15-07-2015     Haut-Asco → Sisco,   116 km       for route click here

High altitude, low sun, WONDERFUL morning

The orange duo

Breakfast at seven; earlier isn't possible; which surprises us, seeing so many randonneurs à pied. (Cyclists that ride up usually turn around, people of the hotel told us; not many people have as much luggage to carry up as we had, supposedly − well, true, we 'cheated'.)   Breakfast is well organized and plentiful: fresh juice, yoghurt + cereals, and the normal stuff (baguette/confiture and café/thé). The morning is bright, the environment is wonderful, with mountains all around us. This is by far our highest place to stay overnight, and with a mere 15° it is certainly fresh. So we put on our tracksuits, which transforms us into two Dutch riders wearing orange, and our helmets (for the last time or so). It's an exhilarating descent with many stops to make pictures of the grandiose surroundings (and of each other).   What's good too: at this early hour there is hardly any traffic.

	Exhilarating descent		. . . . . . .
	. . . . . . .		. . . . . . .
	. . . . . . .		. . . . . . .
	. . . . . . .		. . . . . . .
	Exhilarating descent		. . . . . . .
	. . . . . . .		. . . . . . .
	. . . . . . .		. . . . . . .
	. . . . . . .		. . . . . . .

Contrary to my prognosis my speed record isn't broken. However, what a way to start a day! In Asco we unzip our tracksuits to continue in t-shirts and in t-shirts the fun continues for quite a while. In this lower part the contrast with the bustle of yesterday is even more striking. Even during the last almost even part we keep on a good speed − it certainly isn't completely flat. Well, all good things end (like the bad ones), in this case it happens 33 km from our départ, at the junction where we left the N197 yesterday. Today (hurray hurray) we can leave it again after a mere 500 m, onto the 'interesting' D105, a small ever winding road uphill out of the valley of the Golo, eventually leading 700 m up to an altitude of 885 m. At the start we have a short 'undress stop' under a fig tree. We try a fig, but it is full of maggots (later we learn that July is too early for picking figs). We ride through an open area, with increasingly deep views down to the Golo (and the N-road along it) and into the valley of the Asco with the high mountains around. It is hard work, with 'un-Corsican' steep sections. But aren't the views back to the serpentine below us magnificent! Again the tour operator hasn't the right tour scheme in his head (owing to the transition to the other (east) side of the map). When I think we reach Lento, from which it's still only 5 km till the highest point as it happens it is only Ponte Nuevo, 618 m high. No bar (let alone pâtisserie) there, so we have to content ourselves with water, a muesli bar and a melon. I still haven't realized my mistake and don't understand that after a few km the road starts to go down. We pass one or two villages until we finally reach Lento, from where we wonder whether the road we see high up is really where we are going. Indeed, the last bits of the climb to the Col de Bigorno are much harder than foreseen. With the short pause in Ponte Nuevo it took us about three hours!

	(uneatable) figs		Up again, and out in the open
	Sunny day		as always
	The Golo deep down		The way high up
	Serpentine road below us		Grandiose environment
	Impressive   . . . .		. . . .   views down
	Up and up		and up and up
			One of the few living souls up there
	Up and up		and up and up
	Deep views down		Almost there

Well, after all, it is quite a climb, isn't it?

	Up THERE		Time to relax
	. . . .		Time to eat, time to anoint

Around 2 p.m. we have a sandwich (which takes me ages to stow away) in Murato, one of the villages in which we hoped to find accommodation for the day after tomorrow. And of course it is very WARM again. The guy from the bar calls two chambres d'hôtes, both way above our budget (€ 120,- for a room). We have hardly to go up to reach the Col de San Stefano, with a first view to the sea east of the island, and in Oletta are again not very successful to score a room (only a telephone number, which we won't use). It's tough to get going out of this warm village when the road is going up again severely, without much shade, till the last col of today. It's 'only' 300 m up, but with the heat and the long distance already behind us, the first three km (in which most of the elevation gain takes place) are hard. Halfway the slope becomes more gentle, and actually the green mountainside is rather nice. The Col de Teghime is the summit of south-most west-to-east connection of Cap de Corse, the narrow northern part of Corsica. From the pass you can see the Meditarranean to both sides! A minute after us a group of three cyclists (in their fifties, I would guess), in minuscule swim wear (it almost hurts to our eyes), very tanned, reach the top; Hungarians they are. I make a photo (with their camera!). The descent to Bastia is okay for just five km, but from when we reach the outskirts it's not much fun: no views, unevenness in the road, many junctions, many cars, and it seems never to end. Using my feeling (and the position of the sun) I try to steer to the coast as much north as possible, and this time that works. When finally we get unto a boulevard leading to the harbour (with a huge ferry or likely vessel) clearly visible we stop at the first bar we lay our eyes upon, being "l'Étudiant".

	A bit of Corsican culture		. . .
	The west coast		Last col of the day
	. . . .		. . . .
	. . . .		. . . .
	The lagoon north of Bastia		The sea in the east
	Entering Bastia		Chez "l'Édiant"

Time to cool down! The guy from the bar knows "Le Relais de Sisco", and confirms that it lies along the road to Sisco only 1.5 km from the coast. Actually he tells us he lives almost next door to it. After the refreshments (also a large bottle of eau petillant) we descend to the big "Meridional" and turn left through two rows of palms. The rest of the stage is TERRIBLE. We leave Bastia during rush hour: workers returning home to the north, tourists (?) going south, on a not too wide two-lane road. For 15 km it's even worse than the road between Hyères and Toulon It's terre-mer almost all the time, but we only have attention for the traffic and the road. Moreover, the coastline here is by far not as spectacular as what we've seen in the west; only advantage for two tired bikers: the road is almost flat. At Marina de Sisco we are much relieved to leave the shitty D80. The road to Sisco is slightly uphill, but that's okay. We wonder where all the water in the gutter is coming from. After one km a car rides up to us from behind and slows speed: the boy from l'Édiant cheers to us that we're on the right track. Twice again he turns and confirms that we're almost there: we have to turn left at a white sign.

	Up for the last part		Through the palms
	Disappearing Enya		Le panneau jaune et le panneau blanc

Actually, there are two signs, and the side-road climbs steeply for a few hundred meters, left again, steeper still(!), and finally (we equal our longest stage!) we are there. We think. But no, this is only a table d'hôte the man that receives us tells us, the gîte is still 5 km to go. Oh no, not again! No, indeed, it's just a very well timed blague, the gîte is just around the corner. We are heartily welcomed there, and are shown into a very nice room, with it's own services. We have just time for a very welcome shower before we walk to the neighbor table d'hôte for a meal at least as good as chez Félix. We greatly enjoy the food and the friendly atmosphere on a well populated, ivy topped terrace. It's quite dark when we have to find our way back to our beds for two nights.

Quite

a good

meal