I did the trip from Nice to Ventimiglia on a bike. The ride to Ventimiglia was quite pleasant.

This was back in the 1990s on a Sunday. I discovered that the restaurants and motels wouldn't take my credit card or other forms of money.

So, I didn't get to eat.

Anyway, I decided to take a side road back to Nice through the mountains.

I discovered that the Alps are very steep.

I went up, up, up and up.

I found myself at a ski area that was a mile above sea level. There is a ski area in the mountains just north of Ventimiglia!!!

Did I mention I had no food?

The restaurant at the ski area was closed, but I found a place that would sell me a bottle of wine.

I discovered that if you drink a bottle of wine after a long bike ride, the wine turns into energy. The ride back to sea level was extremely fast.

!wine