Just got back from a tour bike tour of Corsica and thought I'd share some photos and details. I had to split the write up across two threads as I discovered the 20 photo limit per post only after I finished. I used Bikeshuttle to have the bike shipped from their base near Northampton to a hotel near Geneva while my wife and I flew out using Easyjet from Luton airport. The bike and our kit was loaded onto the truck on Tuesday morning and we flew out in the early evening. The bike was unloaded and waiting for us after our breakfast the following morning. I'd booked a ferry from Nice to Bastia and allowed a couple of days to ride down through the alps stopping overnight in Briancon. I had a great route planned; over the Col du Telegrahe, Col du Galibier and the Col du Lautaret on the Wednesday and then over Col de Vars, Col de Restsfond and the Col de la Bonette on the Thursday. Unfortunately my wife was ill, throwing up every half hour or so, and although we stopped a fair bit they weren't photo opportunities. The only pass we did stop at was the Col du Galibier. We had great weather on the Wednesday but we hit some some really heavy thunderstorms on Thursday afternoon as we came down into Nice. I'd booked a hotel near the port for the Thursday night so we could spend the day in Nice, leaving the bike and kit at the hotel. After a long day taking in the sights and hiding from the sun in cafes and bars, we caught the overnight ferry to Corsica late on Friday evening. I'd planned a 9 day tour around Corsica via Bastia, Calvia, Ajacio, Bonefacio, Corte and back to Bastia for return crossing to Nice. The early morning ride around to the top of Cap Corse was pleasant as it was warm and the roads were empty. We had a leisurely breakfast in a cafe near the marina in Macinaggio. A loop of minor road took us to the very north of the island for a view of the ile de la Giraglia. The west coast from Cap Corse down to Saint-Florent is a lot more rugged than the east coast. The road hugs the cliff with long drops and spectacular views. Very little traffic and a good road surface made for great ride, shame I couldn't enjoy the views as the next corner always needed my full attention. We hit more traffic when we joined the main road to Calvi (N1197 / N197). It was starting to get hot so we pushed on to Calvi. Arrived about 13:00. Lovely hotel, Hostellerie l'Abbaye, which I'd booked for two nights. Had a full day to relax in Cavli, a nice tourist town with loads of restaurants beside the marina, a beach and a old citadel. Having experienced the heat in the afternoon sun, we decided an early start on Monday morning would be a good idea. So we hit the road for Ajaccio at just gone 08:00, the D81B then D81 all the way down the west coast. Again great roads and views. We didn't stop for many photo opportunities as we wanted to get to the hotel by lunchtime. Ajaccio is the largest city on Corsica, so I expected some traffic but didn't expect total grid lock because the police had road blocks around the assembly building, only a couple of hundred metres for our hotel. We were cooked by the time I negotiated my way through to the hotel. After a much needed cold shower, we had lunch in a nearby cafe and watched the French Prime Minister, Manuel Valls, and his entourage leave the prefecture. I'd booked the hotel for two nights, so we had another day taking in the sights, eating and drinking. I did have short run out on the bike to get some engine oil on the Tuesday afternoon. I couldn't find the only Ducati dealers on the island even though I must have ridden passed it twice. A nice man in a nearby Aprilia dealers sold me a litre of 15W50 full synthetic oil. An early start to Bonifacio on the southern tip of Corsica, using the small coast roads, D555 / D55 / D155 / D157 to Propriano. Some sections of this route were very bumpy. Even on good D roads you'll be lucky to do half the speed limit (90 kph) making progress very slow, especially two up and fully loaded. We stopped for a hour or so at the prehistoric site of Filitosa and took the opportunity to strip out of our kit. Once we joined the N196 at Propriano via Sartene the going was much faster. I think I even got into 5th gear a few times. For the next half of the story, see part two
