I am happy to be reporting again, here on my blog after a long 4-month break prompted largely by my MBA studies. My first post in a while will neither discuss the Eurozone bailout plans or the elections in the UK; nor the underperformance of the European economy or the Q1 overperformance many blue-chip companies out there pulled out.
Rather, I’d first like to share with you an update with some photos from my 10-day motorcycle trip from Vienna to the mediterrainean islands of Corsica and Sardinia. I have included some tips for fellow riders who are likely to google this page when planning their own trips.  Click here or scroll down to the photos! |
Big Trip Map |
Corsica and Sardinia |
Anyway, during the most turbolent ride I’ve done so far, I managed to get from Vienna to Livorno at 01:30am after 17 hours of travelling. It wasn’t boring as I was confronted with a neat combination of sun, a little bit of snow and lots of heavy rainshowers and strong crosswinds. I was then unlucky to encounter thick fog as soon as it got dark somewhere before Bologna, Italy. Cold and soaking wet, it was also a bit scary to get stuck for 30mins in a two-lane tunnel in between Bologna and Florence due to an accident that had happened some 20 cars ahead in the tunnel. I carried three layers of “waterproof” gloves that needed thorough hand-drying at each an every gas station I stopped at.
After joining my friends who had arrived comfortably the previous day from Bulgaria, I slept for good 4 hours before getting on the ferry to Bastia, Corsica. We had pre-ordered tickets for the 6 motorbikes and the Ford Transit van that followed us carrying our luggage. The bikes were, starting from the smallest bike (mine) 2009 Suzuki Gladius 650, 2009 Kawasaki VN900 Custom, 2010 Kawasaki Z1000, 2009 Kawasaki ZX-10R, 2005 Yamaha MT-01 and the mighty 2010 Yamaha V-max.
Upon reaching Bastia we only had 2h for the 150km transfer farther down south to the other ferry from Bonifaccio, Corsica to Santa Teresa, Sardinia. After getting literally ripped off for the last-minute short hop of 12km between the two islands we choose to stay at Porto Cervo (one of Italy’s most exclusive resorts), some 40 km from Santa Teresa. Showing up unannounced off-season, you can sometimes get the wildest bargains — as we ended up paying only 30% of the room price at the empty Sheraton Porto Cervo. By the next day the weather had finally cleared and even manageed to stay so for the remainder of the trip! We had GPS-preloaded waypoints for a very enjoyable ride to the southern-most end of Sardinia. For anyone out there who is currently googling for Sardinia routes — the SS125 from Dorgali to Baunei is a must visit — impeccable asphalt, high elevation, tunnels, lots of turns and little traffic.
Some lessons learned — never travel all day long without having lunch; always set up the van driver’s GPS with the daily waypoints in the morning so that he doesn’t get lost. We ended up staying in Quartu Santa Elena, a small town close to Sardinia’s capital Cagliari. That neighborhood seemed like the exact opposite of Porto Cervo; it bore close resemblance to a town you’d expect to see in Africa (some 250km south). We ate at a restaurant where the local soccer team (Cagliari) were celebrating very loudly a match they’ve just won and the waiter kept apologizing on their behalf multiple times. Needless to say, the food and the service were top-notch (Italy at its best).
Proceeding northwards the following day we encountered biker’s paradise — SS49 and SS105 that run parallel to the coastline and lead to the town of Alghero; highly recommended. The road had very little traffic , except for a local biker who missed a turn and had an accident right in front of us on SS105. We immediately stepped in to help get his bike out of the bushes and fixed it in 2nd gear; luckily he too was alright. He did make a mistake though, by jumping up as soon as he fell down. As a friend says, “every time I fall, I always remain laying on the ground. I think about where it hurts; or I think where it doesn’t hurt”. We had the best ice-cream in Alghero then rode farther north towards Porto Torres and even managed to split the group in two by getting lost. We stayed for the night in Castelsardo, 20km east from Porto Torres. An interesting thing in Sardinia were the self-service gas stations that were pretty much the only gas stations available. Best is to have 5 € bills in advance and beware the 3 min fill-in deadline.
Landing in Corsica on the next day, we rode from Bonifaccio to Ajaccio. Any route you take to get there is likely to be great, so you really can’t go wrong. Sardinia is beautiful, but Corsica’s beauty is just mind-boggling. We stayed over in Ajaccio (a block away from where Napoleon was born) and then proceeded towards the mountains via D81, D70, D170, D84 then D81 and D81b all the way up to Calvi. The mountain terrain in the vicinity of the villages of Evisa and Marignana (D70, D84) left us speechless. And it is best to come across such riding pleasure through serendipity. Very tight turns and breathtaking views of the settlements, built who knows how (and why) on nearly vertical slopes. We saw lots of livestock literally roaming free on those country roads — the famous “bio” Corsican pig being very popular over there. Continuing northwards, a piece of advice — do not take the seaside D81b, take D81 instead. D81b had 15-20km of the most dreadful road conditions I have ever seen (choppy pot-hole asphalt covered in sand). Upon reaching Saint Florent we turned northwards to go around Cap Corse. We left our van to drive directly to Bastia, because the GPS said the road around Cap Corse’s coastline had sections too tight for the van. And they were tight, alright. Riding this surreal stretch of largely unsafe roads at sunset was truly amazing! However, you do need an enduro, preferably a smaller one, to really feel good there. Both the Yamaha V-max as well as the supersport Kawasaki ZX-10R were really challenged by the constant tight turns and low gears needed. My 650cc Suzuki Gladius was alright given it was lighter and has a relatively upright seating position. That day we clocked over 13 hours of riding and by the time we finally got to Bastia it was already dark.
After getting last-minute ferry tickets (“Corsica Ferries”) from Bastia to Livorno and getting ripped off again I can only recommend anyone to buy their tickets well in advance (at least we could have saved over 200 €, had we done that). Upon arrival in Italy we visited the leaning tower of Pisa, a short 18km ride from Livorno. From there on my friends took off to Bulgaria and I rode to Florence to board the train to Vienna the next day (together with my bike). Overall, it was an immensely enjoyable trip; the weather was great and everyone had lots of fun. And Corsica is a place I definitely intend to visit again, with or without a motorcycle.
Comments and questions are very welcome. Click on any of the 50 photos below to view a larger rendition.
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