09-07-2015     Calenzana → Calenzana   116 km       for route click here

Breakfast at 6:30 a.m., which isn't even that early compared to the hikers. Of all the possible routes we considered yesterday evening each starts with the road back to Cateri, right after the Col de Salvi. The climb is not that hard and it goes rather smoothly. It definitely feels less warm than yesterday (or how fast can one get accustomed to temperatures above 30 °C?). In Cateri we turn right, which brings us onto the D71, a very well-paved road (for some while), with the mountains of the Balagne to our right, and and to our left nice views down, to several villages, a storage lake, and further away the bay east of l'Île Rousse.

Back/up to the Col de Salvi

Nice view from the D71 (Avapessa?)

Later on the road surface deteriorates considerably. One of the alternative routes can be crossed off when we pass below Speloncato, from which village the climb to the Bocca di la Battaglia seems quite steep (600 m up in 6 km?), and to cover a big stride before the 'real' heat starts (and to find a village with a bar and a pâtisserie) we stay in the saddle till Belgodère. After 40 km we have our first break there, we find nice pastry, and during a one hour break hear the clock strike 12 (at which time the only (very small) grocery store pulls the shutters down!). We decide to 'risk' the long alternative, including the already mentioned Bocca from the south. We fill our water bottles and we buy a cucumber in the specialties shop. The 750 m up from Belgodère is gained in stages, via several boccas of increasing altitude. Immediately after Belgodère we ride along a cemetery, with many 'houses' for the dead (instead of simply stones) typically placed on a hillside right along the road (we've seen it before and we will see it again often).

	Belgodère		Delicious pastry
	Graveyard of Belgodère		Long climb, phase one

On the N2197 we have nice views up to the road to bocca 'number two' ("di u Prunu"). After bocca 'no 4' we descend a little to Olmi-Cappella, where there's no bar along the road, as we had expected. Some 3 km further on we find a nice place on a shady terrace to sit and have a drink, and there's wifi too. As a consequence of the last circumstance we learn that Oxana has severely sprained her ankle (Oxana is Enya's younger sister/my younger daughter and is on holiday for three weeks in the United States; two days before it was already reported that her i-phone got stolen in New York; talkin' about a nice start!). After the break it takes some more climbing than I had thought (and told Enya), but indeed it's not that warm, it's getting cloudy too, and it's not too steep (it's not that easy either). 1099 m is our highest point so far.

	Right through the cemetery		Road nicely cut against the mountain side
	Two views back   . . . .		. . . .   from a little higher
	Highest point so far		Enya takes the lead in the descent

For the steep descent, which starts in a cloud; we both put on our helmets (or didn't I?).   It is definitely a serious descent, but it is not as steep as I had expected, owing to the fact that Speloncato is already 100 to 200 m higher than the D71 we followed in the morning (well, Climbbybike shows that from the north the last 5 km are 9.2% on average). Only for the last 100 m to Speloncato the road tilts really steeply.

	Nice descent!		Great views!
	Getting closer and closer   . . . .		. . . .   to Speloncato
	View back/up to Speloncato

From this village the descent continues at a slower pace (and over a wobbly road) until we get onto the D71 again, close to Feliceto. And then for quite a long while we keep looking forward to the moment we'll get onto the good part of the road (that we remember from the morning). It's still quite a ride, with the Col de Salvi as a teaser. We make a sidestep to the village Muro (we need extra force on the pedals for that) which seems large enough for at least a bar, but alas, pas de commerces, so we finish off our last eatables, the cucumber from Belgodère and a last muesli bar. And we refill our water bottles. And I make a photograph of the remarkable church. (We enjoy all the good views, but we miss most of the cultural sights as recommended in our tourist guide of Corsica.) We take it slowly on the Col de Salvi, and it goes quite okay, but after this we haven't got much energy left.

	Third time around on Col de Salvi		And down again
	Woww!		Beautiful Balagne!

The stage will be 10 km longer than any stage Enya ever accomplished!   Around 18:45 we're back at the gîte, where in the fridge too delicious Magnums are waiting to be enjoyed. The menu is identical to yesterday's, as is dinner time, sort of. We have a chat with a Canadian couple that visits Corsica for the umpteenth time. In our 'new' room 8 there's also room for our bikes, another advantage of the shift. Well past eleven (but it's still warm) we put our tired bodies to rest.