Nice to St. Tropez - Day 98

Date: November 24th, 2009
Distance: 143km
Country: France
Song of the Day: The Sun in St. Tropez - Actionslacks.

Had a hell of a time trying to get ready in the morning. I keep thinking I will get up earlier than I do, and get ready faster that I can. Instead I ended up talking for a bit with a new guy who had showed up. He was the drummer for a band called Blue Embrace.

Oh well, but I wanted to get on my way as it was going to be a full day. I was traveling through basically the heart of the French Riviera. Going through a few famous coastal towns along the way.

The first on the list was Cannes. This town actually seemed... dead. It wasn't that there were no people on the streets. It was just that everything was very quiet. The beach was lined with miles of hotels and it looked like every one of them was just about empty or closed. Really weird. I can only think that it must be a crowded nightmare during the summer months.

From there I started getting into a little more rugged coastline. I mean, it was pretty if you are into that whole brick red stone cliffs with gorgeous blue waves crashing against them in the sun thing. Me, I thought it was awesome. I wish I had gone faster but I kept stopping to take pictures of the next beautiful thing. Like hillsides covered in monolithic spires of red rocks. Just amazing. Oh, and there were tons of other bikers along that section. I can see why. If you want to bike a wonderful section of the Mediterranean coast I would suggest from Theoule-sur-mer to St. Raphael.

I did get to St. Tropez just as the sun was setting. The sunset over the bay was spectacular. The city itself seemed a bit boring and way too touristy though. All I saw was the harbor crammed with big ugly yachts. Not that I am complaining about being there. I just though the earlier stuff along the coast was much more impressive than an overpriced town. Still, the sunset was very pretty.

Before I left the city the clouds had started to roll in, and with the sun gone the sky became black. My poor headlight went from dim to absolutely dead. So no help there. At least my tail light was working. So I just kept going out to the campsite in the dark. I was glad I checked ahead as to which one was open. I passed a huge number that were closed. It would have been a real pain to check them all in the dark. I got in and pitched my tent.

The next thing to do was get some food. I had run out along the road and was starving. The first problem was that the only food around was in Ramatuelle. So I biked up there. That was the second problem. The town was on TOP of a hill. The third problem, and this was the big one, when I got there, no supermarket. What? That is what I came for. The one tabac in town was just about to close, but they let me get some batteries for my headlight. I felt much better after that.

They also recommended a supermarket in another town about 9 klicks away. I almost went, but I thought better of it. I was dying of hunger, and I didn't want to go all that way and find it was closed. Instead I had a nice dinner at an Italian restaurant and stole some wi-fi while eating. Then it was back to the campsite to shower and sleep.

-Dravis