The Bicycle Adventure Club - Come Ride With Us!

Corsica - The Isle of Beauty

May 11th to May 24th

Ride Director: Rosa Katz
Ride Co-Director: Arleen Sakamoto
Report by: Kathy Tate

What an immense pleasure it was to do this ride! As the ride description states – this is a stunning island, full of dramatic vistas of the mountains and the Mediterranean Sea. The blues of the water were multi-shaded and often appeared turquoise. The mountain range had snow across it – causing many of us to “gulp” when we saw the snow – thinking what did we get ourselves in for!

The ride starts in Bastia on the northeast side of the island- we traversed across the island to the west coast the first day of riding and continued along the west coast for a few days, allowing us to view some beautiful sunsets, gorgeous cliffs, bays and dramatic geologic formations (There is a World Heritage Site at Scandola Nature Reserve near Porto) and red colors in the rock that we were told are granite. After riding down the coast to Ajaccio, the largest city on the island, we traversed the island east, across the middle “spine” and over to the east side, before heading back across the island over the mountains, to end at its southernmost tip, Bonifacio, creating a large “S” over the island. Each island “crossing” has a Col to mount! A quaint experience while riding, was to round the corner and find goats, sometimes cows and pigs in the middle of the road!!

Historically, Corsica experienced many invasions over the centuries – everyone wanted to control Corsica beginning from the time of the ancient Greeks who arrived on the island in 560 BC  – at one point it was part of Italy (with possession bouncing between Pisa and Genoa). In the mid-1700s, Corsica became part of France, coincidentally occurring with the birth of Napoleon Bonaparte, who was born in Ajaccio. Thus the mascot of Corsica’s is the head and neck of a Moor, with a bandana – think pirate (as an aside there is mythology to suggest a more sordid reason for the mascot, a beheading)..  You will find many castles and watch towers throughout the island to explore – today they provide great look-outs or a dramatic entrance to the town or are inhabited by people. Today they  provide great places to eat and drink!

Ecologically, there are many types of environments to experience during the ride. It so happens that 2/3 of the island is protected! As one cycles, there is a pleasant scent from an aromatic shrub that covers the island called Maquis. A desert is located on the northwest side of the island, cork trees on the south, pines and chestnut trees in the mountains, along with a lovely mist, however, we never reached the snow, thankfully!

Archeologically, there are museums to visit and sites that are open to “investigation” along the cycle path (and even a collection of menhirs!), most often, requiring only a small detour to visit. Given the variety and number of invasions and early inhabitants (500 BC) there are many aspects of Corsica to explore. Island food is most known for the “jamon’ of chestnut eating pigs, multiple veal dishes, hearty stews and fresh fish.

I hope you can experience the beauty of this island and enjoy it as much as we did!!