Maybe it was a lore that riding Corsica’s stunningly gripping pavement could shred a tire in a week or visions of roaming pigs, red cliffs, jagged coastlines and vessels of local wine…not sure but it all sold me.

                  Adriatic Moto Tours' Sardinia & Corsica Tour Map.

Previously I have ridden solo (Alps) in Europe and on another occasion (Southern France) with friends, but once I got a taste of being spoiled by the AMT experts handling every little detail on the Balkans trip it was a pretty easy choice to book another tour in absence of me not wanting to route plan. Yes, I love more independent adventures too…but having an unladen bike to ride on the twisties all day while my bags travel by support van and we waiting in my room for me was pretty sweet too. 

                                                          The author, Lynlee Nordgren, on BMW G 310 R.

This time two club members, Philip Cohen and J.D Lima were going to come along for the ride.  I had traveled with both on different multi days trips so knew that we would all  make good traveling friends. I chose a BMW 310r, J.D. and Philip 1300 GS’s. Other than it  having obvious deficiencies  when it came time to pass vehicles, it’s light weight and lowish height was a good choice for me as it was nice when it came time to stop or park in some somewhat steep or cambered locations (and yes there was plenty of that).Oh, and it had only 3 km on the clock. I loved having fresh tires on this famous pavement, but this poor little guy was going to get a hard break in. I apologized to him in advance.  

                      Her club colleague riding a new BMW 1300 GS. 

I booked this trip so far out for the longest time it was just an abstract dream on the horizon. Lufthansa’s nonsense (again) with disappointing flight cancelations and rebooking to less pleasurable routes was a jolt to reality that this trip was going to happen! Finally the day arrived. Our trip started and ended on the Italian island of Sardinia. Yes, some  great things are in life are not easy, and getting there was…a slog.

                    Lynlee and her two club members joined the tour together.

The starting hotel was in the port town of Olbia. This is where we would shake off the jet lag by a few days of quaint walks though the old town, eating Sardinian specialties and sampling local wine. I am pretty sure we were all worried about getting adjusted well enough to ride, and for me I was just in the nick of time on the first riding day. 

                                                            Tomaž, tour guide, at the morning briefing.

The night before departure we met Tomaž our ride leader, Peter our van driver, and our fellow riders for a tour brief and then welcome dinner.  Both had the good cheer and high level of professionalism that I have experienced on a previous tour. AMT once again had us off to a fantastic start. This meal like all dinners included on the tour  served delicious local specialties.

We did not have bad meal the entire trip whether the breakfast spread at the hotels, rustic lunches in tiny villages to the Michelin star seafood and pasta restaurant before our ferry ride. The cappuccinos after the mornings spirited runs were also a highlight.

Strait roads few and far between. The days always start with a ride brief where Tomaz   was not exaggerating when he would announce such things as “Only 200 meters of strait road ALL day”, a theme that would hold true through the trip where the roads were seemingly designed with as much heart and intuition to what a rider truly needs as opposed to spirit dampening utility. The days would unfold beautifully through Sardinia and then Corsica. The first day was to Cala Gonone, a beautiful coastal town on the east side of Sardinia. Getting  there was was a lovely, spirited  ride through cork farms and rolling green hills. We had an early arrival to the seaside hotel where a quick dip in the crystal clear Tyrrhenian Sea was in order before an oceanside dinner. 

Riding Sardinia's curvy roads.

The next day we would be making our way over to the Western coast of Sardinia via countryside and coast to the Gothic city of Alghero which was influenced culturally and architecturally by prior Catalan and Arab occupation.  

Our coffee stop was in Orgosolo Village, renowned for it’s politically themed murals, and according to Wiki, was once known for an inordinate amount of murders per capita for sheep rustling.  Google Translate tried and failed to translate the graffiti, which was likely written in Sardo, a local language.

                                                Orgosolo, known for its political graffiti.

After lunch we did a bit of exploring in Nuraghe Losa’s prehistoric structures built in the 14th century BC.  

Tour group in front of Nuraghe.

The nuraghe the main type of ancient megalithic edifice found in Sardinia, Italy, developed during the Nuragic Age between 1900 and 730 BC.

We were soon making our way to the coast and were treated with riding through the beautiful painted city of Bosa.

Bosa, Sardinia.

Then we were on to our final stretch to Alghero. And what a stretch of road it was, snaking along the cliffs perched over the sea. I am guessing we all lost our heads a little, this road beckoned an open throttle (easier on a 310r than a 1300GS).  I will just say you have not truly lived until you forgot you chose a 310 and started running out of power and while passing a tour bus with another barreling towards you.  I also suspect this was the day that J.D. decided the 1300 was indeed fantastic (a wheelie may have been involved). Fun times! 

 Cliffside open roads in Sardinia. 

And here Peter greeted us at the oceanside resort at the end of riding day with a “Van Bar” where rare footage of Philip drinking beer was captured.

"Van Bar" at the destination.

After our rest day in Alghero, it was time to make the ride to the ferry to Corsica. This was also a pretty great day, and included a terrific pasta lunch at a Michelin starred restaurant not far from the ferry landing.

               Delicious cuisine is an important part of the trip.

At the ferry landings we were scolded in 2 languages, depending on which island we were departing. At this writing, our transgressions are still unknown but apparently my  slack- jawed befuddled look really did not improve their mood.  Tomaž just sighed and assured me they are impossible to please. The ferry ride from Sardinia was about an hour and very pleasant. Curiously Philip’s Helite Air Bag vest decided it was in danger being at sea and suddenly inflated with a huge bang. Who knows why (maybe it thought it was time to be a life vest?). I am sure a strongly worded email resulted.  

The ferry ride between Sardinia and Corsica is short and only takes 1 hour.

Corsica

Arriving in to the harbor in Bonifacio was absolutely stunning, and the town was very as well. The scarred fortress walls made  clear that this city had really seen things over the centuries. Also, we had the a very delicious “Soup  Corsic” which we (ok, I) talked about for days.

            Bonifacio, Corsica.

The next days would a blur of amazing riding. Sardinia was fantastic, but Corsica was next level. Corsica seemed to have more motorcycles than cars, it was never a surprise why. The day from Bonifacio to Corte was so stunning I am saying  confidently that it was the best riding day that I have ever had. Each curve was perfect and smooth whether through beautiful forests, canyons, or coast.… Honestly, I teared up with gratitude.

                Corsica Inland.

Calanches de Piana, dramatic red rock formations along the coast of western Corsica.

After a time we learned the pulse of country life. You might see something seemingly out of place in the middle of nowhere: a man or dog  standing road side patiently watching the bikes go by. Closer examination would reveal behind them a long line of sheep or goats dutifully waiting to get the all clear from the shepherd or dog  (working solo!) to cross. We saw many of our meals and drinks living the fence-free life around the countryside: olive trees, grape vines that would make the delicious wines, sheep, pig, goats, and cows  are all enjoying the good life. They seemed to have mostly decent road manners too unlike the cows impersonating barn doors in the middle of Mesa Grande.

Riding in nature and through countryside was as wonderful as the small cities that we spent the night. Luckily we typically had time before dinner to wander around and soak it all in, yes local wine and cheese was almost always involved. When in Corte am I right?  

As our time was winding down I honestly struggled to think of anything I would do differently. The roads, food, hotels, culture, tour guides, fellow riders and friends along for the ride all made this a fantastic trip. I have enormous gratitude for all (and thanks for letting me steal some of your pics!)

Tomaž and Peter, the tour guides, are toasting with champagne at the end of the tour.

Tour Group in front of Castelsardo and its medieval fortress, Sardinia.