Barcelonette....

sheffsimon

Just a recommendation as a great base for some Alpine climbing. Bonette, Cayolle, d'Allos, Champs, Larche, Vars plus plenty of smaller climbs..Pra Loup for example.

Just finishing four days here, some great climbs and Barcelonette is a really nice small town.

Bit of hike to get here but worth the effort I think.

cc78

Good to know, I'm contemplating a few days either there or Guillestre later in the year. Where did you stay?

buckmulligan

Same experience here, I visited for a couple of days and it was a very pleasant little place.

It's a nice middle-ground between the cycling meccas of Bourg d'Oisans or Bedoin (where often you can't move without having someone else's lycra clad ass in your face) and the complete isolation of the less popular areas in the mountains. In Barcelonette there seemed to be a small but healthy populace of cyclists, the main climbs were well maintained and well sign-posted and some decent bike shops and cafes too.

There's some epic routes around there too; I was only stopping there for a couple of days, so I only did the Col d'Allos, Col des Champs and Col de la Cayolle loop and a quick trip up the Col de la Bonnette, but I would have loved to have stayed for another couple of days to hit some more of the climbs in the area.

sheffsimon

cc78 wrote:

Good to know, I'm contemplating a few days either there or Guillestre later in the year. Where did you stay?

Stayed in Le Sauze, which is a ski resort just outside of Barcelonette...in fact it's a short sharp climb, but has plenty of cheap out-of-season hotels, we stayed at Hotel les Flocons.

Some cafes/restaurants on the cols....

Bonette - north side at 2000m
Larche - north side at Meyrolles, and at the summit and just over the summit in Italy next to a nice lake.
Allos - north side just before the summit, and on the south side at the town of Allos.
Champs - nothing on the west side, at Val Pelens on the east side
Cayolle - south side at Entraunes, and further up at Estenc.

briantrumpet

Drove over to Barcelonette yesterday, and yes, nice place. My only comment would be is that if you are doing Col de la Bonette, if you've got the legs for it, do consider making a day of it by going down to St Etienne de Tinée and ascending back up from there. Both sides of the col are wonderful, but the NW side was busy, and the SE side virtually deserted. It reminded me of Hellvellyn, where there's virtually no-one outside of the Striding Edge-Hellvellyn-Swirral Edge triangle.

But even then, not as bonkers as AdH or Ventoux. I've put some pretty pictures here, if anyone needs convincing... https://unanglaisendiois.wordpress.com/ ... a-bonette/

whoof

briantrumpet wrote:

But even then, not as bonkers as AdH or Ventoux. I've put some pretty pictures here, if anyone needs convincing... https://unanglaisendiois.wordpress.com/ ... a-bonette/

Some nice pics, did you see any marmots?

First time I've seen the new Exeter Wheelers jersey it's closer to the old 'block' design one and a great improvement on the one with the chain-set on the front.

briantrumpet

whoof wrote:

Some nice pics, did you see any marmots?

Ha, funnily enough, yes, the first one I've ever seen - if you know the road, it was on the loop of road above the little lake, as I descended. Much bigger than I had imagined them to be.

typekitty

Fantastic thread, very inspiring.

sheffsimon

briantrumpet wrote:

whoof wrote:

Some nice pics, did you see any marmots?

Ha, funnily enough, yes, the first one I've ever seen - if you know the road, it was on the loop of road above the little lake, as I descended. Much bigger than I had imagined them to be.

I had a near miss with a Marmot whilst descending the Cayolle back to Barcelonette. Saw several each day.

That Cayolle descent is a great end to a ride....best part of 30k downhill, and a large part of it alongside a fast flowing river...very nice

mrb123

Does anyone have a recommendation for bike hire in Barcelonette? Preferably decent quality road bikes that can be booked in advance.

tourdriving

see here http://www.cycleubaye-sports.com/ 04400 Barcelonnette (ROAD-MTB) price see under the site here Consulter nos tarifs ici

mrb123

tourdriving wrote:

see here http://www.cycleubaye-sports.com/ 04400 Barcelonnette (ROAD-MTB) price see under the site here Consulter nos tarifs ici

Thanks for that, very helpful. Have you used those guys before? Any idea what type of bikes they have in the hire fleet?

Do you think I'll be ok if I make an enquiry via email in English?

tourdriving

Sorry I dont know them, but if you see this link for price
http://www.cycleubaye-sports.com/images ... fs2018.pdf there are Carbon road bikes also see http://www.cycleubaye-sports.com/la-boutique.html Brand Scott Look Lapierre

Send a mail to them and ask, for models
louer/Hire Vélo route Carbone 11 speed,

mrb123

tourdriving wrote:

Sorry I dont know them, but if you see this link for price
http://www.cycleubaye-sports.com/images ... fs2018.pdf there are Carbon road bikes also see http://www.cycleubaye-sports.com/la-boutique.html Brand Scott Look Lapierre

Send a mail to them and ask, for models
louer/Hire Vélo route Carbone 11 speed,

Cheers. Seems to be this place too which looks to have hire bikes outside from some of the photos so I'll try an email to both of them.
https://www.location-velo-ski-barcelonnette.fr/

durhamwasp

SheffSimon wrote:

Just a recommendation as a great base for some Alpine climbing. Bonette, Cayolle, d'Allos, Champs, Larche, Vars plus plenty of smaller climbs..Pra Loup for example.

Just finishing four days here, some great climbs and Barcelonette is a really nice small town.

Bit of hike to get here but worth the effort I think.

Thanks for the info! its been on the possible 'week away cycling' destinations for a while now, but Argeles Gazost, Luchon and Bormio all won over it. This and Maurienne Valley left now.

mrb123

Any tips from the forum for self catering accommodation in the town? Something that would sleep 3 to 4...

davidof

Barcelonette, or "little Mexico" as it is known in the region. There's a whole story there if you wish to explore.