10th October Corsica GT20
What a great night we had on the ferry. We woke up at sea in our cabin so happy that we didn't have to queue to board at ridiculous o'clock . The ferry crossing was reasonably calm amd having a cabin made it all the more enjoyable. We got off the ferry in Bastia Corsica to blue skies and our Swiss friend Gabby Damian were there to meet us with a glass of champagne 🍾
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So nice but we were definitely both a bit tipsy riding off. We chatted for a while but they had to board the ferry to head vack to Switzerland so we bade then farewell and a safe ferry crossing. We then headed off on our Corsica adventure. The coastline was beautiful so we jumped in to the ocean the first chance we got.
We could feel the stress of the past week or so melt away and the relaxed vibe of the island and the ocean wash over us. 😌 The wind started to pick up and things got a bit hairy as we battled to stay on our bikes The white caps were bluey white and thexwatwr was veing whisked into the air by tge wind. We went to one campsite only to find it was closed so we decided to head up and over the peninsula into the wind. Boy was it windy.
We were thankful for our full laden bikes weighing us down. At a couple of points we considered dismounting but eventually we began to descend to more sheltered coves. In the off season it appears a lot of the camping grounds are closed. We tried our luck with 2 but both were closed. It was getting last at the 2nd one so we found a hole in the fence and rode in. It was windy as hell so we were glad to have found a clean sheltered spot to camp. 65km
10th October . 95km
Wow what a day. We woke to clear skies but it was still windy. We were a little concerned we wouldn't get far as it was a pretty strong head wind. However the road zigzagged along the coast and over Cols sheltering us from the wind. The scenery was stunning.. Bright blue water, cosy little towns, and big rocky outcrops. The colour of the water was so beautiful it was hard to keep riding and stop looking at it. The GT20 route we were following went inland but we decided we'd like to stay the night by the coast. We found an old disused road and set up camp at tge end of it. Turns out it was the place dog walkers walk their dogs, surfers cut through to get to the waves and it was in earshot of a busy main road. However the sunset was stunning and it was awesome to go to sleep with the sound of the waves crashing on the rocks below.
11th October 97km
Two friends had recommended the town of Calvi to us and there was a warm showers host there so it went on the itinerary. We initially thought we'd ride the coast to Calvi but the road was a bit busy so we backtracked to the GT20 route and had a lovely ride up and over a pass. We bumped into an Italian cycled we had net the day before and chatted to him about Sardinia. It sounds beautiful 😍. We arrived in Calvi around 1pm did a stock up shop before our warm showers host met us. He was super friendly and welcoming 🙏 we walked the dog on the beach, had a swim, had a shower, did our washing, had a walk around the town then shared a lovely dinner with him talking about adventures and triathlons. What a great evening
12th October 88km
Wow wow wow ! The scenery today didn't disappoint and the weather really turned it on. More spectacular views, blue blue water and great roads with hardly any traffic. How spoilt are we. What a great day with 2 swims, coffee and cake 🎂 and dinner on the beach as the sunset. Happy place again. Stayed in a campground which was nothing to write home about but we planned to leave our luggage and tent behind in the morning to explore Piana.
13th Oct
A other stunning piece of coast from Porto to Piana. Wow wow. We also rode and ran/walked out to Cape Rosso. Great views. We got back to the campground had a shower packed up and headed inland. Whoop whoop time to climb. What a stunning road up to Col de bergio. Goats, pigs, cows were all hanging out on the road. The rock formations were beautiful. We met another cyclist and chatted to her for a while as we climbed. The beauty of Corsica is the road to the cols are all very gradual climbs with nothing over 6 percent. We descended off the col to a campsite at Castel De Bergio. As with many others it was closed for the season. Luckily for us there was a French couple also on bikes. They phoned the hotel owner and got permission to camp. So so lucky for us. We had a lovely night chatting with them.
14th October 54km
Woke up to a sunny day and headed to the town of Lossi. Once again the scenery was stunning and the traffic light. From Lossi we left our luggage at the campground then headed 7km up a gravel road to start the climb up the highest mountain on the island. Monte Cinti. What a climb it wasn't for the feint hearted but still very achievable. We were so grateful to have such a beautiful day. The views from the top were stunning. We met a very fit Swiss lady on the way down who just happened to be next to us in the campground . We chatted as they had been to nz and her friend lived in Mt peel. At dinner they came over and offered us a cold delicious beer from Switzerland. So so good. The campground was perfect with a very friendly and helpful host . It was very nice sitting outside cooking watching the full moon rose
15th October 56km
Woke up to rain so decided on a short day to Corte to restock and reset. Found a great Cafe for coffee and pastries then set about shopping for supplies and setting up camp. The contrasts for us from being in the Mountains to a full on town/ city is quite affronting. People, cars, shops busy busy. It's nice to see these places but also good to leave quickly. We then biked up and back to the Valley of Restonica. wow what a spot 👏 it was cloudy misty but the sun was trying to peek through. There was an aura of calm and peacefulness to the valley. The clear blue water towering rocks 🪨 and trees made for a picturesque ride to the end of the road. We met some lovely locals at the end of the road who explained the bridge had been washed out a year ago and the road would never be repaired. We then scooted down back to the town to look around the old city. Then back to the campground for dinner and wine.
17 Oct corte to Zicavo 96km
Left Corte after a great sleep with Col de Verde in our minds for a place to aim for. Thunderstorms and heavy rain were forecast so we were a bit apprehensive about how bad the weather would be. We made good time and got lucky with the weather as it didn't get us until Col de Verde. At that point we decided sleeping on the col in a thunderstorm wouldn't be much fun so we bombed down to the town of Zicavo and checked into a hotel. What a great ride. The autumn colours were fantastic and the road was very remote with very little traffic. What a great day of riding. We met 4 French riders who were 10 days into a 10 month trip through europe to asia. They were so young and excited and a little concerned that our mountain bike tyres would be too slow on the roads. We just smiled 😃 😊 and mentioned that our bikes probably weighed half of theirs. We wished them well its so cool seeing young people heading off on big adventures
18th Oct Zicavo to Bonifacio 110kms
Woke up to grey skies but the heavy rain had passed in the night. What a great sleep 😴 so good to have a warm dry bedfor the night and a hot shower. The road today was more a petting zoo than a road with pigs, cows, horses; goats all munching away on the chestnuts 🌰 that had fallen on the road over night. Stopped in to a local Cafe for some more Corsican cakes 🎂 and coffee then shopped in Zonta. We are starting to head into more touristy towns now which is probably a sign that we are getting closer to the coast. The roads to Bonifacio were pretty isolated until about 10kms out when we came onto a busy road. Holy ...... we were a little traumatised there for a while with cars passing far too closely at speed. We decided to head to the campground closest to town then spent the afternoon walking around the old village and eating cheese and crackers. A bit of an anticlimax today as the busy road soured our experience a little. However what a ride. If you are looking for an on road well marked cycle tour then this GT20 certainly packs a punch wow Corsica you truly are stunning 😍
Musings
Don't trust Corsican drivers to keep to their side of the road
Pigs pigs and more pigs
What a delicious mix of stunning coast and rugged mountains.
The GT20 was so well marked and a pleasure to ride. Not offroadbut certainly a great cycle touring route
19th October Sardinia hello
We woke up to rain so decided to head over to Sardinia in search of the sun. We walked along the cliffs a bit before boarding the ferry to Santa Teresa Sardinia. On arrival we stocked up at the spar supermarket before checking in to a bnb and then heading out to explore the capes and cliffs around the town. You can feel the italian influence instantly on arrival in the buildings the shops and the people. Sometimes when everything is wet and damp, the only solution is to check in to a nice place and feel safe warm and secure. We are lucky that we can afford to do this as it makes a big difference to our attitude and sense of humour. I guess being older has its perks. Given we were by the ocean we treated ourselves to the most delicious seafood meal in a restaurant 😋. Wow what an experience what a treat.
20th October
It rained heavily overnight so we were extremely thankful to have had a roof over our heads. We had a leisurely breakfast then set off to Pillau to get a ferry to Madeleine where we booked two nights accommodation. Sardinia is like wow! Cobbled lanes, marinas full of beautiful boats, plazas with people eating and chatting, rocky outcrops, crystal clear water, friendly people. What a perfect place for the last month of our trip. We are tired and exhausted from always being on the move so this last month will be spent enjoying the landscapes of Sardinia and Spain and being kind to our bodies and minds. Spent the afternoon riding around the beautiful beaches ⛱️ of P.... Had a swim at the most beautiful beach. It's a shame the sun isn't out but it's not raining and we are grateful for that. We both love love love the vibe of this place so are happy to be spending 2 nights here.
21 October Slept in then rolled down to breakfast. Oh what a luxury. Coffee fruit muesli yoghurt pastries eggs ! The works so good. We then grabbed our bikes and headed off to circumnavigate the island. What a day. We finally got the sun and blue sky we were hoping for. We went from beautiful beach to beautiful beach swimming and soaking up the sun. Two happy girls.
22nd October Woke up to breakfast being delivered at the door. What a treat. Then got packed and headed down to the ferry ⛴️ to head back to the mainland and to a warm showers host who runs a agri tourism farm. We are keen to learn more about Sardinia and what makes the place tick and hopefully get some intel on the best places to visit. Half way through our ride the yeafens opened and we were forced to shelter for an hour while the heavy rain passed through. The warm showers was in the middle of nowhere but it was very cool to experience an old Sardinian style building and a remote way of life. The family couldn't have been more hospitable and generous. We ate dinner with 4 cats 4 dogs and 8 people . What a lovely evening sharing stories and talking about Sardinia. As we always say those with the least are the most generous with what they have.
23rd Oct 120km
Woke up expecting rain but were instead treated to pretty fine weather. We zigzagged our way inland the out to the coast then inland again. We decided to stay coastal for a few more days as the beaches are so beautiful. We saw flamingos, a beautiful town Posada with a castle on a hill and stopped off at several beautiful beaches. It's such a shame that there is so much shit and rubbish on the side of the road its a bit disgusting 😒 The human race sure has alot to answer for. But it's the same all over the world. People are too lazy to deal with their own rubbish and expect others to clean up after them.
24th October 69km
Continued down the coast and although the traffic lessened the rubbish did not. We headed out to the coast to Cala Gonone checked in to the campground then left our gear and cycled to Cala Fireli where we left our bikes and ran walked in to Cala luna it was an overcast day and we didn't get the bright colours we were after but it was still stunning and we swam twice in the crystal clear water. There were people everywhere which is always difficult to handle but man we hate to think what it would be like in the high season 😕. We got back to the campground just before dark and had a nice dinner and a peaceful night's sleep.
25th October 68km
It rained in the night so we were forced to start the day with wet clothes. We were thankful it was warm and that we started with a climb. We climbed up the back of Cala Gonone and were treated to some great views. We also met a lovely British couple who travel 6 months every year and go climbing it was sonice to chat to like-minded people. We then headed inland and were treated to spectacular views of Monte . The town of ... was covered in murals and narrow alleyways. We then got back to what we love doing. The not the TranSardinia route took us off-piste, on gravel roads, through stream beds, and along rocky walking tracks. We found a quiet campspot on a walking track and settled in for a noisy windy but in the middle of nowhere sleep. Happy girls. It rained on and off during the night and we were worried about foxes stealing our bags but other than that it was a lovely peaceful night
26th October 130km
More fun and laughter today with the trai running out or turning into a river. Lots more animals to chat to and shepherd dogs to wave to. We passed through stunning villages and amazing rocky mountains ⛰️. We are really starting to embrace Sardinia. We passed through Villanova Strisaili and the town where the blue zone movie was filmed. It is the town where most people live to over 100. Unfortunately we missed the shop so gad no food so deciced to stay on sealed roads to get through to the next town. We ended up in Ballao a nice little town and stopped at the pizza shop for an early dinner. We had planned to eat and move on but on hearing the weather forecast we decided to ask if there was a hotel in town. The pizza guy rang the local bnb and next minute we were being shepherded through the town to the bnb. What a lovely experience. We ate dinner at the pizzeria and had a local beer. We were so happy to be indoors when the thunderstorms came through during the night wowzer it would have been a disaster had we carried on and camped. Sometimes we are sensible but sometimes it's just luck.
27th October Billoa to Pula via Caligra 110km
A day of contrasts from small mountain villages to the capital city then the warm humid coast line. Saw Flamingos, a snake ready to pounce, and spoonbills. Rode on quiet back roads and double laned highways which had the adrenaline pumping. Ogled at the stunning architecture of the capital city. Wow. We found a lovely coastal campsite near Pula for the night. More rain forecast but fingers crossed its not too heavy. Something strange has happened to the time. Yesterday it got dark at 7pm today it got dark at 6pm wtf ! Enjoy gnocci Gorgonzola and Merta drink for dinner. Happy girls
28th October 110km
No rain overnight yippee. But... 6am it was light when yesterday it wasn't light until 7am !!!! Got up at 6.30 and were ready to leave at 8.30am. Windy as hell today but lucky it was in our favour. Great coastline then inland to grapes and spider artichokes then back on the coast to Saint Antioco and more Flamingoes. Did a stock up in Saint Antioco before heading across the island to cala lunga reportedly the best beach on the island. We followed google maps and had an awesome route of back roads, some sealed and some not so sealed. So much fun to be offroad again. Cala lunga beach was a disappointment 😞 but it was obvious that the recent rain had played havoc with the area with massive deep puddles and roads washed out everywhere. We arrived in calasetta only to find the campground was closed. We went in and knocked on doors but couldn't find anyone so cooked dinner and waited until dark then set up the tent. Dogs barked a d donkeys bayed all night and it was a very average and sleep not a good set up for a long riding day but at keastvit was a safe place 👌
29th Oct 105km
Happy to report that the wind had died down overnight and the rain had cleared from the forecast. We were up at 5.30am as Debbie was a bit nervous about staying in the campground and we wanted to catch the first ferry out of town so we could make progress up the main island towards Porto Torres. We headed to a Cafe for coffee and croissants then caught the first ferry to Cala forte. We hung out in Cala forte for an hour and dried the tent then boarded a ferry from calaforte to portovesme . Wow what a ride from here up the west coast beautiful beaches coves and towns. Abit of everything. We were amazed at the parking capacity at the main beaches and happy to note that they were now completely empty and we were the only ones there with afrw other campervans from France or Germany. We swam took photos and for the first time in Sardinia were completely blown away by the scenery 😳. We had a tailwind through to the town of Terralba where we found a beautiful bnb for the night. We were both abit scratchy after such a bad sleep the night before and appreciated a nice warm shower and an escape from the mosquitoes.
We'd 30 October 105km.
Up at 7 and off to rejoin the coast
and a more adventurous route. Saw flamingos, hung out for a bit in Oristano a beautiful town with lots of history. Then headed out to the coast to zigzag and explore. We got a bit more than we bargained for with closed gates, single tracks that we couldn't ride through because of the shrubs, where we got annihilated by mosquitoes. It certainly brought back memories of Sweden. The coastal trail was nice but wild and the mosquitoes were not pleasant we managed a swim and some photos but didn't dare stop for longer. We had one puncture and had to put a plug in. The three campgrounds we had thought about staying at were all closed so we decided to hightail it 25km to the next town Cuglieri to stay in a bnb with an Englishman.
31st October 95km
Looked around the town then set off for algehro. What a delightful ride beautiful towns with murals stunning coastline and beaches. Great swimming spots griffins circling above. What a spectacular spot. Today is Halloween and the locals are all out buying flowers to remember those who have passed away. We are a bit sombre today thinking of those who have list their lives in the floods in Valencia and feeling very thankful that we were not there as we could easily have been.
We swam lots today and enjoyed the rolling hills of the coast the quiet roads and the towns. Alghero was stunning with its narrow streets old war relics and flash marina and restaurants. We stocked up on food for the next few days and headed out of town in search of a campground. Arrived at the campground and were stoked to find it open. We went to register and they wanted to charge 42 euro to camp. We found a room on booking.com for 44 euro so left the campground and went in search of the garden hotel. Google maps took us on a tiki tour 6km up a hill in the wrong direction 😳 We eventually worked it out then Arrived at the hotel to a very complex self check in. Anyway we finally got it sorted and got a lovely room with all the trimmings. So happy but quite a mission.
1 November 60km
Got up at 7 am keen to get on the road and do some sightseeing. Headed out to Cape to the Neptune grotto. Beautiful quiet roads saw a deer and a snake. The grotto was our first real tourism activity here. Boy was it spectacular so incredible. 70 million years old and beautifully presented. We then zigzagged our way to the town of Stintino where we were going to base ourselves for the next couple of days before we catch the ferry to Barcelona. Sardinia really has turned it on the last three days. Arrived in Stintino and headed out to view a couple of famous beaches. We found our first taste of crowds. We later discovered it was a public holiday. Luckily we found a local store open to buy dinner as the larger supermarkets were all closed.
2nd November
Boat tour then mad dash to Porto Torres
3rd November
Ferry to barcelona
