Corsica it is

Cycle-touring, Expeditions, Adventures, Major cycle routes NOT LeJoG (see other special board)
Therealsouthstander
Posts: 267
Joined: 5 Oct 2012, 9:22pm

Corsica it is

Post by Therealsouthstander »

After many months of thought we have decided on Corsica for our tour in June.

We fly into Bastia in the North in the 3rd week in June.We have 8 nights but will only be cycling for 7days.

We will be fully loaded with tents etc so it's going to be a challenge.

We also fly out of Bastia so we will most probably do a loop but we haven't ruled out getting the train back to Bastia.

We have heard the South of the island is the most beautuful but we may not have enough time to get to Bonifacio :-(

Looking for some suggestions for must see villages/routes/beaches/campsites restaurants etc

Not sure what the weather will be like in the mountains in June but in sure it will be better than here in Scotland.


Looks like we will have to get over to Applecross for some mountain training ;-)


Hopefully someone can give us some advice.
rualexander
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Re: Corsica it is

Post by rualexander »

The north is just as good as the south.
From Bastia go up around Cap Corse then maybe go along the North coast to Calvi, down to Porto, up the Gorges de Spelunca to the Col de Vergio, down the other side to the Scala de Santa Regina and then head back over to Bastia.
That should be feasible in seven days.
Therealsouthstander
Posts: 267
Joined: 5 Oct 2012, 9:22pm

Re: Corsica it is

Post by Therealsouthstander »

rualexander wrote:The north is just as good as the south.
From Bastia go up around Cap Corse then maybe go along the North coast to Calvi, down to Porto, up the Gorges de Spelunca to the Col de Vergio, down the other side to the Scala de Santa Regina and then head back over to Bastia.
That should be feasible in seven days.




Thanks for your reply.

Are there plenty of restaurants/cafés/campsite on this route ?
rualexander
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Re: Corsica it is

Post by rualexander »

Yes, shouldn't be any problems finding facilities.
eileithyia
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Location: Horwich Which is Lancs :-)

Re: Corsica it is

Post by eileithyia »

Agree with Cap Corse, Calvi, Porto, the Gorges, if at Porto you can perhaps do a couple of nights and ride down to see the Collenche(?Spelling), glorious red cliffs... The South eastern side of the island is the flatter part
I stand and rejoice everytime I see a woman ride by on a wheel the picture of free, untrammeled womanhood. HG Wells
jrclimber
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Joined: 12 Jun 2011, 12:23pm

Re: Corsica it is

Post by jrclimber »

Great choice! We had a leisurely (ie several rest days) 15d tour to Corsica (North and West)in Sept 2012 flying in to Bastia and out of Nice (ferry from Bastia). From Bastia airport make sure you take the minor roads (away from town initially) along the lagoon rather than head into town on the dual carriageway.
From Bastia we went round Cap Corse to St Florent (2 days), across Desert d'Agriates to Ile Rousse (stop at Peraiola - beautiful beach ?campsite - if you stick to the corniche road you can get back on the N197 by pushing along a path for 100m at the W end), then Calvi and down the W coast to Galeria. Then follow the tour de France route in reverse up and over col de Palmerella - steady but not steep - with beautiful views over Golfe de Girolata. Still on tour route the next bit to Piana via Porto through the Calanches was our favourite bit. We then headed S to Ajaccio and got bus (in 2012 train stopped taking bikes but buses will put them in the boot, think train was planning new rolling stock with bike spaces, not sure if got it yet) to Ponte Leccia (could go all way back to Bastia) and cycled through the castagniccia (chestnut forests) back to Bastia.
Have a great tour!
Therealsouthstander
Posts: 267
Joined: 5 Oct 2012, 9:22pm

Re: Corsica it is

Post by Therealsouthstander »

We arrive on a Saturday night in Bastia so looking for a campsite with easy access to the Town so we can enjoy a good meal and a bottle of wine,we will also use this campsite at the end of our tour.Can anyone recommend a good campsite ?


Many thanks
boris
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Joined: 5 Nov 2010, 1:58pm

Re: Corsica it is

Post by boris »

Image

I cannot imagine anyone saying the north is not amazingly picturesque, unless something terrible happened in the last 40years.
AndrewS
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Joined: 25 Jul 2008, 1:14pm
Location: Batley

Re: Corsica it is

Post by AndrewS »

As mentioned previously, the N193 to Bastia from the airport is a fast and busy dual carriageway. A better alternative is to head south from the airport for a short distance and pick up the D107 that heads east then north between the lagoon and the sea.

On the D107 20 mins from the airport (opposite an EDF storage facility) is camping L'esperanza - http://www.camping-esperanza.fr/. This a friendly shaded site with a simple restaurant and ideally placed for the airport both ways. When we were there last year they were operating a taxi service to the airport for cyclists.

10 miles up the D107 is camping San Damiano - http://www.campingsandamiano.com. This is next to the beach and has an on site supermarket and restaurant although it is more expensive than L'esperanza.

From the end of the D107 it is possible to avoid the final stretch of the N193 into town by stringing together a route that starts behind the Commercial Centre on the opposite side of the roundabout (although it's a bit convoluted and is best researched before you go). Otherwise you can follow the N193 on a reasonable hard shoulder for a few minutes. Look out for a cemetery over to the left and leave the N193 at this point picking up a back road that leads into town. The N193 drops down to the right here enters a section prohibited to cyclists.

Have a great time.
Therealsouthstander
Posts: 267
Joined: 5 Oct 2012, 9:22pm

Re: Corsica it is

Post by Therealsouthstander »

Can anyone please advise on temperatures to expect towards the end of June. Looks like we will be up around 5000ft at one point and I'd imagine it could get a little too cold for shorts and t shirts and may be cold at night in the tent ?

We are trying to work out what clothes to take.

Also looking for advice on campsites, we plan to start in Bastia then head up around Cap Corse then down to Calvi and Porto.After Porto we want to travel past Piana and Sagone before heading to Corte via Calacuccia. Not sure what road would be best from Corte to Bastia as they look rather busy. ?

Any advise on roads and campsites in this area would be most welcome.

We are planning on cycling around 50 miles each Day as it looks like there will be lots of climbing.

Thanks
AndrewS
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Joined: 25 Jul 2008, 1:14pm
Location: Batley

Re: Corsica it is

Post by AndrewS »

We did Corte to Bastia as follows:

D18 north through Castirla, across the D84 at Ponte Castirla and onward on the D18 to Popolasca before dropping to the N193 just before Ponte Leccia.

2 climbs from what I remember and very quiet roads particularly after Ponte Castirla.

D71 From Ponte Leccia to Morosaglia, over the Col de Prato then via a network of tiny, scenic roads through La Porta, Piana and Vescovato to the N198. We then picked our way NE to get onto the road up to Bastia that skirts the beach and lagoon. (See my note on camping L'esperanza above).

There's a long climb up to the Col de Prato and thereafter there a number of shortish counterclimbs but we were enjoying ourselves so much we hardly noticed.

We had time in hand so did this over a couple of days - stopping overnight in Ponte Leccia (no camping, but 2 reasonably priced hotels). I don't recall seeing any campsites on the next bit until we reached the coast.
Gearoidmuar
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Joined: 29 Sep 2007, 7:35pm
Location: Cork, Ireland. Corcaigh, Éire má tá Gaeilge agat.

Re: Corsica it is

Post by Gearoidmuar »

I've been there three times. I love it. It was VERY hot one year, I think it was in June. Hitting 35c every day.
It's all lovely except for the east Coast which is fairly flat. I cycled around Cap Corse and was underwhelmed.
Porto Piana Col de Vergio Corte Sartene etc.
See them.

The Hotel Les Roches Rouges in Piana, that has to have the greatest view of any hotel in this universe.
Therealsouthstander
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Joined: 5 Oct 2012, 9:22pm

Re: Corsica it is

Post by Therealsouthstander »

Thanks for your replies.

Is it worth missing out Cap Corse and heading further South instead? Maybe as far as Ajaccio or even further South before heading back towards Bastia.

We only have 7 Days cycling so don't want to be "Underwhelmed"
rualexander
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Re: Corsica it is

Post by rualexander »

Cap Corse is excellent and very scenic.
First fifty photos on my flickr set here are Bastia and Cap Corse https://www.flickr.com/photos/rualexand ... 050267199/

AndrewS wrote:We had time in hand so did this over a couple of days - stopping overnight in Ponte Leccia (no camping, but 2 reasonably priced hotels). I don't recall seeing any campsites on the next bit until we reached the coast.


There was a campsite at Ponte Leccia, Camping Domaine de Griggione, its ten years since we were there but its still listed on various websites so I presume its still there. Nice spot.
Therealsouthstander
Posts: 267
Joined: 5 Oct 2012, 9:22pm

Re: Corsica it is

Post by Therealsouthstander »

We definetly don't want to miss the Calanches de Piana or the Gorges du Spelunca so will probably do a side trip and spend 2 nights somewhere so we can do this,is Poro a good place to do this or can you recommend anywhere else nearby ? Would also like to spend 1 night in Evisa !!
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