our Thanksgiving holiday in Corsica France

Sharon and I spent 8 days at the end of November on the island of Corsica
and in Cote d'Azur in southern France. It was the prettiest and funnest
riding we've done so far -- photos at
http://roberts-1.com/t/b04/fr/k
* sea - beaches - rocks
* animals - farms
* mountains - villages - deep gorges
* good road surfaces - non-steep climbs - polite drivers.
Garry Lee was right -- one of the world's great riding areas. We've been
very happy to use his recommendations on this newsgroup to guide our
vacation planning.

Because of the American Thanksgiving holiday, we only had to expend 3 days
of vacation allotment. Lots of hotels and places were closed in late
November. But we had a rental car, so we could use whatever was open (which
was straightforward to find and reserve in advance on the Web), and two of
our lodging nights were spent on the overnight ferries between Corsica and
Cote d'Azur. On two of our days we took a rest from riding and went hiking
or city-walking or inline-skating: convenient with the support of a car.

Instead of the usual multi-day point-to-point rides usually reported on this
newsgroup, we did single-day loop adventures, just like the local French
riders, just like we do at home. For routes we tried various "green" roads
on the Michelin map, stimulated by ideas from the Lonely Planet Cycling
France guidebook. It's great to ride a loop that combines inland mountains
and animals with seaside rocks and beaches -- and we found several of those.

It was the latest in the year we've ever ridden, but now we're eager to use
our Thanksgiving holiday again next year for some more bicycling close the
Mediterranean Sea.

ideas for routes and bases below.

Ken
_____________________________________________

Bases for riding

Lots of riders we know prefer to get comfortable staying in one place for 3
days or so.
* l'Ile Rousse: one area on Corsica that especially struck us for that is
l'Ile Rousse with the sea and the Balagne hill villages and farming
valleys. Of the cities we visited on Corsica, l'Ile Rousse was the easiest
to ride in and out of (unlike Ajaccio or Bastia). Some other possibilities:
* around St Florent for strong riders who could try both the hills toward
Murato and the Cap Corse 130km loop.
* Sagone : three possible loops, including 100km to Porto and Cargese. Not
far from Ajaccio for shopping and ferry.
* around Porto if want to combine riding with hiking (or diving). But not
many loop routes. (perhaps use taxis or ferries to make spectacular one-way
rides?)

In Cote d'Azur since we had a rental car we just chose a moderate-price
hotel convenient to an exit of the A8.

Loop routes combining mountain + sea:

Here's some of the loops we rode each in a single day. The local French
riders know better ones and have more up-to-date information. But the
English-language guides focus on one-way routes, so I'm giving these as a
source of possible ideas for "incorrect" riders like us:

* l'Ile Rousse - Belgodere - Cateni loop (53 km / 33 miles): Seaside views +
city, several hill-villages, big views out across a large agricultural
valley (with the sea beyond), lots of sounds and sights of farm animals, and
views of mountains. The D71 is amazing for its combination of gentleness and
big views. From l'Ile Rousse we rode N197 east : old N197 to Belgodere : D71
west to Cateri (except for worthwhile side road thru Speloncato) : D151
north to D513 back to start. (several variations to try next time)

* Coti-Chiavari loop (south of Ajaccio): Many views of beaches - Golfe
d'Ajaccio - Capo di Muro. A steep climb long climb, with farm areas with sea
view. Pleasant gentle riding up high, finish with a fun long descent. We
started near Agnarello (intersection of D55 + D255A). D55 south, then
continue along coast on D155 south to Acqua Doria. D55A northeast to
Coti-Chiavari. D55 north to Col de Gradello. D255 north. D255A west down to
coast back to start.

* Cap of the Cap loop: Strong riders could ride around the whole Cap Corse,
but we did the shortest loop we could find, about 60 km / 37 miles including
worthwhile sidetrips to the villages of Rogliano and Pino. Rather remote,
not many farms and houses.

* Esterel mountains + sea loop (in Cote d'Azur west of Cannes): special
combination of pretty mountains with little vehicle traffic, then
spectacular seaside riding. We were glad to do it on a Saturday off-season,
so we had less traffic on N98 -- and no tour buses. Minimum distance about
45 km, with one long climb with one or two steepish sections. Tricky
navigation thru the little roads in the remote mountains.

La Napoule is the obvious start point for this Esterel loop. We followed
roads on west side of town, then N7 west. Turned Left at sign for Route
Forestiere, "Les Trois Termes". Long climb to parking lot and dead end. We
turned left a little ways on dirt. (When we there this one little section
was closed to cars -- so although 99% of the route was paved and open to
cars, only bikes could go all the way across, instead of turning around
halfway). Then it was paved again, and eventually took us to Col Notre-Dame
near a big radio tower. Then a long ways mostly downhill toward Agay, left
on D100 east, then the spectacular Corniche l'Esteral road N98 east
alongside the Mediterranean Sea to la Napoule. (some local mountain bike
riders told us to avoid this road in high-season with tourists drivers and
buses, but in late November this road seemed to us mostly wide and
easy-to-ride).
________________________________________

Nice Corsica pics. I've joined a Brit groups (www.wideopenroad.co.uk)
with 2 friends for a 2-week ride in June the length of Corsica plus
Sardinia and a bit of Italian coast north from Rome...

What kind of bike were you riding and how did you like it? (I've been
trying to encourage my wife to try a tandem with me, so far with no luck).

SteveJ
Berkeley

Ken Roberts wrote:
Sharon and I spent 8 days at the end of November on the island of Corsica
and in Cote d'Azur in southern France. It was the prettiest and funnest
riding we've done so far -- photos at
http://roberts-1.com/t/b04/fr/k
* sea - beaches - rocks
* animals - farms
* mountains - villages - deep gorges
* good road surfaces - non-steep climbs - polite drivers.
Garry Lee was right -- one of the world's great riding areas. We've been
very happy to use his recommendations on this newsgroup to guide our
vacation planning.

Because of the American Thanksgiving holiday, we only had to expend 3 days
of vacation allotment. Lots of hotels and places were closed in late
November. But we had a rental car, so we could use whatever was open (which
was straightforward to find and reserve in advance on the Web), and two of
our lodging nights were spent on the overnight ferries between Corsica and
Cote d'Azur. On two of our days we took a rest from riding and went hiking
or city-walking or inline-skating: convenient with the support of a car.

Instead of the usual multi-day point-to-point rides usually reported on this
newsgroup, we did single-day loop adventures, just like the local French
riders, just like we do at home. For routes we tried various "green" roads
on the Michelin map, stimulated by ideas from the Lonely Planet Cycling
France guidebook. It's great to ride a loop that combines inland mountains
and animals with seaside rocks and beaches -- and we found several of those.

It was the latest in the year we've ever ridden, but now we're eager to use
our Thanksgiving holiday again next year for some more bicycling close the
Mediterranean Sea.

ideas for routes and bases below.

Ken
_____________________________________________

Bases for riding

Lots of riders we know prefer to get comfortable staying in one place for 3
days or so.
* l'Ile Rousse: one area on Corsica that especially struck us for that is
l'Ile Rousse with the sea and the Balagne hill villages and farming
valleys. Of the cities we visited on Corsica, l'Ile Rousse was the easiest
to ride in and out of (unlike Ajaccio or Bastia). Some other possibilities:
* around St Florent for strong riders who could try both the hills toward
Murato and the Cap Corse 130km loop.
* Sagone : three possible loops, including 100km to Porto and Cargese. Not
far from Ajaccio for shopping and ferry.
* around Porto if want to combine riding with hiking (or diving). But not
many loop routes. (perhaps use taxis or ferries to make spectacular one-way
rides?)

In Cote d'Azur since we had a rental car we just chose a moderate-price
hotel convenient to an exit of the A8.

Loop routes combining mountain + sea:

Here's some of the loops we rode each in a single day. The local French
riders know better ones and have more up-to-date information. But the
English-language guides focus on one-way routes, so I'm giving these as a
source of possible ideas for "incorrect" riders like us:

* l'Ile Rousse - Belgodere - Cateni loop (53 km / 33 miles): Seaside views +
city, several hill-villages, big views out across a large agricultural
valley (with the sea beyond), lots of sounds and sights of farm animals, and
views of mountains. The D71 is amazing for its combination of gentleness and
big views. From l'Ile Rousse we rode N197 east : old N197 to Belgodere : D71
west to Cateri (except for worthwhile side road thru Speloncato) : D151
north to D513 back to start. (several variations to try next time)

* Coti-Chiavari loop (south of Ajaccio): Many views of beaches - Golfe
d'Ajaccio - Capo di Muro. A steep climb long climb, with farm areas with sea
view. Pleasant gentle riding up high, finish with a fun long descent. We
started near Agnarello (intersection of D55 + D255A). D55 south, then
continue along coast on D155 south to Acqua Doria. D55A northeast to
Coti-Chiavari. D55 north to Col de Gradello. D255 north. D255A west down to
coast back to start.

* Cap of the Cap loop: Strong riders could ride around the whole Cap Corse,
but we did the shortest loop we could find, about 60 km / 37 miles including
worthwhile sidetrips to the villages of Rogliano and Pino. Rather remote,
not many farms and houses.

* Esterel mountains + sea loop (in Cote d'Azur west of Cannes): special
combination of pretty mountains with little vehicle traffic, then
spectacular seaside riding. We were glad to do it on a Saturday off-season,
so we had less traffic on N98 -- and no tour buses. Minimum distance about
45 km, with one long climb with one or two steepish sections. Tricky
navigation thru the little roads in the remote mountains.

La Napoule is the obvious start point for this Esterel loop. We followed
roads on west side of town, then N7 west. Turned Left at sign for Route
Forestiere, "Les Trois Termes". Long climb to parking lot and dead end. We
turned left a little ways on dirt. (When we there this one little section
was closed to cars -- so although 99% of the route was paved and open to
cars, only bikes could go all the way across, instead of turning around
halfway). Then it was paved again, and eventually took us to Col Notre-Dame
near a big radio tower. Then a long ways mostly downhill toward Agay, left
on D100 east, then the spectacular Corniche l'Esteral road N98 east
alongside the Mediterranean Sea to la Napoule. (some local mountain bike
riders told us to avoid this road in high-season with tourists drivers and
buses, but in late November this road seemed to us mostly wide and
easy-to-ride).
________________________________________

Okay, ... you got me. Did you bring your pet monkey?

Sharon hiking in Gorges de Spelunca
http://www.roberts-1.com/t/b04/fr/k/ss/08.htm

--
*****************************
Chuck Anderson • Boulder, CO
http://www.CycleTourist.com
Integrity is obvious.
The lack of it is common.
*****************************

Count me as an American who likes joining with UK groups for doing things in
Europe. I've done several backcountry ski trips in the Alps with a UK club,
and I'm currently a member of the UK Cycle Touring Club and the Britannia
chapter of the Austrian Alpine club.

I'm thinking that the percentage and level of English-speaking in western
Europe is getting to the point where my next step might be to join rides or
ski tours with say a local French club -- even though I don't speak French
all that well.

What kind of bike were you riding

Sharon and I have a Bike Friday Project Q. It dis-assembles to fit into two
standard suitcases for which no airline has ever expressed the slightest
question, or ever mentioned charging us a bicycle fee. We've also figured
out how to fit our car rear rack into the suitcases, so we're all set to
carry our bike on whatever rental car we get. So we can ride from any
airport we want, any time we want. No bicycle-tour service has ever offered
a Thanksgiving-holiday tour in Corsica -- but we can make up our minds
finally in early November, and book our airline tickets and just do it.

It's easily paid for itself in the amount of money we've saved on wonderful
bicycling trips in Europe _not_ as part of an American-organized tour group.
The disadvantages are that I had to learn and practice assembling and
packing the bicycle, not something that I was good at before, and that the
tires on those smaller-size wheels do wear out faster -- so we check them
frequently for wear, and pack extra tires into the suitcase.

What made us choose the Project Q over other airline-travel-bike options is
it can be assembled as a tandem or as a _single_ bike. So after we've had a
fun week riding together, I can send the tandem-specific parts home with
Sharon in one of the suitcases, re-assemble the Q as a single and have a few
days riding the great mountain passes, like
http://roberts-1.com/t/b02/fm/galibier

I've been trying to encourage my wife to try a tandem
with me, so far with no luck.

Well, have you ever tried out riding on the back of a tandem, with someone
like you driving it? With someone like you in front, together you'd go
faster than you alone on a single bike?

So why not? (maybe some of her reasons are the same as yours?)

Sharon and I really like being together and talking. We first tried every
other way to ride together, but none really worked. Even then Sharon did not
want to get a tandem. Then I got a special bonus at work, so I took the
serious risk of spending my own money to purchase a tandem. After that, we
found we both had to give up things we liked about single-bicycling, and put
up with some difficult hours, in order to make it work. But soon we both
knew that the rewards were way more than worth it. For us.

Ken
___________________________________
Steve Juniper wrote
Nice Corsica pics. I've joined a Brit groups (www.wideopenroad.co.uk)
with 2 friends for a 2-week ride in June the length of Corsica plus
Sardinia and a bit of Italian coast north from Rome...

What kind of bike were you riding and how did you like it? (I've been
trying to encourage my wife to try a tandem with me, so far with no luck).

SteveJ
Berkeley

Chuck Anderson wrote
Okay, ... you got me. Did you bring your pet monkey?

No, we don't have any pets. Sharon must have met him along the hiking trail
somewhere.
http://roberts-1.com/t/b04/fr/k/ss/08.htm
Most of the animals we encountered on Corsica would run away, so I admit
it's surprising they'd be holding hands like that. I forgot to ask Sharon --
I was so focused on taking photos. Then the trail went into the shade under
the cliff, and I couldn't see where he went after that.

Ken