Phil commented that he preferred the Tarn Gorge as you were travelling in it not on top of it. However, a little while later he did change his mind as the nature of the road changed.
WATCHING THE RUBBER RAFTS GO DOWN THE RIVER (Missed the rafts by the time the camera was out).
We plodded on through Castellane (D952) and turned off onto the D955 which goes around Lake de Castillon. This road was was "racetrack " like, in that it was well surfaced, twisty, wide and fun and the locals thought so too ... we let them pass
Track day over we followed the D4202 " Routes Des Alpes" to - Entrevaux and it was coffee time.
We continued, opting for the route less travelled when possible.
D26 - Near Massoins
Arriving in Saint Sauveur sur Tinee around 4:30 - 5 pm we reckoned there was ample time to get over Col de le Bonette and set up camp before sunset.
Camp de Fourches on the way up time for a fag break
PHILS SPEAKS TO AN ITALIEN RIDER IN FRANGLAIS - Bizzare !
while I take a few pics.
Eight minutes later we are at the top...
Cime de la Bonette 2802m - Europe's Highest Paved Road
..along with a few other German and French riders.
Phil has a fag to celebrate.
We were the first to leave. I'm sure everyone was playing a waiting game because as soon as we left the rest followed. The pressure was on
but as soon as it was safe to do so a few of the quicker riders went past us.
We arrived in the main square of Barcellonette. There was a hotel. Phil wanted a hotel so we stopped. 70 euros for the night ! We left and cruised the town looking for a cheaper option. There wasn't any and, I wasn't going to pay 35 euro for a nights stay when I had a perfectly good set of camping gear. However, there were no campsites here(that we could find). I knew there were some at Savines le Lac around 25 minutes away so we headed off in that direction.
Luckily around 10 minutes outside town we came across a site and set up camp.
Camping Domaine Loisirs De L'ubaye - D900 nr. Les Thuiles
By the time we had set up camp(and Phil had a shower
) it was starting to get dark. We ventured into the coffee shop on site but, that's all they did coffee. We had a coffee, sorted out the following days destination and ate the provision we were carrying.
Night Night !