Day 4: Dreamy Descents

For the second evening in succession I watched the sun set on the mountains. This time I was at 1500m and the mountains even higher. 

The buffet was beautiful and I ate well. I was surrounded by hikers on the GR 20 trek (I think I was the only cyclist) but almost everyone - including me - was hobbling rather than walking. 

I finished dinner and headed back to my tent; by 8:30 I think I was fast asleep. The temperature fell overnight but my sleeping bag was up to the task.getting up to answer a call of nature in the middle of the night I was rewarded with an amazing night sky. I got my night sky phone app out and had a quick game of “spot the constellation”. I win. 

Breakfast was a straightforward affair, buffet style, so I opted for my usual. This time however I decadently added a yoghurt to the mix. 

My cycling kit was a less straightforward affair. If anything the overnight dew had made them wetter than they were before I hung them out to dry. It was going to be a cold 35km downhill to start the day. 

But a cracking one. Almost straight away I was back into the pine forest and the the road was billiard table smooth. Not only had they steam rolled it they’d taken an iron to give it a finishing touch. 

The road slalomed left then right seemingly for ever, and I pretty much had the whole road to myself. Not sure where everyone was but I did remember seeing a lorry coming towards me as I nipped out of the campsite. I can only assume it was a slow descent for some…

Eventually I dropped below the pine forest into an expanse of desert. Still the road kept going downward. 

Suddenly I approached a huge dam, after which I entered a deep gorge - the Canyon de la Ruda. The narrow road swept down bend after bend with only a 6 inch “wall” at the side of the road to prevent a poorly timed corner. I loved it. And still the road kept giving with its sweeping bends. 

At the bottom of the canyon. The road turned sharply over the river and began a 7km 5% climb which I despatched easily enough despite the intense heat. 

Going over the top, the road snaked down to the town of Corte, more slaloming as one bend sweeping straight into the next. It was a lot of fun. 

Corte was a crowded town and I didn’t really want to stop but a quick look at Garmin told me there was a 13km climb immediately after the town. I stopped at a patisserie and enjoyed a croque monsieur, pastry, coke and a coffee, 

Sure enough leaving Corte, the road started to climb. Gently at first but after a few km the hard work started. Billed as “5% average”, I quickly discovered the truth - 7-8% was more like it and the last 2km sharpened to 10%. 

By now the heat was blistering. The sun was high in the sky and what little tree cover there was offered zero chance of shade. I was getting hot, and stopping wouldn’t have helped with no shade on offer.I ploughed on, grateful that I’d eaten well in Corte and filled up another 3 litres of water. 

That 3 litres thought was fast running out. There were no villages on the climb, and when I did find a water fountain there appeared to be somewhat of a queue…. 

The road finally topped out and I started off down the other side. Once again the road was superb, and to boot I managed to find a water fountain and got filled up 

No sooner was I down the road headed up again with a steep 4km climb, again topping out at 11%. Did I mention it was hot?

I quickly descended from that one and set about the last (big) climb of the day - no, of the tour! This one was 10km mix-match of steep and shallow. The steep stuff stuck to 8-9% so apart from the heat element it was ok. What was less ok was the pain from my backside, still suffering from the ploughed tarmac yesterday. Deciding enough was enough I took a couple of neurogenic and quickly wished I’d have done that 24 hours ago. 

At the top, I could see the sea! Somewhere over there was my destination, but first, the second 30km descent of the day beckoned. And safe to say it did not disappoint. What a way to end the tour. 

With only 10km left to go I headed on to the T20 and headed home. That, was a big mistake. As traffic whizzed past, all the remoteness and beauty of the past 4 days were quickly forgotten. I eventually managed to find a quieter alternative and made my way back to the hotel. 

Corsica had been everything I’d expected and much, much more. With the exception of the T20, every road had offered epic views, and most were smooth and quiet. It had been a fantastic trip, I must return someday, and ride again the roads less travelled.