Profondo Rosso Estérel

The Estérel is the bit of the Côte d'Azur that refuses to behave like the Riviera. No limestone, no palm trees, instead you get dark rhyolite: a volcanic massif formed over 250 million years ago, its red hue coming from iron oxides baked into the rock. The local telling, and the one worth keeping, is that it's a stray piece of Africa. First attached to the continent, this chunk of land separated during the formation of the Mediterranean, part of it drifting off entirely to become Corsica. The same red terrain you're grinding over here turns up again across the water in the Corsican calanques. You're riding a fault line's leftovers.

The route reads like a petal. It leaves Cannes and Mandelieu-la-Napoule at sea level, traces the coast toward Agay and the Saint-Raphaël hinterland, then swings inland on a long western arc through the backcountry before folding back over the Tanneron. Les Esterets du Lac, on Lac de Saint-Cassien, sits at the centre of that petal, which is the whole trick. Sleep there, drop the bags, and ride the western lobe on a naked bike for a day before collecting your luggage and closing the loop.

The riding is mostly those glorious red gravel tracks, fast and grippy when dry. The caveat is the singletrack: a few sections chew themselves apart after the big Mediterranean downpours, ruts and washouts where there used to be trails. Check recent conditions before committing to the more technical connectors. Nothing here is improved by meeting a rain-gutted descent at speed with a loaded rig.

Bring tires that like sharp volcanic rock. Aim for spring or autumn. The Estérel is pretty hot in high summer, and the Tanneron is at its best when the mimosa is out.