Day 15 - Disaster Strikes Again
Sunday 24th July 2016
Mick and I are on the road at 7am to do one of the shorter planned routes north and east of Ajaccio up to the village of Vico.
Corsica is pretty much one big mountain range with a few flatter bits round the edges. I have planned a few routes that take us up and over the peaks in wide circles so we can get to see as much of the island as possible.
Away from the coast the roads are narrow and winding with very little traffic. They climb up wild ravines spanned by old bridges, serving the many farms and small villages in the interior.
Mick accompanies the driver and I
follow to a depot on the outskirts of Ajaccio. The bike will stay here
until they deliver it to BMW Motorrad Bernadini in the morning. Mick
hops on the back of me and sheepishly we return to the campsite.
Sean is sunbathing at the smaller of the two pools. We sit around and drink wine/beer until the sun is setting and it's time to hit the sack.
Mick and I are on the road at 7am to do one of the shorter planned routes north and east of Ajaccio up to the village of Vico.
Corsica is pretty much one big mountain range with a few flatter bits round the edges. I have planned a few routes that take us up and over the peaks in wide circles so we can get to see as much of the island as possible.
 |
| Old bridge over a ravine |
Away from the coast the roads are narrow and winding with very little traffic. They climb up wild ravines spanned by old bridges, serving the many farms and small villages in the interior.
 |
| Lovely views high up in the mountains |
It's
a beautiful morning. Our route takes us first north along the coast on
fast sweepers above the rocky coast with occasional swoops down to
isolated beaches.
We turn off the main road and head up
into the mountains on a small twisty with plenty of broken stretches of
Tarmac to keep us on our toes.
 |
| Rest stop with a bit of welcome shade |
After one particularly
arduous pass (a 7 with the occasional 8 on the Reavie scale) we stop for
a breather in the tiny hamlet of Arbegnia and Mick spots an oil leak
dripping onto his rear wheel rim.
It is coming from the
final drive and it calls a halt to the ride. When we move the bike into a
better parking position it really lets go and dumps all the oil from
the shaft drive onto the floor.
 |
| A very glum Mick waiting for the rescue truck |
So it is emergency call
out time again from our friends at Carol Nash insurance back in
England. Of course sod's law dictates this has to occur on a Sunday. The
only good news is that we stopped and spotted the problem before the
shaft drive was allowed to run dry so we are hoping not too much
collateral damage will have occurred.
The breakdown
truck takes two hours to arrive. In the meanwhile I head off down the
mountain to find some provisions. It is quite a long way, we are in a
very remote spot.
Fortuitously I find the local bakery van out on delivery and buy bread, croissants and raisin bread. At a local bar I have a coffee and buy orange juice. We are munching our way through this feast when the truck arrives.
Fortuitously I find the local bakery van out on delivery and buy bread, croissants and raisin bread. At a local bar I have a coffee and buy orange juice. We are munching our way through this feast when the truck arrives.
 |
| A sight no biker wants to see |
Sean is sunbathing at the smaller of the two pools. We sit around and drink wine/beer until the sun is setting and it's time to hit the sack.
Comments
Post a Comment