Warning - Pic heavy!
Back from Corsica! (well, I am, my bike isn't, its still in Corsica and was never loaded onto the plane along with the 30 or so other peoples larger luggage!). Not a good experience with Manchester airport going out either after getting my mate got his camper van stuck at Terminal 1 in a section between a height barrier that was just too low! Had to get Greater Manchester traffic police to close the road for us so we could go back down the sliproad at 4 in the morning! Haha!
Had a brilliant time cycling about. Total of 5 days riding, averaging about 100 km per day, often in searing heat up to 35C, but many times cooling off to around 28C as we set off earlier to hit the hills in the early morning and descend later in the afternoons.
We went with a company called Europe-Active who essentially shuttled our luggage from hotel to hotel by 4pm each day and stored our bike boxes in the mean time. Managed to get our bike boxes on a bus from the airport as the taxis were stupidly expensive, an 8 Euro bus ride vs a 60 Euro taxi ride for all of 15 mins!! We assembled our bikes at the hotel in Bastia in 35C heat, with every passing moment a sharp shock of how hard this week could have been if that heat relented. We went for a test ride in the evening, only for 15 minutes or so and came back dripping with sweat!
Day 1 - Bastia to St Florent - 120 km and 1400 m elev
Part 1 -
https://www.strava.com/activities/382523685
Part 2 -
https://www.strava.com/activities/382523847
Geographically, they are only a handful of km apart but we went up to the top of Corsica following the lumpy coastline in very hot conditions. At the top of the first climb - 350 m or so we were all soaked I sweat but down the descent we stopped for lunch at a nice port. Carried on at around 2pm hoping the heat would ease off but it didn't and half way up the climb out of the village my chain snapped! Fixed it in the boiling heat but after another 25 km or so we were all on our knees and had to stop. The last 20 km to the hotel were the hardest of my life. The profile of the first day doesn't look like an awful lot and it was around 120 km, but the heat made things unbearable. At the end of the first day I really had my doubts as to whether I would be able to complete each day as it was thoroughly exhausting and draining for all of us (my two mates are both pretty fit triathletes and even they were shattered!).
Day 2 - St Florent to Calvi - 103 km - 1300 m elev
https://www.strava.com/activities/382524061
Dreading this day but we learnt our lesson from the first day and set off at 7 am after a massively breakfast! The first hill was fairly easy and getting up the second was harder, especially in the heat. We had a fair few stops at cafes to get cool drinks and chill off a little bit. The last climb was one hell of a slog up to the top but there were some very scenic views and a great 10 km descent down. Got to Calvi much earlier than expected and managed to get to a bike shop to get an emergency wheel true and a new chain. A hard day in the saddle and my ass was certainly feeling the pain!
Day 3 - Calvi to Porto - 84 km, 900 m elev
https://www.strava.com/activities/386195906
A surprisingly difficult day in the saddle, not because of the climb, but because of severe saddle pain! The road along the coast was exposed and a little windy with sheer drops at the side of the road down cliffs to the sea. The road was horrendous for long periods of time it was like the Paris-Roubaix. If its all in your mind, then my mind was in my arse, because it was agony towards the end! Was pretty scary at times when descending knowing that the road was poor and loose and that if you went over the side you would fall to your death! Was a nice descent though and by the final slope my ankle tendons were screaming and I was glad for the rest day to follow.
Day 4 - Porto to Corte - 84 km and 1800 m elev
https://www.strava.com/activities/384718363
This represented one of the hardest days (on paper) with 35 km of climbing at the start up to 1477 m on the Col de Vergio. It followed the side of the mountain up, again with sheer drops to the side and low walls. Fortunately the road was in good condition and we were shaded a fair bit by the rocks. The further up we got it was more forested to the peak. Then there was 40 km of sheer descending! Amazing! Apart from getting charged by an angry pig and chased by a dog! A truly staggering day, ending in Corte after another 300 m climb at the end before the rain came.
Day 5 - 105 km and 1700 m elev
https://www.strava.com/activities/385368444
Pretty awesome day all round through pretty much the back end of nowhere, up some pretty steep and prolonged inclines but once we got to 50 km we had broken the back of it and again it was ended by some wonderful descending. Chaos at the end as we joined the busy main road to get to the hotel (was half tempted to just ride my bike straight into the pool!). The most astonishing thing to see was the huge forest fire that engulfed an entire mountain. We watched it from a café and saw it spread so quickly. The fire fighting planes were on it all day dropping water on it, truly an astonishing and scary sight to see.
Overall, I'd thoroughly recommend cycling in Corsica, but with the warning of the heat! It was stupidly hot at times and what might seem like not too onerous rides became absolutely hellish. It didn't spoil any enjoyment but the first day was one helluva slog towards the end. Scenery was stunning and I'd perhaps recommend it over Majorca or Tenerife. It was truly breathtaking a times. But it does do this to your shoes:
I might ride in a careless manner but I've been doing it for long enough to know when to slow down and when not to! Of course, accidents happen but they're still accidents and you know, you can prevent them! I see people who ride 12-14mph crash and I see people who do tripple that never crash so its all pot luck IMO.
What is the world coming to?
) Don't reckon I'll have a chance to win 2 years in a row, but it's nice to ride different roads, and with new people, and probably ride the fastest I've ever done on my road bike!
