After a 'Mimosas' holiday in Agay, at the foot of the Esterel mountains, in March 2008, followed by another in Tuchan in the Corbi\u00e8res 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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
This trip was designed and organised by Bernard GIRAUDEAU, CC member n\u00b0 3872<\/p>\n
Let's get back to cycling and the object of our desire, the mountain pass.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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 shark-toothed brambles. Don't forget to cover up your skin, but don't bring your best or newest clothes! Yes, the pass here is secret, discreet, sparing and wild, just like the country itself, and you can't just casually pedal over it. You have to know it, look for it and earn it often. A detailed description will help you reach these secret passes.<\/p>\n
See the list of passes further down this page.<\/p>\n
Corsica is surrounded by water. To get there, you have to take a sea transport, in other words a boat.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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<\/a>.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Chalets for 5, 6 or 7 people are available on request.<\/p>\n 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). 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.<\/p>\n In the event of early departure or delayed arrival, please specify the full-board dates on the registration form. Please contact the organiser, Bernard Giraudeau, at the following address <\/span><\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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. The starting point for some of our tours has changed, as our accommodation has changed. It is now 3 km further north. (Click on the tour name for details)<\/p>\nAccommodation :<\/h4>\n
What you need to know:<\/h4>\n
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Catering :<\/h4>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Full board costs \u20ac30 per person per day, i.e. \u20ac210 for the seven days.<\/p>\nMiscellaneous information<\/h3>\n
Tours<\/h2>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\nRoad routes<\/h3>\n