During a ride there are many things that appear at first glance insignificant but when taken as a whole make being in the saddle a unique experience – small details that we find both of no real importance and fascinating at the same time.

When I go for a ride in the mountains around Nice I’m fascinated by the old milestones (les bornes in French) that I encounter by the roadside. Some of them are so old and weather-beaten they have clearly played witness to generations of Niçois riders passing by. Seeing one usually sets off a train of thought that keeps me occupied for kilometres.

That may sound strange – but yes I do find myself thinking about a yellow-white painted stone for kilometre after kilometre! The locations listed on them are other people’s homes, lives and memories, something you don’t normally consider, but something I find a milestone can make me aware of.

The bornes are of particular interest to me, with one of my favourites being located in La Redoute (in the hills – not to be confused with the Grand Col de la Redoute), it marks the very edge of the agglomeration that is Nice and the start of legendary roads leading to famous places such as Aspremont and Levens or Duranus and Saint Blaise.

I even often find myself stopping to take a nice picture, which I’m sure gets me many odd looks from passing motorists.

I often wonder about the riders that have cycled past in days gone by. How heavy were their bikes? How itchy were their jerseys? How basic were the road surfaces they were riding on? And how many more riders will these posts impart their knowledge to in the future?

Many milestones have suffered through the years, and bit by bit they are being replaced by aluminium ones. These are of course much easier to maintain than the classic stones, and they won’t degrade in the same manner, but they do not have the same character at all. They somehow feel at odds with the meandering roads of the ‘arrière pays Niçois’.

Fortunately for me (and milestone enthusiasts everywhere) the most characterful here were seemingly hewn out of especially tough Côte d’Azur-weather-resistant stone and give the impression of having a good many years left in them yet.