Halfway home...

After a longish day in the car we are now waiting for a Gourmet meal reservation in Dijon. This is a totally impromptu affair as as it happens due the existance of a Michelin starred restaurant next to the hotel. We are really looking forward to it...that is if we are let in. I only have a pair of linen trousers, a Howies T-Shirt and a pair of lime green Crocs to wear. I look like a total disaster...just make out that I am meant to be there and they'll be none the wiser.

We had a great random journey today. After a fantastic night's stay in a great little hotel in Grignan (more on that in a later post) and a little light souvenier shopping we took the slow road to Dijon. We had a brief look at the map and saw a national park that we had never heard of...Vercurs (or something like that). The road through the park was fantastic...an amazing climb to the top of a col at 1500m and then a road through an impossibly small gorge. We ended up coming through a sub-alpine landscape to Grenoble. It will definitely be worth a return trip sometime in the future.

In a later post I will provide some more info on the hotel in Grignan (Le Claire de la Plume)...I will also post on the trip to Mont Ventoux. Again, a serendipitous affair, but quite awe inspiring. I was not expecting to see the Tom Simpson memorial on this trip...but what an amazing place!

Tomorrow to Calais...via the hypermarket for Booze (Simon), Food (Simon and Sarah) and Stationary (Sarah)... Back home on Saturday...

Cycling over...

Once again, a lot to catch up on and not much time to do so...

The cycling part of the journey is now officially over and we are lording it up in the Best Western in Bastia. This morning we took the train over the central mountains from Ajaccio to Bastia via Corte. It was very strange to retrace the route up the valley to the Col de Vizzavona on the train having cycled it a couple of days before. Today the weather has been stunning and the view from the tiny train was stunning. We arrived in Bastia around noon and headed into town to pick up a few bits and pieces. I have tried to hold out on any souvenier buying until the riding is out of the way...bar the pottery that I had to have in the paniers for the monster climb to Vizzavona!

We will have a final Corsican meal in the port later before heading back to Nice on the ferry in the morning. The trip through France will be significantly more leisurely than the trip down with a stop in Grignan, Dijon and Calais.

Back in Blighty for the weekend...

Arrived in Corte...

It's been a while since the last post due to access issues...but we have finally arrived in Corte. I have been making entries by hqnd in my journal and will update the posts when I get a little more time.

In the meantime it is good to have arrived in Corte. Last night was spent in a ski lodge at one of Corsica's few ski resorts...if you can call it that. The three or four drag lifts were probably here in the 1930s when Grandad toured the island. The lodge had been built in the 1960s and the owner (now in his 80s I'd guess) sat in the bar chatting to the local forrestry workers and drinking eau de vie.

Yesterday was a very tough day climbing to the highest motorable pass on the island from sea level. The climb was a total of 36km and the col was at 1477m. We were both pretty much beat by the time we reached the summit and decided to call it a day rather than make the 34km descent to Calacuccia. In retrospect, it was exactly the right decision...

We had a very restful afternoon in the bar of the ski lodge and a great dinner in the restaurant. It was the Chef's choice and was a purely Corsican affair...Corsican noodle soup...Brocciu and mint ravioli in a wild boar sauce...and a pear dessert. We also had the benefit of fantastic sunshine for the descent this morning through the forest...even if it was a little chilly. After Calacuccia we went down through the Scala de Santa Maria gorge. The view reminded me of India last year. At the bottom of the gorge we had a final 7.5km climb to the pass into Corte. It was incredibly hot and humid but thankfully fairly short.

We are now installed in the HR Hotel (more of a hostel really) but nice and clean. We are going to take the day off tomorrow so I may have a chance to make some updates...

and I thought yesterday was tough!

Well...we were a bit shell shocked by yesterday's ride and thought we should have an easy day of it today. Just a short ride across the Desert des Agriates to Ile Rousse...only 47k...

It was about 20k into the ride when things started to go pear shaped. Around 5k from the Col at the top of the climb the wind picked up. By the time we got to within a couple of km of the Col the headwind was so strong we had to walk the bikes to avoid being blown down the precipitous drop. At the top we stayed for the best part of a minute before deciding to descend...hoping that the further down we got the lesser the wind. By the time we reached the coast...after a truly frightening descent...the wind was so strong that we had to push again.

In the last 10k we managed to cycle most of the route, but to give you some idea of how strong the headwind was we had to cycle downhill in fourth gear to make 10 km/h. We are now installed in a campsite in Ile Rousse and are trying to find out the forecast. Today the wind averaged 45 km/h gusting 75. I so hope we wake to a better day...

Galeria tomorrow...weather permitting...

More than we could chew?

I am writing this messsage from a public access terminal in a camp site in Saint-Florent. After a relatively painless day yesterday we thought that the short trip down the west side of the Cap Corse would be relatively painless. It looked like about 50k to Saint-Florent but that was where the trouble started. Without an accurate topographic map we miscalculated both the distance and elevation. In the end it turned out to be a bit of an epic...78k and around 1500m of climbing. The road was absolutely stunning...crossing the mountains first and then following the coast through fantastic villages perched high on the mountain sides.

Apart from two small incidents...a sugar low on my side and shoe troubless in the last few kilometres for Sarah the journey went well. On to Ile Rousse or there abouts tomorrow...will write up more when it's easier...