Last day updated with a few pics

101km, 2091m of ascent

So the last day was a real interesting one. I don't think any of us - including the fabulous John and Mary - had any idea quite what to expect or how to feel.

It was a day for relief, elation, excitement and some disappointment that it was over so quickly.

We set off from Saint Martin-Vésubie towards Nice with a few nerves as we still needed to bag 4 cols to hit our target.

We were now close to the coast and the mountains were no longer the imposing 3,000m plus of the earlier days but were none-the-less still challenging and the Col de Turini was no exception.

Yet again we were blown away by the beauty of the mountain and the long climbing roads through hand carved tunnels and precipitous drops over low stone walls. We climbed 1000m to crest the col, took the obligatory photographic evidence and espresso before commencing the descent.

Now if you have followed the blog or checked out FaceBook - you would know that Jim and I have had a few wet days, forced extra climbs and other minor setbacks to contend with and considering I had a dose of the 'my stomach will not take another energy bar, gel or drink' it was our time for a little good fortune - and as we descended we hit a minor incline (a flattening of the road really) to bag the Col de l'Orme.

We had a little more work to bag the Col de Braus however before setting off for our last col - the Col de Castillon.

Now here the good fortune wavered. We took a photo at the beginning of a road signposting the col and took another photo at the other end signposting the col back the way we came. However we searched - on Sat Nav, Garmin or Map - we could not find where we could have missed the col!

It took much deliberation - should we accept that we had achieved our goal - should we try and search for the sign again!

In the end it was a sense of symmetry or poeticism that prevailed.

On the map we spotted the Col de Nice - it seemed an appropriate way to close a long 7 days before the final descent towards the city of the same name and our final destination.

We nearly missed the sign a again but finally we managed to bag the last of the 19 cols we had set out to crest.

So it was with a cheeky grin that we snapped one final picture as we negotiated the last few steep (over 14%) roads into Nice - the sign for the Col de Quatre Chemin - a staggering 329m above sea level.

A stunning final descent into the chaos of NIce (which after 7 days of peace in the mountains was quite jarring) and it was time for beer, fat cigars and a dip of the toes in the Med!!!

So I close for now with some final thank yous.

My friend the Salty Pigeon - not a cross word between us in 7 days, in close quarters and at times tired and irritable - I look forward to the next challenge my friend.

To Slaty's wife - Laurence - who let him come with me and did not get too jealous - although I have no doubt we will have the mickey taken out of us for some time to come

To my wife Jane, my children; Luke, Aidan and Lily for their patience, support and coming to meet me at the end.

And finally to the best support crew money could not buy. John and Mary. You two were the making of the trip. All we had to do was ride. I cannot thank you enough.