Tour de Corse

Back safe and sound from the shakedown tour of Corsica. What a place! Fantastic mountains, great roads, good food. What’s not to like? 

Well, the heat for one. Europe has had a hot August and Corsica caught that full on. 39C on the coast was way too hot for me. Riding in the mountains with all the vents open was pleasant enough. Just don’t stop out in the sun.

Our tour took us to Paris to put the bike on the SNCF Autotrain to Toulon. Picked it up the next day for an overnight with friends in nearby Le Beauset. The evening ferry from Toulon is very civilised and drops you in downtown Ajaccio at 7:00 in the morning.Time for a croissant and a drive down the coast to Porto Pollo and the best pizza I’ve ever had (Pig Cheek since you ask - very Corsican).

Next day was a ride up into the Mountains to stay at Aulene where the local fete was taking place. Some lovely polyphonic singing, a torchlight procession, lots of local wine and food (mainly pig and chestnuts) really put us in the heart of traditional Corsica. 

More mountains next day as we crossed the backbone of the island. The path along the mountains, the Corsica High Route or GR20, is reputed to be the hardest Grande Randonne in Europe.

Two nights in Corte, the old capital in the mountains. Time to stretch the legs climbing up to alpine lakes on the GR to see what it’s made of. Looks doable! Maybe not this year but soon before my knees go.

Then back over the ridge to Porto on the west coast (see picture). A lovely old port that has been tastefully reimagined as a holiday destination. The final day took us along the mountainous coast road back to Ajaccio to visit Napoleon’s birthplace before the ferry, train and Eurotunnel home.

So, apart from Corsica being a great biking destination, what did we learn? 

The bike worked impecably. It has had a few upgrades since China in 2013: new Ohlins shocks and a luggage rack means it rides better and can cope with two people’s kit.

Sue’s new Dainese riding suit was a great improvement on the Frank Thomas sweatbox. My Klim Badlands Pro has done some miles now and is excellent. All the rest of the stuff worked and we know how to pack the bike to fit it all on without lots of bits-and-bobs all over the place. A  really useful proof that we can do this.

All we need now is some new TKC70 tyres and we’re ready to roll. Next stop Roddy’s place for shipping.