Riding my RR above 1000 m. altitude on the clock change weekend, before the end of March...
Facing south, the many hairpins and steep curves of the Col du Rousset make it a favourite "interesting" route diversion from the "Route Napoléon", which is maybe the more obvious biker route between Lyon, Grenoble and the Cote d'Azur for Nice and Italy.
The Col de Rousset is at the south of the Vercors so the view at the summit is north towards the world of deep valleys and snow. Through a tunnel at the summit, the views change to pine trees and the skyline of Provence and the promise  of the Mediterranean, including warm sunshine much appreciated by bikers going south.
The route onwards to Provence is over the Col de Cabre, 1180 m., which I had run over the previous day, well wrapped up with my bike fully-loaded for a weekend.

Read more: Col de Rousset, 1251 m.

Fine day’s riding but a bit more of an adventure than I had hoped for. The bike’s battery, that was new in August 2014, let me down despite being charged the previous day. Had to be recovered.

Good side is that the bike shop who keep me running has been taken over. Not a surprise and that was one reason for intending to pass by the place in Peyrolles but meeting them first in a recovery situation wasn’t in my plan! The new guys are race bikers not town riders or trail bikers; they look to be setting up a track bike hire and training business.

So I made my itinerary pass by the Circuit du Castellet for a quick coffee and to check out things. It’s also known as the Circuit Paul Ricard as it was founded by the drinks magnate of Pastis Ricard fame. The track is suddenly being bike friendly again, including hosting the Bol d’Or in September, the 24-hour race: those riders must be really mad...

Blue skies, low wind and air temperature 18°C.

New white leathers, new boots, new crash hat and a couple of fine days to practice skills on the Col de l’Espigoulier (723 m. altitude), It’s less than half an hour from Marseille and as tortuous as its name suggests.

South side was pretty much dry and the surface is in good condition, apart from burnt rubber tracks from cars. Clear blue sky means Mistral wind here but not a problem on the south side of the mountain. So ran the route a couple of times to practice yesterday and also today and found various other motorbikers to have chats with, this being Friday afternoon.

Back in Marseille after quite the best day’s motorbike riding I’ve had for eighteen months. Nice to enjoy the ride rather than be doing it as rehab. Clear roads, warm hazy sunshine, not a lot of wind and no rain. 195 km for the day and less than half a tank of petrol so it was a moderate day’s riding.

I started very cautiously, my previous rides this year have been very much rehab and try-outs, not entertainment or play. That said, I was in good condition at my first pause, just outside the Marseille urban area. It was reassuring that nothing physical was complaining. I ventured off the big roads for some “real” riding though initially I was riding very much in the car driving style. Apexes started to present themselves and I found them and did the necessary. Then some “point and shoot” when some long straights presented themselves.

Read more: Alpilles biker - November 2014