Program Cycling and Breathing 4 days in Villa Romarine 22-25. May 2024

Day 1

On our first day, we welcome you to Villa Romarine and we cycle for a few hours to get to know our area, followed by an introduction to breathing and relaxation techniques and a nice dinner

12:00 Welcome and check-in at Villa Romarine.

12:30 Introduction.
We introduce each other and the program, get a snack/ light lunch and set up private/rental bikes before heading out on the bikes.

13:30 – 16:00-(16:30) Cycling: 43 km / 750m+ Var River plateau.
ROUTE: www.strava.com/routes/3184554100545199946

From Villa Romarine at 420m altitude, we start cycling by passing through Carros Village and continue cycling to the lower part of a village called Broc. The view from this quiet road over the Var valley with the Alps in the background is incredible.

We descend into the valley and climb up to another very pretty village called Gillette where we can enjoy the view and have a coffee at the local café (the climb is appr. 8 km/4-5% steady climb. If the legs have not quite woken up after the travels for the climb it is possible to leave it out).

We cycle back along the river Var by a long flat cycling path before climbing back up to Villa Romarine.

16:30-18:00 Private time and relax at the pool.

18:00-19:00 Breathing.
An introduction to the physiology and mechanism behind breathing and our respiratory center. Focus will be on how you can improve your breathing with different techniques. By applying these techniques, you can get more energy when you ride. The introduction is a combination of a presentation and exercises.

19:00 Dinner.

Day 2

This is our Queen stage on the bike. We cycle in the mountains West of Nice through stunning landscapes and have coffee and lunch breaks in small villages dating back from medieval time. Back at the villa we do guided relaxation- and breathing exercises for an active recovery by the pool.

8:00-9:00 Breakfast.

9:30-15:00 Cycling: 90km / 1400m+ Col de Vence.
Route: www.strava.com/routes/3184562670696006230

Today is a pure mountain day, our Queen stage, where we explore the raw and impressive mountain plateau West of Nice.
 
Col de Vence (963m) is one of the most famous climbs near Nice and local cyclists often frequent this 10km climb for training. It is a category 1 climb, a long steady climb with gradients 6-9%, where you gradually reach rocky areas that have a moonlight feel to them.
 
At the top we enter quiet mountain roads surrounded by forest and stunning cliff formations. If we feel like having a café stop after the climb, we can visit a village not far from the top. When we feel ready to continue, we do so until we reach a village called Gréolière for lunch at a local restaurant (apr. 45km into the ride).
After lunch, we descend through another road surrounded by trees and pass a river with waterfalls next to us.
 
Back at the side of the mountain that faces the coast, we cycle up to Tourettes-sur-Loup. This is another village where it is worthwhile to stop for a moment and enjoy the scenery, perhaps enjoy a drink at a café before our final kilometers and return to the villa.
 
15:30-16:30 Breathing retraining, stretching and relaxation. 
Stretching and relaxation of the muscles at the lower back and legs. We use techniques from Fysio Flow/ Fascie Flow in a combination with breathing techniques, so you can fully relax and get the best recovery possible. Furthermore, we will focus on breathing techniques that will increase your performance on the bike. 
 
19:00 Dinner.

20:00 Nutrition for cyclists.
​Our guest chefs will introduce us to nutrition for active people in a short interactive presentation while we enjoy the dessert of the day.

Day 3

Cycling through Nice, where we will challenge the climb of stage 21 in the Tour de France, Col d’Eze. Lunch in Nice, before cycling back to the villa, where we do some guided stretching and active recovery by the pool.

8:00-9:00 Breakfast.

9:30 – 15:00 Cycling 95km / 1.160m+ Nice, Col d’Eze.
Route: www.strava.com/routes/3184569823992796758

On the third day of cycling, we descend to Nice and ride along the cycling path at the Promenade des Anglais and the azur colours of the sea. The sea changes colour every day in shades of blue turquois.
 
Our challenge of the day is climbing Col d’Eze (507m), which is a category 2 climb, and a favourite of local riders at all levels. At the harbour in Nice, we cycle through town to start the climb. It is appr. 10 km of 5-10% to the top. Do not be surprised if we are overtaken by a young speedy professional rider or two. The fastest climbers in the world train on these roads on their way to/from Monaco. Tina has met Pogacar and Geraint Thomas here multiple times. Look forward to the views over Cap Ferrat and the Mediterranean as we climb. They are amazing!
 
We make a stop in La Turbie to get a coffee and a nice view to Monaco. 
The descend is via a beautifully curvy road, which takes us to the sea level at Cap d’Ail. 
 
We ride by the coastal road through charming places such as Beaulieu-sur-Mer and Villefranche-sur-Mer. We cycle back in to Nice and have lunch at a beach restaurant before our return to the villa.
 
15:30-16:30 Relaxation and breathing exercises.
Relaxation via breathing. We carefully work through the full body through relaxation exercises and breathing techniques. Some repetition on breathing exercises that we have worked with in the previous days. The focus will be on mobility/flexibility around the ribcage (thorax).

19:00 Dinner

Day 4

On our final day we finish our active long weekend off with a morning training where breathing techniques are used to relieve your sore muscles. We will combine breathing exercises with Fysio Flow / Fascie Flow before we check-out

8:00 – 9:00 Breakfast.

9:00-10:30 Fysio Flow / Fascie Flow.
Through this mellow morning training we get a moment to integrate the impressions from the days that we spent on the bikes while losing up tight areas in the body by the things we have learned about breathing techniques and relaxation.

10:30-11:00 A recap of the days that we spent together. 

​11:30 Check-out and goodbye.

Approach to cycling

Our approach to cycling during the event is that ​it is about enjoying the ride!
Our motivation for these rides is not racing the roads but enjoying cycling them. The pace will be moderate for mountains – depending on the participants it can be between 17-22km/hour in average. Remember, that you will have a quite different average pace in mountain areas than on the pure flat.

We will make sure that everyone gets to enjoy cycling in their pace, we wait for each other and can split into smaller groups for some sections if there are big differences of pace. We can also add an extra challenge for the most eager riders. There will be time for stopping to take a photo or suggest having a coffee stop if you see a cute café (and need a break more than put in the program).

By combining the rides with breathing and relaxation exercises we aim at giving you a new knowledge about your body and learn about a way to become a better cyclist - one breath at a time.