I get up early as I know this is going to be a long one. I heard or read somewhere that one of Lance Armstrong's favorite training rides is the Col de Madone and that is where the name of the Trek Madone came from. I figure its a great ride as I can see the profile and it would be cool to do this ride.
The Col de Madone is a challenging ride - a Category 1 climb of 11.4kms @7.7% topping out at 900m. Lots of smaller climbs on this route too - 3 Cat 3's and 2 Cat 5's giving this ride 1260m of elevation gain.
Sun rising over mountains in Nice
Cool rockcut along road
The top of the Col de Madone in the clouds
On the right track. It was not easy finding the start point of the route up the Madone. Just a tiny little sidestreet off a secondary road that runs parallel to the sea. There was a placard on a stone wall - can't remember exactly but something about the Corniche du Madone or something. The road went straight up so I thought this might be right. Eventually I came across the sign below and all was good.
The commune of Saint Agnes looks like a cool place to visit but it was early and I was on the clock.
Some steep pitches on the route.
A shot of some of the road going up. Getting pretty cool up here.
Over the top of the mountain and now down the back. A view of the valley below
Descending some of these roads is great. Not too steep at this point - just my cup of tea.
The ride back is pretty great too. Descending down to La Turbie and then I got a little mixed up as I ended up going back to Nice via the same route as yesterday after the Col de Eze. I passed an older French guy, he got on my wheel then we were back and forth in front of each other the rest of the way to Nice. This time I asked him how to get to the Promenade des Anglais as it is close to the apartment and a good reference point and instead of having to find my way through town again, he just told me to follow. Perfect!
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