Corsica Bike Tour

Re: Corsica Bike Tour - Day 11

Erik,

I'm glad you're enjoying the reports. Corsica is a unique part of France, and I expect you'd enjoy the hiking especially. I've got a few more days of reports and photos I'm trying to post to finish the trip. I would have done the reports while over there except I didn't take my computer to deal with the photos.
 
Re: Corsica Bike Tour - Day 12

I loved this old one lane bridge that was on a main artery(National Route). There were no weight restrictions, so bicycles and large trucks alike were crossing, one at a time of course -

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Since this was a big day on the bikes for all of us, it was not a good day for tire problems, but that was exactly what happened to one of my riding pals. We needed an hour, a new tire, and four tubes(some defective) to fix his blow out. The scenery was again breathtaking as we travelled southeast to the seside tourist town of Solenzara.

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72 miles and 6,000 feet of climbing
 
Re: Corsica Bike Tour - Day 13

I'm not obsessed with the dead, but one couldn't help but take note of the thousands of elaborate mausoleums located throughout the island, some in formal cemeteries like the ones below and others just plopped along the sides of the roads. From the looks of some of the houses in the country, many Corsicans spend more on their habitation after death than when alive -

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There was a brief article in the local paper stating that a Mercedes 4 x 4 was blown up on the street the day before we arrived in Porto Vecchio. Since the news item was so brief, I assumed it was a not uncommon occurrence or local authorities were trying to keep the incident quiet. We encountered no violence or rude folks anywhere during our travels, but that doesn't mean they weren't around.

After yesterday's long day in the saddle, some of us took the short route to Porto Vecchio and logged only 30 miles with 1,500 feet of vertical.
 
Re: Corsica Bike Tour - Day 12

T,
Great photography of a new place to me. Sounds like quite a rolling trip!
J
 
Re: Corsica Bike Tour - Day 13

We're headed back across the mountains from the east coast to the west coast city of Propriano. The morning brought fabulous weather for biking, and that was part of our problem. Some of my companions enjoying the temps -

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A beautiful lake on a beautiful morning -

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I had the pleasure of becoming friends and riding companion with two really nice guys from the west coast. Here I am with Ron in the midst of the grafitti revolution -

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My friend Riley as we departed a restaurant from a too long lunch stop -

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Isn't that a pretty little cloud on that mountain? NOT!!!!@

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Shortly after we left our enjoyable lunch stop, the bottom fell out of that pretty little cloud and continued for the rest of the day. Since the weather was so perfect this morning, we left all our rain gear and warm clothes in the van, thereby quickly causing the three of us to lose body heat on the 1.5 hour descent we endured. My hands were cramped on the brakes to keep the pads dry and the bike speed down. My bike was shaking as I shivered. I was never so happy to see a road head back up a hill in my life. Descending means cold and ascending means warmth on a bicycle. I jumped out of the saddle and pedalled as hard as I could up that hill to bring warmth back to my freezing body. We made it all the way back in the pouring rain to within ten miles of our evening's destination before calling the van(and calling it quits) for the day.

5,700 feet of climbing and 51 miles before surrendering to the weather.
 
Re: Corsica Bike Tour - Day 14

After yesterday's ordeal in the rain, almost everyone in our group decided to take a rest day today, and some of us wandered around Propriano.

Typical Corsican streetside restaurant -

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Local folks enjoying their morning caf
 
Re: Corsica Bike Tour - Day 14

I know Corsica is off the main radar but is there enough to do for a regular vacation?
 
Re: Corsica Bike Tour - Day 14

Andy,

Travelling to Corsica is taxing, so I wouldn't necessarily recommend it as a destination vacation. At around 5,000 square miles, it's much larger than St. Barth, but IMHO it lacks the glamour and the beaches that make St. Barth special. Climate is different as well; there's even a ski facility in the higher elevations. Due to the expanse of beautiful, unspoiled countryside, hiking and biking are spectacular on Corsica. The lack of traffic on the roads we travelled was a special treat, one to which many of us are unaccustomed.
 
Re: Corsica Bike Tour - Last Day

No discussion of Corsica could possibly be complete without a photo of the character below and some mention of his place in society. We saw boar hunters with their dogs frequently on the mountain roads. We saw boar skins drying on fence posts in the country. One night our group(except for me and the other fish eaters) was served boar stew for dinner. Boar apparently is an acquired taste; my fish was much coveted by the carnivores -

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Today was our final day on the bikes, and we pushed hard over the hills back up the coast to the luxurious Sofitel in Porticcio to beat rain that never materialized. Bikes disassembled and repacked in their shipping boxes, my riding companions and I sat down to enjoy our last dinner together. We drank and reminisced about the journey, feeling good about our accomplishment, feeling sad that we'd never again be together with this combination of friends, and grateful that we all survived without serious injury.

Final day's tally, 33 miles with 2,500 feet of up.
 
Re: Corsica Bike Tour - Trip Home

4:45 am - Rise and Shine

Van to airport

Check bags and bike. Pay extra for bike.

Flight to Orly.

Claim bags and bike.

Haul gear to metro station. Metro workers on strike.

Haul gear to bus stop.

Bus to CDG.

Haul gear to U.S. Air counter. Pay extra for bike.

Flight to Philly.

Claim bag and bike for customs.

Recheck bag and bike.

Plane to Richmond.

Claim bag and bike.

Shuttle to parking lot.

3:00 am(Corsican time) Arrive home.

The bike riding is a breeze compared to the travel back and forth to/from Corsica. I don't know if I'll go on another European bike trip, but I would definitely choose an easier travel location if I do.

I'll leave this extra long report with one final thought and photo. We all have a tendency from time to time to whine about life's trivial aggravations(see above), but many of our fathers and their generation made the ultimate sacrifice so that we can enjoy freedom and the liberties we all take for granted. In almost every village, no matter how small, that we visited in Corsica, there's a statue in remembrance of those local men and women who died fighting for freedom. These memorials serve as strong reminders to help us keep our privileged lives in perspective -

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Re: Corsica Bike Tour - Trip Home

Tim,
Thanks for a superb day-by-day report and a fitting finale. Although I've never visited Corsica, I feel as if, through you, I've been there.
Julia
 
Re: Corsica Bike Tour - Trip Home

Tim,
Thanks for a superb day-by-day report and a fitting finale. Although I've never visited Corsica, I feel as if, through you, I've been there.
Julia

Julia, it's quite plausible that you were there in a previous life lol
Have a great weekend. Sailing tomorrow? Sister-in-law's sailboat still under repair after the lightning strike - maybe we'll be back on the sound with them next summer and look you up.
 
Re: Corsica Bike Tour - Trip Home

No sailing today George (soccer games!) but maybe tomorrow. It's supposed to be a spectacular day. This is the best time of year because there are few boats out. Now sailing around Corsica---that would really be something.
 
Re: Corsica Bike Tour - Trip Home

Julia,

There were right many charter boats anchored in coves around the island. I did some sailing around Majorca in 1990, but the conditions were miserable, and I think that's true of Corsica area as well. There was either no wind or a gale, nothing in between.
 
Re: Corsica Bike Tour - Day 14

there's even a ski facility in the higher elevations. Due to the expanse of beautiful, unspoiled countryside, hiking and biking are spectacular on Corsica. The lack of traffic on the roads we travelled was a special treat.



hmmmmmm...that all sure sounds good to me....
 
Re: Corsica Bike Tour - Day 14

ITs an incredible place. In response to prior posts, we were there in August. There was plenty to do and we found the resort towns to be every bit as sexy and seductive as what everyone loves about SBH. Porto Vechhio and Bonafacio in particular. There are boat trips, great beaches, fine dining. Sound like any place else you know or like.....
 
Re: Corsica Bike Tour - Day 1

Tim, I've had an interest for years in going to Corse but have never made it. Principally because, as you indicated, it's a real pain in the *ss getting there, and I categorically refuse making connection in Paris...quel bordel! The French are not particularly welcome on Corse (despite the fact that it's a "French" island), but it's sounds like the welcome for your group of Yanks and Brits was warm. Enjoyed the reports and photos!
 
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