Easter Tour Frejus

View on St. Raphael

Like last year we went on a 2-day tour to nearby Frejus along the coast of the Esterel. Objective of this mini tour was primarily to test our gear and of course to take advantage of the long Easter weekend and relax from work. Firstly we wanted to know how well our new touring bikes perform over a total distance of 84 km. Secondly it was the first test for our new waterproof Ortlieb bags (in rain!)

On that tour our friends Tünde and Michael came along with us on their mountain bikes and our trailer. They put everything for 2 days on the trailer and a rucksack. It was their first bike tour and we hope they enjoyed it, despite the upcoming rain.

We ourselves had each of us the Ortlieb rear panniers and the Ortlieb rack pack on our bicycles. In addition Sarah carried her Ortlieb handlebar bag too. 

Cloudy French Riviera

The weather forecast for Easter Sunday announced rain in the afternoon but sunshine in the evening. With the hope for sunshine at least in the evening we started from Mandelieu. The view from Theoule-sur-mer over Cannes, its islands and Antibes wasn't that great. Clouds were everywhere but at least it wasn't too warm, so good conditions for cycling. Just before St. Raphael it started drizzling: time for rain gear - a wise decision as it got even worse in St. Raphael. The rain jackets as an additional layer kept us warm and stopped the cold wind.

Despite the rain many cars and camper vans were en route. The Easter holidays attracted especially Germans. Every other car was from Germany. Sharing the road with cars was not a problem. Normally they did keep quite a distance from us. Perhaps it was because of the many Germans on the road.

We arrived on the camp site in the late afternoon. The weather changed completely, no rain but great sunshine, exactly as it had been forecasted. After having set up the tent and meeting one colleague from Amadeus on the camp site (the world is so small), the only thing that we were thinking about was food. Pedaling in the rain made us really hungry.

What did we had for dinner? Quickly and easily we cooked Couscous with carrots, spring onions and a cream sauce. Pretty basic cooking but delicious. We emptied a bottle of wine at the beach during sunset. The beach is a hot spot for kite surfers, so it was no surprise that it was very windy.

Good morning!

The night was restless. Wind came up and made a lot of noise. The tent was shaking and the yet leafless branches played their music. I am sure it wasn't until 5 am that I found some sleep. It really felt like that.

The morning after we "woke" up - or were we up all night? - and had perfect weather. Relaxing with sunshine, coffee, tea and baguettes really made the our day.

Agay

We set off around noon, had a stop-over in Frejus for more coffee and cycled exactly the same way back that we had come the day before. While we were cycling and passing different sections we asked ourselves whether or not we had passed them the day before. It was surprising how much a rainy or a sunny day can change your perception.

After 2:40 h of pure cycling, no injuries, new experiences, some ice cream en route and several stops to enjoy the spectacular view we arrived back in Mandelieu. Tired but happy!