nice, this is not so easily done in 7hrs as this route will bring you into Nice from the west on the D6065 “part of Route Napoleon” which means going through Grasse/Mougins or through Valbonne. The problem here is the traffic (from Castellane all the way to Nice via Grasse) all along this route which is fecken nuts even when its not tourist season. In the last 5/10 years or so the whole Grasse/Mougins area has become seriously over populated, it’s a melting pot of small roads overloaded with traffic, add in 250,000 seasonal visitors and it becomes hell to navigate even on a moped.

"If you roll in on this route in mid June it’s going to be back to back camper vans etc. If you also happen to be doing it during rush hour 4:30pm-7:30pm then God help you. Even on a bike you will be 2hrs in hot, smelly aggressive traffic. The French cops are not too keen on bikes filtering either, especially ones with panniers so you have to be a bit careful with that also. If you absolutely have to go to Castellane do so, but I’d definitely back up to the N202 and drop down into Nice from the north, it might seem longer, but it’s usually quicker as you will almost certainly miss a whole lot of traffic and get into Nice a lot more relaxed."

mercia_man

The motorcyclist's suggestion of approaching Nice from the north seems sensible. To the east of the Route Napoleon Castellane-Grasse is one of my favourite cycling areas. For example, from Castellane you can go via St Auban, Col de Bleine, the Clue of Greolieres and down to Cannes via Gourdon. Very quiet narrow roads, demanding hilly riding and beautiful countryside. That would be my preference, although it would take longer.

To the west of the Castellane-Grasse stretch is another option. You could go via Moustiers-Ste-Marie and the Grand Canyon du Verdon, Comps-sur-Artuby and Fayence. Another great ride if you have the time.

briantrumpet

Mercia Man wrote:

The motorcyclist's suggestion of approaching Nice from the north seems sensible. To the east of the Route Napoleon Castellane-Grasse is one of my favourite cycling areas. For example, from Castellane you can go via St Auban, Col de Bleine, the Clue of Greolieres and down to Cannes via Gourdon. Very quiet narrow roads, demanding hilly riding and beautiful countryside. That would be my preference, although it would take longer.

To the west of the Castellane-Grasse stretch is another option. You could go via Moustiers-Ste-Marie and the Grand Canyon du Verdon, Comps-sur-Artuby and Fayence. Another great ride if you have the time.

Thanks for the ideas - if I detour, I suspect it'll be to the south west, as it doesn't add too many miles, though plenty of lumps. I'm guessing the Verdon park is pretty. Anyway, plenty of time to pore over some maps in the meantime.

briantrumpet

Here's one quick doodle... http://ridewithgps.com/routes/7773335