The Route des Crêtes is a road built to be looked out from. The D23 loops for about twenty-three kilometres around the northern side of the Verdon Gorge, carved in the 1970s along the very lip of the cliffs, with a string of belvederes where you can pull over and look straight down for several hundred metres to the green river below. It is a one-way route for much of its length, which makes the riding simpler: no oncoming traffic on the blind bends, only the question of whether the bike in front is going slowly because of the view.
And what a road it is. It leaves La Palud-sur-Verdon, climbs onto the rim, and winds through a landscape of bare rock and pine, with tight hairpins, short straights and sudden drops. The surface is good, although grit sometimes collects on the corners, and the barriers are low, which concentrates the mind. Names to look for on the signs include the Cirque de Vaumale, a vast bowl of rock, and the Falaises de l'Escalès, where cliffs of around four hundred metres plunge into the canyon. The mirrors on the other side of the bends are there for a reason: walk to the edge only where there is a fence.
Timing matters. In July and August the road is busy by mid-morning, with cyclists, coaches and tourists taking their time, so go early. Spring and autumn are the best seasons, with clear air and good light, and in winter the road may be closed or icy. The viewpoints are small and fill up quickly. Take it slowly, because the corners come faster than expected and the drops are real.
This is wild limestone country, where the plateau has been cut by water over millions of years into a landscape of bare ridges and deep clefts. Box, holm oak and Aleppo pine cling to the rock, and the summer air is thick with the smell of thyme and resin. Cicadas buzz through the heat. Griffon vultures soar along the cliffs, and in the evening the rock walls glow orange.
La Palud has few services and Castellane is the safer place to fill up, with Draguignan the bigger town to the south. Pack water and a snack, and carry a warm layer if you plan to stay for the sunset.