Today would have been very difficult, if not impossible, without all the training that we’ve put in since January. The route from Ajaccio to where we finished (Propriana) took us over a really tough mountain pass thar, at 3,400ft, was just a shade less than the climb of L’Alpe d’Huez. It was hot (30) and sticky with full sun and very little breeze. The climb took the best part of two hours and varied from around 6% to 13%. (The beer was really needed at the...

Cycled from Piana to the capital, Ajaccio via just one mountain pass (1,300ft). A rather hot and sticky day. Ajaccio is the birthplace of Corsica’s most famous enfant, Napoleon Bonaparte. It’s interesting that we thought that all the major climbs would be on the interior of the island. The reality is that the mountains rise out of the seas and that many of the more serious climbs are encountered by following the coastline.

Cycled SW from I’lîle-Rousse and passed Algajola and Calvi on the A road before turning inland and heading for the hills. The first climb of the day took us up and over a pass in the Filosorma range. It was a hot climb of around 50 mins with a nice decent on the south side. Thereafter, we followed the ups and downs of the quiet D81 road which afforded great views down over the Golfs of Girolata and Porto. We ended up at a high level coastal village called Pi...

A decent meal in St-Florent last night. For me Mussels/Dorade/Chestnut Crème Brûlée and a crisp Vermentino. Jackie had a prawny pasta. Headed west this morning and crossed the Desert Des Agriates - less of a desert (no sand) more of an up and over a region of craggy moorland. The climb took a little over an hour and the decent a lot less. There were good views from the top, looking back over Cap Corse. At the bottom we followed a major road (T30) into the por...

During the night a big electrical storm whipped up. By morning the thunder and lightning had moved on but gale force winds were back. We’re hoping that the wind will abate by the time we need set off. Checking four different weather websites, I found four different weather forecasts for today. The wind didn’t let up all day: it just got stronger. This was by far the most sustained windy day that we’d ever spent on a bike. First we cycled up and over the h...