Falling in Love (with an Island)

Day 20 - August 18

My mood improved after a good night's sleep, plus I sensed that - at least what the weather is concerned - this will be a better day. The view was quite spectacular that morning. "Oh my", I was thinking, "I will have to ride all the way there, till the edge of the horizon, and then even further - and then back on the other side...".

I continued on the small mountain road and rode through some romantic mountain villages, saying good morning to the goats. I rode by the "B&B to the Fishing Cat", with a wonderful view of the coast, wanted to have a breakfast, but all they had to offer as an "outsider" was a coffee. Here I studied the Michelin map of the island I had purchased the day before. Yes, this island is not so small after all.

My mood was definitely improving - it was sunny and the scenery got nicer with every passing mile.

I reached the village of Vignale and latest by that time, I knew I was at the right place, that I was to like this island.

The scenery was eye-catching - throughout the trip one of my major issues was that I could hardly proceed, there were so many things to wonder at and to take a snapshot of...and all the nice beaches...I really had to make a conscious decision - do I want to get into the water? That means storing my bike, putting my valuables to a safe place, changing, getting wet - then finally swimming - and then all of this in reverse direction...meaning the "opportunity cost" of a dip was an hour of riding...

Yes, now I understood the flood of tourists coming to Corsica, why they call it the "island of beauty"...

I pretty much finished what was referred to as Cap Corse and reached Saint Florent. To the west was the desert of Agriates, the only "official" desert in the whole of Europe. There was no road leading through it, just a big pass to mount around it, which offered a wonderful view of the interior of the island. The road fell back to the sea - and after some consideration - I decided to continue on yet another mountain road, called Road of the Artists. It lead me through some romantic mountainside villages, with amazing views of both the sea and the mountains. Overhead, there were eagles soaring in the sky, looking out for prey. Cactus was blossoming. So, here comes a series of pictures, longer than usual, but then again, they tell more than I could in words. I really have to be selective, I have so many more snapshots, I believe these are the nicest ones.

I was very happy with the road I had chosen - it was a real adventure riding through these villages. I got to one of these, called Ville-di-Paraso, it was not too late - and there was a tempting restaurant catering to locals. I ordered a pizza, while it wasn't the best pizza ever, it had an interesting taste, with pieces of bacon and a local cheese.

After dinner, I was about to ride on, getting ready for an evening push of about 15-20 kilometers, went to my bike and it felt very heavy. No, not because I had overeaten, it was my front tire that was completely flat. For a lot of cyclists, this isn't an issue, it is just that I am not very good at changing tubes, guess I am a bit clumsy. I can do it, but it takes close to an hour for me. One more thing: I had purchased a tire that was 99.9% puncture-free, in this 0.1% case, apparently a thorn or so got to the tube. Not even the priest passing through the village was able to help me.

I spent an hour, was in somewhat of a hurry, as it was getting dark, and did not find any issues with the tube. Maybe some kid let the air out? I doubted that, but hoped for the best, so I pumped the wheel, however, was pretty sure it was a puncture - a little hole that I missed.

The restaurant informed me there was no accommodation in the area, I left the place and found a small road sneaking up a hill. That had a little dirt road forking off, leading to a sort of a terrace, where I found even ground. I was quite disgusted to see the remains of a fox, fur and dry skin, right there - it seemed to have died violently. Hopefully no wild animals around...hmm...I wasn't sure. To have some protection, I picked up a few pieces of stone, to place these in the tent, in the darkness, one piece was a jawbone (yuck!) probably of the dead fox. After setting up my tent, I checked the tire and yes, it was completely flat again - OK, something for the next day. I did not sleep very well, there definitely were some animals in the area, but none approached my tent.

Here is the map for the day, about 90 km, over 1,800 meters of climbing and 1,600 of descending. Was quite tired!