October 13, 2018
L'Île-Rousse to Calvi
A day in the hilltop villages ends with tube problems
It was a lovely warm morning as we prepared to leave l'ile Rousse. We went to retrieve our bikes and the lady assisting us announced it was just like summer. The weather was perfect. As we wheeled our bikes out of the storage area, I noticed Pat's rear wheel was looking a little flat. A quick pump up and we were on our way to see the local lighthouse and then to pick up some lunch on our way out of town.
We took a route out of town that avoided the highway traffic and soon we were on a quiet country road as we climbed into the hills. Pat's rear wheel was not holding air so we stopped at a lookout not far out of town to complete a tube change. Simple enough, but I must have pinched the new tube when putting it in and now needed to patch the tube to carry on. This did not go well as I had a hard time getting the patch to seal fully. But eventually we were back on the road enjoying the small hilltop villages along the way. This was a most enjoyable ride up in the hills of Corsica with great views below and pretty little villages scattered about on the hillsides.
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Then, all of a sudden Scott's rear tire went completely flat. Having no more usable new tubes, this one also needed a patch. I again experienced a problem getting the patch to adhere to the tube. I began suspecting the glue may be old or just poor quality. Or perhaps my roadside patching technique was just not up to snuff? In fact, a single flat was a rarity on all our previous tours and now we had had two in the same day. Unfortunately this would not be the end of our tube issues.
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With about 16 downhill kilometres from our destination of Calvi, the patched tube on Scott's rear wheel failed again. We now had few patches left and it was becoming nearly impossible to seal a patch sufficiently. A last attempt held for another six kilometers and again began leaking. At this point some passing motorists asked if they could help and Scott accepted a lift with his bike into Calvi. Pat continued the last ten kilometres by herself and met him at the hotel. In all, tire repairs took three hours of our day and it was after six when Pat arrived.
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Fortunately, according to an internet search Calvi had three bike shops located close by. Fingers crossed that tomorrow, Sunday, we would be able to purchase new 20 inch tubes with presta valves.
With all the mechanical issues, we reached Calvi fairly late in the day. After getting cleaned up we explored a bit of the town and found the Le Nautic restaurant on the waterfront. Their menu offered one kilo pots of fresh mussels in a wine, garlic and onion broth. YUM!! We combined these tasty delights with a tomato and mozzarella salad and ate until we were stuffed. The mussel pot seemed to have no bottom. We very much enjoyed our evening and returned to our hotel. Wireless is again a bit of an issue here as well.
Today's ride: 37 km (23 miles)
Total: 636 km (395 miles)
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On the plus side though, isn’t the Corsican interior wonderful? The whole island is really, but I really loved those villages in the north. And the coast ride from Calvi to Porto. It may be my favorite coast ride anywhere.
6 years ago