September 18

September 18:  Corte - Lucciana

Our last day on the bikes sees us heading back to the north-eastern coast to complete our circuit and, just as with every other day in Corsica, it is packed with surprises.

Having picked our way through Corte’s bustling centre, it isn’t long before we join the network of minor, virtually traffic-free roads that lead us deep into the “Castagniccia“, the island’s sparsely populated chestnut forest, a region rarely visited by tourists and one which seems to have been untouched by modern life.

The road rises, gently at first, through a series of tiny villages until we reach Bustanico, after which the road switches back and forth dramatically and ramps up sharply towards the first summit of the day.

What follows is a rollercoasting ride through some of the island’s wildest territory. Eventually we reach the summit of the Col de Pratu, our last significant ascent and a perfect spot to have lunch before making our way back down out of the mountains, via a series of beautiful rural roads, and back to where we started in the outskirts of Bastia.

Happy Birthday to me!  The day was busy enough that it's now two days later before I have a chance to write anything.  

A nice bright blue day to start with once again.  Corte is certainly a bustling town, not to mention an extremely hilly one.  We had a few tight corners and challenging descents getting out of town.  We went right by the university, but I didn't have a chance to even take my eyes off the road to take a look.  I did notice an abundance of young people on the sidewalks, though.  And - soon enough we were out of town and had a chance to look back on the lovely setting.  

I didn't find the scenery nearly as stunning today, so not so many pictures.  This one is of the town of Bustanico (I think).  It's not in the picture, but there is a road that follows the curve of the mountain and goes nicely(flatly) out to the right.  Just for interest I took a picture of the zigzag road going up straight ahead.  Surely this would not be our route; wrong!  Up we went.  I may have done a bit of multi-sport vacation (got off the bike and walked a bit) near the top.  

A quick stop for a picture at the top, and then down the other side.  

No more really long climbs for the rest of the day, but a bunch of shorter ones and some of them were plenty challenging.  Quite a few villages nestled amongst the hills.

Some clouds are starting to build.

And some stone wall building going on.

Not sure exactly why, but we had lunch a little later than originally planned; at about 65 km.  Just past this structure.  

From there, there was just a bit more uphill and then all downhill to the finish.  This picture was taken shortly after we were back on the bikes.  Hmm.............

It seemed like we might get lucky.  Got in a few more views, and our first view out to the lowlands and the sea.  By then the light rain had started.

The rain picked up, and the camera went away.  Then it started to pour.  Everyone had stopped at a coffee shop about 10 km from the end.  And it poured.  And poured.  There was some talk that the van coming to get us, but at some point the decision was made to ride.  We went as one big group - Massimo in the lead and Andrew at the back.  Couldn't see a thing the whole way.  Thunder cracking over our heads the whole way.  Can't remember the last time I was that wet!  But - kind of fun, and safely to the hotel.  We all checked in and one of the ladies at reception was trailing after us mopping up the tile floor as we moved about the place.

Into my room, controlled the puddle creation, and had a hot shower.  Ah............  And mopped up the puddles I had created upon arrival.  Soooo wet!  It will take a few days for my shoes to dry out!  Next up - I previously hadn't been successful in loading the Sardinia .gpx files onto my Garmin and I wanted to get that done before we bid farewell to the guides.  With some effort, I found a way to get it done, but it probably took me about an hour to figure out.  Anyway - all to say........ it was just about time for dinner by the time I had all mychores done.  David drove us all to a restaurant close to the airport.  Had a "Corsican burger" - the inside of my body should be well greased for the next portion of the trip!  Tasty, though.        

Stats for the day:

Garmin:  95.75 km.  1655 m up.  2060 m down.  

RWGPS:  96.8 km.  1892 m up.  2314 m down.

Lucciana:  "Lucciana is a commune in the Haute-Corse department of Corsica, located about 17 km south of Bastia."  It is roughly 5 km from the airport.  Population is about 7,000.