Best of Southern France RNN2502

Welcome to Vence and welcome to our tour Best of southern France. Some of us have already arrived, while others will be arriving later today. The tour guides have delivered the motorcycles from Austria, cleaned them and prepared them for the road. During the welcome briefing and motorcycle handover, the anticipation for the coming days with all their highlights is already palpable. Afterwards, we end the day with a cozy first dinner together, get to know each other a little and are already full of anticipation for our tour.

Good morning France, good morning sunshine. The first day riding, our tour in southern France dawns. Finally, the time has come. After just a few minutes, we have left the city behind us and motorcycle paradise awaits us with its gates wide open. Throughout the day, we cross one pass after another, climbing to 1,000 meters and then descending again... over and over again. The roads are incredibly winding and the asphalt is mostly in very good condition. It couldn't be better. Behind every turn, a new surprise awaits us, be it a spectacular view or an astonishingly narrow road that has been laboriously carved into the rock. In addition to the roads, today's absolute highlights include one of the most beautiful and spectacular gorges in Europe and the many small villages along the way where time seems to have stood still. We take a closer look at one of them in the afternoon. And so we end this day of driving with big smiles on our faces... What a day.

Today, we are greeted with bright blue skies and sunshine for breakfast. After our usual morning briefing, we set off. Once again, we can expect mostly perfect roads with countless curves, one of the most beautiful villages in Provence, known for its ochre quarries, which have produced incredible colors, venerable buildings, gorges, and, as a very special highlight, Mont Ventoux, the highest mountain in Provence. Here we enjoy the view and are impressed by the incredible vastness of the countryside. Finally, we brave the traffic around Avignon and arrive at our hotel feeling satisfied. We are already excited to see what tomorrow has in store for us.

And once again, the day begins with sunshine. After completing the parking ceremony, we quickly leave the hustle and bustle of the city behind us and drive back into the hinterland. In the morning, we enjoy a good mix of well-developed main roads and tiny side roads with a surprising amount of heavy traffic. Countless small villages and wild combinations of curves dominate the landscape. At lunchtime, we reach the Corniche des Cevennes National Park, whose beauty was made world-famous by the writer Robert Louis Stevenson. The landscape and the roads are enchanting. The Tarn River and the spectacular landscape it has created are now not far away. After a spectacular descent into one of its valleys, we finally reach our small castle hotel where we will spend the next two days.

Good morning sunshine is also the motto on day five of our tour. Today is a rest day, but that doesn't mean we have to just lie around being lazy. After all, we are here in a motorcycle and nature paradise. So there is a lot to see. Part of the group sets off to explore the stalactite caves of Aven Armandi. A real highlight in the region and definitely worth a visit, but see for yourself. After the guided tour of the cave, we explore the region a little more by motorcycle and enjoy the rest of the day in tranquil La Malene. In the early afternoon, those who have taken the long tour through the Cevennes National Park and the Gorge du Tarn return with big smiles on their faces. An all-round successful day.

Unfortunately, the weather gods are not smiling on us quite so much today. The sky is overcast and the weather radar also promises rain. Nevertheless, we set off in good spirits and with the hope of getting through the day dry. Today's route takes us along rivers all day. First to the Gorges du Tarn, then after lunch we switch to the Gorges de l'Ardeche, where this time we ride along the top instead of in the gorge. Unfortunately, the bad weather caught up with us during our lunch break. At the Gorges de l'Ardeche, we decided on the spot to head straight for the hotel. Nevertheless, we were still able to catch a glimpse or two of the Rhone. When we arrive at the hotel, an entire meeting room is already waiting to dry our motorcycle gear for tomorrow's ride. ;)

Unfortunately, today does not start with sunshine again. The forecast is also worse than the reality. But what does it matter? After all, anyone can ride a motorcycle in nice weather. After leaving the endless flat plains of the Rhone, we finally head back into the mountains. The forests and rocks are shrouded in thick fog, and we are almost alone on the road. We can only guess at the supposedly spectacular view from the balcony roads, Combe Laval, which is a shame. But the roads dry up a little again and again, and we can enjoy, at least a little, the great roads through the Gorges de la Bourne and the Hauts de Chartreuse National Park. Including short stops to warm up. In the afternoon, we reach Chambery, where we spend the night high above the city in a real castle.

We were greeted by another cloudy day, but the roads were dry and we dressed warmly. Today, a very special highlight awaits us: the French Alps with the world-famous passes Col du Galibier, Col du Lautaret, and Col d'Izoard, to name a few, made famous by the Tour de France. At lunchtime, Tom surprised us with a delicious picnic, and afterwards we enjoyed a hot chocolate in a nearby café. Our hotel today is located in the middle of the mountains, where we spent the whole day playing around on our motorcycles. We are already excited to see what tomorrow has in store for us.

It's cold this morning as we crawl out of bed a little earlier than usual. Due to the storms over the last few days, there are lots of roadworks in the surrounding valleys. We set off a little earlier than usual to avoid the road closures as much as possible. We make good progress. It's cool, but the roads are dry and the first mountain passes are great fun with fantastic views. We reach Italy just in time for lunch. Of course, we don't want to miss the opportunity for a culinary adventure in Bella Italia. At this point, we have no idea that we will need the energy later on. We climb up to the Col de Lombarde, and the further the road winds its way up through the gorge, the lower the temperatures fall. Shortly before the top of the pass, it finally starts to snow. We decide not to take any photos and start our descent as quickly as possible. From now on, we try to outrun the snowstorm, which we manage to do at first. We even discover a section of the Tour de France route that is also a lot of fun on a motorcycle. Now only the 2326-meter-high Col de la Cayolle stands between us and the hotel. But it's a tough one. We may have left the precipitation behind us, but the temperatures are more reminiscent of winter than late summer. The winter landscape around us is bizarre but beautiful. However, the ride wasn`t really enjoyable. We are delighted to have mastered this challenge, which is absolutely unusual for this time of year. It's an adventure that can only be experienced so intensely on a motorcycle.

Due to yesterday's weather conditions and low temperatures, we decided to skip the very high passes today. Instead, we chose perfect roads through national parks and beautiful little villages. No sooner had we finished discussing the day's plans than we set off and enjoyed the winding roads and long curves to the fullest, but of course a few hairpin bends were also a must today. Over coffee, we talked shop at length, and the closer we got to our destination for the day, the friendlier the weather became. We arrived at the hotel under a bright blue sky, where Tom surprised us with a boat beer. During dinner together, we reviewed the tour and enjoyed the delicious food and company.