October 31, 2023
La Maddalena to Isola Rossa
A good day for windsurfers
We again enjoyed the great breakfast on the terrace of the Excelsior Hotel. What a treat to be here in warm and dry weather. It was clear right away that the issue of the day was going to be the wind - we could hear it from inside our hotel room.
We caught the 8:30 ferry from La Maddalena and started our ride by 9 am in Palau. It was an easy escape from town, but we were riding on a relatively busy highway and straight into the stiff wind. Nice temp, at least. Maybe 22C?
After about 10 km, the computer had us hang a left onto a steep gravel road that looked dodgy. But Komoot promised that it was fine, so we pushed our bikes up a short hill, enjoyed the view down to the sea and over to Corsica, and then rode about 800 m on gravel before it turned into a nicely paved rural road that was absolutely delightful. That road took us as far as the new-ish community of Rena Majore where we sat outdoors at a nice coffee shop for our morning break.
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Then it was back on the highway for a bit. We stopped to watch windsurfers enjoying the wild winds. Good thing someone was liking it!
Before long, Sue’s routing suggested another off-road excursion that was described as single-track. But that was an error. It was a nice gravel path through a pine forest, and it took us along the beach. We stopped for a seaside lunch of leftover pizza, hunkering down beside some rocks that blocked the wind a bit.
After lunch, we had another good routing suggestion by Komoot. It took us off the highway once again.
Once we were back on the highway, the wind seemed to have abated a bit, and there was less traffic than earlier in the day. We had a cold soft-drink break at a roadside bar. We were the only clientele, disturbing the owner who was watching a soap.
At that point, we thought we were in great shape to make our 4:30 rendezvous to check into our accommodation. But Sue soon reported a sudden flat. Figuring it was something pokey in the tube, we removed it and checked the tire carefully. I don’t change flats too often, but I knew the drill. I still managed to puncture the first tube putting it in. Argh. A second tube went in fine, but we can’t repair the one I damaged because my tube of rubber cement is seized up. We’ll have to find a new repair kit en route. And funny thing is, now we can’t find anything wrong with the first tube- so maybe it was a valve issue, and we could’ve just pumped it up instead of replacing it. Lesson learned - try the easiest fix first. The rental bike has funky presto valves where the end screws right off. They’re new to me.
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6 months ago
After the flat tire drama, we had only about 12 km left to go. Of course, there was a big uphill in our way. It was not steep, but it was a few km long.
Now we were in a rush to arrive on time. I went ahead, and Sue was a few minutes behind on the huge descent to the seaside town of Isola Rossa. What have we done? We have to climb out of here in the morning. Yikes. Isola Rossa seems like a 20th century community built for tourism, not an ancient village. The commercial centre is a strip along the waterfront.
Beer and chips in the room were our immediate reward for a big day of climbing. Almost 900 m according to Strava. That’s more than predicted by Komoot. We had a delicious dinner of grilled octopus and a nice green salad. Followed by an early bedtime.
We are the last guests of the season at our accommodation. They’ll close the entire resort tomorrow. Unlike what we saw in Spain last fall, there is no sign that Halloween is a thing here. But November 1 is a national holiday in Italy, so who knows if we’ll find shops open. Fingers crossed.
Today's ride: 64 km (40 miles)
Total: 193 km (120 miles)
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6 months ago