Northern Corsica - September 2016

Once again the club seniors set the pace for new adventures, this time on the beautiful island of Corsica.

Just a two hour flight from Gatwick, Corsica is a little gem, with rugged mountains forming the spine of the island and a varied coastline adding further interest. Cycling has been excellent, with well graded slopes and, for the most part, good surfaces. Using hired top-end 'Look' carbon bikes, we've all enjoyed rolling up and over the many bumps along our way. Corsica doesn't 'do' flat!

Food has been great, fresh fish at every turn and excellent chèvre keeping us healthy, although the local Pietra beer is a little too strong at 6% abv. Our salvation has been the pression Pietra Blonde and some good local wines. But don't expect rapid service anywhere. Corsica has it's own (slow) pace, so our President has had to have a course in patience, delivered by the master of chill, Jan.

So, what of the route?

North from our start point in Bastia quickly led us on to the flat roads on the eastern side of Cap Corse, a very pleasant warm-up with coastal views dotted with Genoese watchtowers and hazy views to Elba, before tackling a 350m ascent to cross to the more rugged west coast. A lunch stop in the small port of Centuri meant a steep descent and a long grind back up on to the main road, with temperatures in excess of 30 degrees, and we had our first test of the trip with the long bumpy haul south to St Florent under clear blue skies and increasing humidity. But a great ride, with some long sweeping descents and fine views. St Florent was a great little spot to overnight in, a bustling little harbour and busy market square. Our first day's effort: 110km and 1,441m of ascent.

A 'flyby' of this stage, courtesy of relive.cc, is available from this link.

Setting off from Bastia

West coast of Cap Corse

Looking back along the west coast of Cap Corse

Nonza

St Florent

Suitably refreshed, day two took us southwards from St Florent to the larger town of Calvi. We were soon into some bigger climbs, the first taking us up into an area called the Desert Des Agriates giving us expansive views and a taste of Corsica's wild interior, covered in scrub called maquis. Minor roads with great tarmac took us up the long climb to Novella, a village which probably hasn't changed since the middle ages, and on to the Bocca a Croce at 513m. Plenty of up and down today and our lunch near Belgodère was very restorative after reaching the high point of our day, the Col de San Colombano at 692m. From here we enjoyed a high traversing route towards Muro and then an exhilarating descent to Calvi, made even more exciting by fast moving traffic trying to kill us all on the final stretch into Calvi. Stats for the day: 106.5km and 1,314m of climbing.
Calvi, with it's Citadel and harbour full of powerboats, yachts and super yachts, kept Heyddie fully engaged, and we all enjoyed the contemporary style of our hotel for the night, the Revellata.

Climb out of St Florent

Col de San Colombano

Calvi

Onwards. Day three's route took us further south along Corsica's west coast, with extensive views, although we had some 10-15km of bad road surfaces across the Capo Mondola area, a trial for our carbon frames and our posteriors. After a quick coffee break in Le Fango, we were straight on to our main climb of the day, a nice but somewhat busy road which led us up gradients of around 5% to the Col de Palmarella at 408m before a fast descent to the Col de la Croix at 269m, both with great coastal views and east to the mountainous interior, the tops now threatened by a big cloud build up which took the temperature down a touch but also producing some challenging gusts of wind on our continuing descent. Lunch in Curzo, then down towards Porto before a final sting in the tail, a 2-3km climb which brought us on to a fabulously exposed section of road which traverses the steep cliffs above Porto.
Arriving in Porto, the sun started to shine again, revealing an interesting little port, with bags of character, a great spot for a rest day! A shorter day today, 'just' 80.5km and 967m of ascent.

A 'flyby' of this stage, courtesy of relive.cc, is available from this link

Approach to Col de Palmarella

Col de Palmarella

View back on our route from the col

Approach to Porto

Final descent into Porto

Porto

Our penultimate ride was a meaty one, leaving Porto and straight on to the climb, a mere 35km uphill at an average gradient in excess of 5%. Very rapidly we were into the dramatic environs of the Gorges de Spelunca, a well surfaced road taking us steadily through it with some fantastic drops to our left. 

Up through the Spelunca Gorge

With some 800m of ascent under our belts, we passed through the pretty hill town of Evisa, spurning any suggestion of a coffee break with the immortal words ‘let’s just get it done’! The next long section of the climb took us up through the tall conifers of the Forêt d’Aitone, which snuffed out the views but gave us much needed protection from the sun, although the temperature was now noticeably cooler due to altitude. Emerging from the forest we reached the Col de Vergio at 1477m, and here took time for an injection of Orangina and salty crisps.

Evisa

Heyddie, KOM at the Col de Vergio, 1477m

View of our route down to the east of the Col de Vergio

On the way up we had to negotiate around groups of pigs which the local farmers allow to forage alongside the road. A repeat of this, augmented with the odd cow and herds of goat, made the long descent through the Forêt de Valdu Niellu a little more challenging than it needed to be, and our speed was much reduced. 

After we cleared the forest the landscape on this side of the central mountain spine of Corsica is much more arid, and we grabbed a simple lunch in the scruffy little town of Calacuccia, which sits under the bulk of Monte Cinto, Corsica’s highest peak at 2706m.

From here we delighted in an exciting descent though the narrow gorge of Scala di Santa Regina, a narrow road frequented by motorists who took it in turns to try and knock us off our bikes by dangerously cutting corners! 15km of descent was fun though, and emerging at the bottom of the gorge we turned south to climb another 350m, up and over the Col d’Ominanda, before enjoying a fast sweeping descent into the university town (and former capital of Corsica), Corte.

Scala di Santa Regina

We eventually found our hotel on the other side of town, the delightful les Jardins de la Glaciere, situated south of the town in the Gorges de la Restonica, before sitting down to enjoy a few beers whilst we waited for our luggage to arrive.

Stats for the day: 89.9km with 1839m of ascent. The route can be viewed as a ‘fly past,’ courtesy of relive.cc at this link.

Our final day took us through the mountainous region of Castagniccia to our final overnight stay in Lucciana, close to the Bastia airport. Only four cols to cross today (gulp), and the Col de St Antoine above Sermano provided a good test with slopes in excess of 11% at the top,  endured in very hot conditions. 

Descents were, for the most part, quite technical. Steeply down on narrow roads, with uneven surfaces and intermittent patches of fine gravel and sand which could be unnerving when the rear brake locked the wheel. Big drops to one side and deep guttering to the other focused the mind in places, the steepest section, through dense woodland down to La Porta being a case in point!

The aptly named second col of the day!

Views back to the central mountains

This is a very remote region, with tiny villages and few opportunities to find a drink and a snack, but in the tiny hamlet of Giocatojo, before our last long descent, we happened upon a small bar/restaurant full of hunters who were enjoying a rest from their weekend wild boar hunt. The friendly patron was quick to offer us some roast boar in a simple baguette and a local beer, a great and fortuitous moment! 

The 13km descent that followed was technical at first but eventually offered some wide sweeping curves to enjoy before the bottom. But, as on other days, there was a final sting in the tail, a small ascent of 150 m before we reached the coastal strip near Bastia airport, but lovely views and a fast final descent on good surfaces.
Stats for the day: 101.8km, 1662m of ascent, 2060m of descent....and a lot of beer afterwards :-)
The route can be viewed as a ‘fly past,’ courtesy of relive.cc at this link.

Footnote: we used Europe Active to organise our cycling in Corsica, with our luggage transported from hotel to hotel along the route. Twice our luggage failed to arrive before we did, forcing us to consume beer whilst clad in sweaty Lycra after a long day in the saddle. Inept, inefficient and lazy. For this reason we do not recommend Europe Active as tour operators, although their routes were good and mapping generally accurate.

Ripon Club Sportive

A very entertaining weekend, generously hosted by Mr & Mrs Sastrae at their magnificent Victorian townhouse in Ripon.
With a record turnout for this season, the necessary carbo loading commenced in the Royal Oak, where several pints of excellent Timothy Taylor ales were judiciously sampled. Mrs Sastrae then served a superb supper, with prodigious quantities of red wine and port to accompany it. Led by Carlos and DJ Mario, the decks were then primed for some late evening stretching exercises, our president particularly in need of some finger stretching moves in readiness for the Ibiza season.
Predictably, the ride day saw most clubmen emerge somewhat delicately, having overdone the pre-ride training regime (again). Thankfully, there was no rain in the forecast for the day ahead!

An early technical challenge for Heyddie...duh!

Pre-ride briefing....nobody really listened ;-)

With the WAGs, Mrs' Sastrae, Ulrichard and Johntador

But then we were off! Unfortunately, Carlos's gyroscope and compass had not been correctly calibrated, so we headed east rather than north, earning us a few more warm up miles. But we were soon back on track, empty rolling lanes taking us through attractive villages like Kirklington to the market town of Bedale, where a turn south westwards brought us along the undulating country roads to the brewing town of Masham, now the home of the Black Sheep Brewery.

Ready for the ride, setting off from the Sastrae Mansion

The climbing started from here, eventually taking us to Leighton reservoir, where certain team members executed a drastic weight loss programme, one member even leaving his sunglasses behind in a desperate attempt to reduce drag on the upcoming first test of the day, the famed Cat 3 climb up Trapping Hill.

It's a two stage climb totalling 283m, with one particularly steep section (the Garmin suggested 23%), before a sharp technical descent to Lofthouse, scary enough for all riders but especially so for one of the team who is going to need new disc pads for his steed. This was our first competitive stage, Pedro summiting first in fine style, with Mario close on his heels, followed by Carlos, Heyddie and the bedraggled President.

Start of the steep descent to Lofthouse. Eek!

Misty views - Nidderdale

Still full of adrenaline, the team set a fast pace along the west bank of Gouthwaite Reservoir, close to the source of the River Nidd, bringing us to the cyclist's mecca of Pateley Bridge. We greatly appreciated the wonderful service delivered by the team at Wildings Tea Room & Riverside Terrace, and especially the massive beef baguettes.
Suitably refuelled, we tackled the climb south east from the town, before turning northwards on to quieter roads to challenge ourselves on the next competitive stage, four hills in quick succession. Once again, Pedro triumphed, with a revitalised President stealing second place from Mario and Heyddie.
A fine road brought us to Hebden Bank, just before Fountains Abbey, and our last competitive stage, a short but steep little number, hotly contested again, but with Pedro securing his KOM award for the day, ahead of Carlos, The Prez and Heyddie.
The final section took us through the grounds of Fountains Abbey and rapidly back into Ripon, now very busy with a major tractor rally.

Alansandro, leading the peloton through the grounds of Fountain's Abbey

In all, a ride of about 98km, with a total ascent of some 1250m and a moving time of just under 4.5 hours. Well done all, and especially Alberto, the most senior of our little club. Chapeau!

It goes without saying that pork pies and rehydration then took priority, the team starting off in the One Eyed Rat, a back street ale house, before moving on for some to ogle at vintage tractors and vans, before settling down for a few more Timothy Taylor's at the Royal Oak. A fine dinner, once again prepared by Mrs Sastrae and her willing team of sous and commis chefs, Mrs Ulrichard Prattachi, Mrs Johntador and Mrs Prattachi. Great stuff!

Rehydration - stage 1

Academy Captain on the Struggle

It is rare for this blog to feature individual efforts, Heyddie and the climb of a small volcano in Hawaii being a notable exception. But, another feat of superhuman endurance needs to be recognised. And so it is that Carlos, our esteemed and enthusiastic Academy Captain, has been granted his own special edition entry.
This is for his continued patronage of the Club HQ, the famed Golden Rule pub in Ambleside, and for the first ascent by a Club member of 'The Struggle,' a gnarly and precipitous climb out of Ambleside straight up to the Kirkstone Pass.
Although we await the stats from Strava in order to critique his times and energy output, here we publish exciting pictures of this meritorious act. 
We will, of course, seek verification that he did actually stay on the bike during the climb, and that no mechanical doping was involved.
Until then, Chapeau Carlos!

About half way up 'The Struggle'....clearly at least one stop for our man ;-)

View back to Ambleside from the top of 'The Struggle'

Carlos carrying his bike to the summit?

The red face says it all...

Carlos following Club rules to the letter. Rehydration with beer only, no nambie pambie mineral water or Skinny Cappuccino. Setting a good example to our Junior Team indeed. And a good, healthy pork pie with lashings of Colman's. Happy days :-)

Arrow Sportive, Lincolnshire - May 2016

From our Nottinghamshire base camp, five team members enjoyed a long ride around north and east Lincolnshire on the so-called 'Arrow' Sportive, named due to the long straight stretches across the fenlands east of Lincoln City.

Following a 35km warm-up the day before, and a very enjoyable carbo loading session (or two), an early start saw us setting off at 0830 from Market Rasen Racecourse along very quiet lanes taking us towards Lincoln itself. We only saw two vehicles in the first hour of riding!

With the prominent cathedral spires looming ever closer, the roads got much busier as we approached the city, and this continued for the section south east towards Metheringham, with the usual idiotically close overtaking manoeuvres of some drivers making life a little interesting at times.

Straight roads across the fens took us to the little town of Woodhall Spa, home of England Golf, and after a second food stop in Bucknall we headed up into the southern end of the Lincolnshire Wolds, nice riding with extensive views back to Lincoln and a few hills to test tired legs.

A strong peloton finished the ride in bright sunshine, crossing the finishing line in just under 6 hours (riding time 5h 17m), having completed 130.5km and 900m of ascent.

This was a sportive arranged by Cycling Weekly, and was one of the best organised sportives we have experienced. 

Note: this ride would have been a nightmare in windy, wet conditions, due to the exposed nature of the roads crossing the fens. The cycling gods were on our side for once!

The usual pre-ride carbo loading session

We opted for the 'standard route,' a mere 130km (81 miles) and 900m of ascent

The wide arable landscapes of north Lincolnshire

Happy chappies at the finish. Thank goodness for fine weather and no wind!

The evidence! Courtesy of Strava.

Acorn Sportive, North Yorkshire - May 2016

A small turn out for this charity sportive on familiar turf for the chaps. 100km, the furthest distance ever for Ade, aka Adrian, and indeed only his third outing on the bike. Chapeau!

The Elite team who rode this sportive: Carlos, Jan, Alberto and new member Ade

Tour de Yorkshire Sportive - May 2016

It is significant that the principal pictures taken on this adventure were those related to carbo loading before the event and rehydration after it.

A good turn out from the Club - Jan, Carlos, Joaquin, Stewie, Mario, Alansandro and Fabian all riding, sumptuously hosted by Mr and Mrs Johntador in Sheriff Hutton. Apologies for absence were accepted, amidst hoots of derision, from Heyddie, who had engaged in a Tough Mudder event just to avoid climbing a few small Yorkshire hills. We await photographic proof of this folly.

The day before the main event, we had a quick canter around the lanes north of York, a modest 35km leg-stretch before sampling some local Yorkshire ale and enjoying a fine dinner at Chateau Johntador. The volume of red wine consumed was an impressive effort by all concerned, further reserves called up when some splendid cheese carefully selected by Mrs Ulrichard was presented ahead of some wonderful bread & butter pudding.

An early start the following morning was a pleasure for all, especially Stewie, and we made our way to the Open Air Theatre in Scarborough for the start, finally getting away at about 0720. A cold wind propelled us northwards, with some early tests on hills which split our little team into two groups just after the first feed station near Staindale Lake on Dalby Forest Drive. We enjoyed customary Tour de Yorkshire hospitality here...cold potatoes dipped in salt being especially welcome...
Following the excessive consumption of potatoes, some members of the squad found subsequent hills rather trying, so the group again split into two, with one breakaway rider deciding he needed to move even faster just to keep warm. You start to feel the cold more with age some say...
The only action pictures from the day came from the organisers, who compared all the rider's efforts on the Harwood Dale Climb (1.3km, average gradient 7.4%) with professional David Millar's time (Ed: Modesty precludes publication of individual times).

Fabian

Jan

Carlos

Mario

Alansandro

The Pratt clan generously helped Mario after bonking just before the second feed stop. This was in a particularly impressive setting, a muddy farm entrance covered in mud and cow shit, but the compensation came from another generous helping of stone cold potatoes (although the salt was particularly good) and surprise, surprise, some mini Yorkshire puddings, somewhat mangled and chilled to match the potatoes. Impressive.
Anyway, enough of potatoes, easy riding after this indulgence, although riding into strong winds after Filey was a low point.
But Scarborough was quickly reached, with the final climb to Oliver's Mount particularly enjoyed by all.
The day finished with rehydration (for the seniors) in the newly refurbished Highwayman Inn in Sheriff Hutton, followed by further forced feeding back at Chateau Johntador. Roast lamb with all the trimmings rounded the weekend off splendidly.
Well done all!

Stats: according to one Strava recording: 119km and 1373m of ascent, average 20.4km/h. and another, including the return ride, uphill, to the rider's car park: 121.3km, 1878m of ascent, average speed 22.3km/h. Who knows, but a 500m climb back to the car park seems a little excessive?!