CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: planning record, not independently verified geometry.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distances and riding times are planning figures. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
curated scenic road. canyon, limestone cliffs, hairpins. A one-way ride of 36 km, Riez to Riez - roughly 39 min in the saddle. On the way it passes Castellane and Verdon Gorge Route. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,200 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For 15 km this is Gorges du Verdon, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
On the eastern side of Riez, the Valensole plateau starts to tip down toward the Verdon, and this point lies in that open country between Riez, Moustiers-Sainte-Marie and the great turquoise reservoir of the Lac de Sainte-Croix. It is a land of wide fields and big skies, where in June and July the lavender fields bloom in long purple rows, filling the air with a scent so strong you can smell it through your helmet.
Read the complete Near Riez write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Verdon Gorge Route point 1 sits at 0 km, early in the day. Next is Verdon Gorge Route point 2.
West of Castellane, the Verdon river disappears into the earth. Or that is how it looks from the road: the D952 climbs away from the town along the river, through a valley of pale limestone, and then the river plunges into the Grand Canyon du Verdon, a gorge up to seven hundred metres deep, while the road clings to the northern rim above. This spot lies on that rim, near Point Sublime and the village of Rougon, where the view down into the gorge is one of the most famous in France.
Read the complete Near Castellane write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Verdon Gorge Route point 2 comes up 7 km in. Next is Verdon Gorge Route point 3.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Near Castellane write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
At least 16 km in you reach Verdon Gorge Route point 3. Next is Verdon Gorge Route point 4.
La Palud-sur-Verdon is the main village on the north rim of the gorge, and it exists to let you see it. About three hundred people live here, at an altitude of nearly a thousand metres, on a plateau of pasture and lavender, and in summer many times that number pass through, on foot, on bikes and in cars. There is a church with a stone bell tower, a handful of cafes, shops selling local honey and lavender, and climbing guides who work in the gorge.
Read the complete Verdon Gorge Route point 4 write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Verdon Gorge Route point 4, about halfway. Next is Verdon Gorge Route point 5.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Near Castellane write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Verdon Gorge Route point 5 sits at 29 km, late in the day. Next is Verdon Gorge Route point 6.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Near Riez write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Verdon Gorge Route point 6 comes up 36 km in.