Île de Beauté" spring break in Porticcio (south Corsica) from 17 to 24 April 2010
Presentation
After a 'Mimosas' holiday in Agay, at the foot of the Esterel mountains, in March 2008, followed by another in Tuchan in the Corbières massif in March 2009, the Club des Cent Cols is offering you a 'Beauty Island' holiday in Porticcio on the south shore of the Gulf of Ajaccio in spring 2010.
Contrary to popular belief, Corsica is not an island, but a raft that floats along happily. A few million years ago, Agay and Porto were neighbouring communes, separated from each other by a few small erupting volcanoes, and Tuchan was not far from Oristano in Sardinia. After a journey in an arc, accompanied by its acolyte, Sardinia, it is now to the east of Italy and much closer to Rome than Nice. But in the meantime, on the geography maps hanging in our grandparents' classrooms, Corsica was apparently located off the coast of Nantes, in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Sometimes, on more modern maps, it's off the coast of Toulon. And from time to time, it is completely absent from the map of France, probably wandering near the coast of Africa.
This trip was designed and organised by Bernard GIRAUDEAU, CC member n° 3872
Collars
Let's get back to cycling and the object of our desire, the mountain pass.
In our playground, bounded to the north by the central range of Corsica, culminating at more than 2000 m, and to the east by one of its secondary ridges descending due south, more than 100 road passes are within wheel's reach on small bucolic roads where every turn offers a new landscape. Around ten road routes will be on offer. Three or four will start in our accommodation. Four are north of Ajaccio, with different starting points 13, 28, 38 and 48 km away. Two are to the south of Ajaccio, with delayed departure points 27 and 70 km away.
Mountain bikers may be at a disadvantage for once. Beautiful, smooth dirt tracks are unheard of in Corsica. Small paths undulating nonchalantly between grassy pastures are nowhere to be found. There's no such thing as a string of passes over 2000m. This is the realm of granite, hard and jutting, not only alongside but also on the path. Grass has given way to sarsaparilla, which tears even the toughest skin, gorse with spines as long as syringes and brambles with shark-like teeth. Yes, the pass here is secret, discreet, sparing and wild, just like the country itself, and you can't just pick it up and pedal on. You have to know it, look for it and earn it often. A detailed description will help you reach these secret passes.
See the list of passes further down this page.
Maritime transport, accommodation and catering
The crossing
Corsica is surrounded by water. To get there, you have to take a sea transport, in other words a boat.
You can choose between an individual ticket, which will give you great prices if you book early and comply with certain conditions, or a group ticket, which will guarantee prices regardless of when you book.
Possibilities for the outward journey within the dates of the stay:
- An SNCM ferry, the Napoléon Bonaparte, will cast off on Saturday 17/04/2010 at 19:00 from the Marseille "Gare Maritime" and arrive in Ajaccio on Sunday 18/04 at 07:00.
- A Corsica Ferries boat will leave the port of Toulon on Saturday 17/04/2010 at 22:30 to arrive in Ajaccio on Sunday 18/04/2010 also at 07:00.
Return options within the holiday dates :
- The Napoléon Bonaparte will leave the dock in Ajaccio on Saturday 24/04/2010 at 19:00 to arrive in Marseille on 25/04/2010 at 07:00.
- A Corsica Ferries boat will leave Ajaccio on Saturday 24/04/2010 at 15:15 to arrive in Toulon on 24/04/2010 at 21:30.
- A Corsica Ferries boat will leave Ajaccio on Saturday 24/04/2010 at 22:00 and arrive in Toulon on 25/04/2010 at 07:00.
Tickets :
- You can buy an individual ticket now by contacting Corsica Ferries (contact details below). Corsica Ferries will offer you an attractive fare, but it will not be possible to refund or change the fare in the event of your cancellation.
- You can join a group ticket negotiated with Corsica Ferries for a departure from Toulon. The maximum price per person is €148. It includes return passage, passage for a vehicle less than 5 m long and a cabin for 2 people who are members of the Club des Cent Cols. This is a maximum price, as it may vary downwards. Please note that the return journey will only be on the 22:00 boat on 24/04/2010 from Ajaccio and not on the 15:15 boat.
- We have also negotiated a group ticket with SNCM from Marseille. The maximum price per person is €196.50 and includes the same services as for Corsica Ferries. The price may be reduced depending on the promotional offers available when the ticket office opens, which will benefit the group.
For further information:
- The SNCM ticket office will not be open before 12/12/2009 for individuals. It will not be possible to purchase individual tickets before this date.
- The distance from Marseille to Toulon, further east, is 60 km by motorway.
- It is possible to take the meal on Saturday evening 17/04 (approx. €22) on board or to take it out of the bag. Breakfast on 18/04 and the evening meal on 24/04 are included in the full board price at the campsite.
- We will need to know the length and height of your vehicle. Bikes mounted on the roof or on a trailer will incur additional charges.
- Contact details
- SNCM (www.sncm.fr) - Tel: 3260
- Corsica ferries (www.corsicaferries.com). Tel: 0820 095 095
Accommodation and catering
We'll be staying in chalets at the U Prunelli campsite. It is located near the junction of the Bonifacio road (N193) and the Porticcio road (D55) at the end of the Gulf of Ajaccio. The campsite has a restaurant and bar. See www.camping-prunelli.com.
Accommodation :
We offer 2 or 4 berth chalets with 1 or 2 bedrooms, a living area with table and chairs, sometimes a sofa, a shower room and a covered terrace with its own kitchen area. The bedrooms have either a 140cm bed or a 140cm bed and 2 90cm beds.
Chalets for 5, 6 or 7 people are available on request.
What you need to know:
- The campsite provides a set of sheets, towels and bath towels at a cost of €8 per week.
- A deposit of €100 is normally required. However, as the Club des Cent Cols and its members enjoy an exemplary reputation, this is not required.
- However, the campsite will charge €30 per chalet for cleaning at the end of the stay, unless the chalet is returned in a satisfactory state.
- Accommodation costs €140 per person per week.
Catering :
We will be on a full-board basis, with the same conditions as on previous trips: breakfast, packed lunch and evening meal (3 courses + drink + coffee).
Breakfast on Sunday 18/04, the day of arrival in Ajaccio, and the evening meal on 24/04 in the form of a packed lunch, the day of departure from Ajaccio, are included in the price of the stay.
You can also eat in the chalets, which have kitchen areas, but no cook! The kitchen area, which is fairly basic and located outdoors under the covered terrace, is equipped with a gas stove, saucepans, frying pans, cutlery, etc. Barbecues are available close to the chalets. Please specify your choice on the registration form.
In the event of early departure or delayed arrival, please specify the full-board dates on the registration form.
Full board costs €30 per person per day, i.e. €210 for the seven days.
Miscellaneous information
Veuillez contacter l’organisateur, Bernard Giraudeau, à l’adresse [email]porticcio@centcols.org[/email]
Tours
Every day, from Sunday 18 April to Saturday 24 April, there will be road and mountain bike routes on offer. There are 9 road circuits, numbered R1 to R9, and 10 mountain bike circuits, numbered V1 to V10. The dates and accompanying details for each route are given below.
The passes shown are those for the basic routes; the optional passes and those for the variants are shown on the route sheet for each route.
Some passes appear on several circuits and are therefore repeated. However, if a pass is crossed more than once in a given circuit, it will only appear the first time. The passes are shown in the order in which they are crossed on each route.
The starting point for some of our tours has changed, as our accommodation has changed. It is now 3 km further north.
There may be other changes, more or less, depending on the accessibility of some of the mule passes or the inclusion of some new passes in the Chauvot.
Road routes
(Click on the tour name for details)
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Mountain bike routes
(Click on the tour name for details)
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Geolocation files
Visit this page you will find GPX, KML and Carto Exploreur files of the routes for use with geolocation software and GPS receivers.
The day-by-day programme
On this PDF fileHere you'll find the planned programme for each day, as well as details of accompaniment, departures, difficulty and suggested pace for each route.
Photo albums
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