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Home , Elba

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September sun Al Churcher extended his summer riding by heading south to the mountainous Italian island of Elba, off the coast of

oastal touring in the last into in T-shirts. The of the summer sun, with hour on the ferry was time to strike sea temperatures high up a friendship, so we took a room C enough for long swims, in the cheap and cheerful Albergo and cafes on hand for espressos and Api Elbana, festooning the courtyard ice cream. That was my last minute with drying tents and clothing. plan. I bought a cheap flight and Surrounding a superb natural arrived, as it turned out, in rain. harbour beneath a rocky headland But with the morning came the crowned by a castle, Portoferraio’s sun, and easy valley roads led inland, walled town has seen ships of every then steadily southwards to a final Mediterranean trader and conqueror heave up to the lovely hilltop town of since time began. Today, billionaire’s Volterra. A day of heavy showers gave floating gin-palaces take the prime an excuse to drink lots of excellent spots in front of the short row of coffee, enjoy speaking Italian and glitzy harbour-front boutiques, while find out more about those enigmatic just 200 metres away battered fishing Etruscans in the town museum. boats set out on their nightly trawls.

Two’s company Hairpin climbs Dawn rain and hill fog made the A few weeks earlier it would have plan of continuing south over the been swarming with tourists. strenuous switchback of hills to In late September the town was pointless, so I merely bustling. For just a few busy zipped down the hill to Salina then kilometres, all roads lead south from on to Cecina to follow the coast road Portoferraio, but once we’d forked south. There’s quite a climb over the right the traffic was soon left behind. headland before you can drop down Well, most of it: climbing over the to the ferry-port of , but the headland away from the sea, the road sight of another pannier-laden cyclist narrowed into a series of tornante ahead gave my legs some energy and (hairpins), which overtaking drivers I began to reel him in. screeched around, leaving the smell From Brittany, Sylvaine was young, of burnt rubber. fit and keen. Though this was his Eventually the last of the budding first multi-day bike tour, he was an Jensoni Buttonis left us to pedal experienced back-packer and his ‘10 quietly up through the chestnut kilo max’ rule for panniers, including trees to the top of the ridge – and his camping gear, made my loaded a lot less sedately down the other bike seem very heavy. side to the sea at . Another Elba looked more like an island 2km climb and we were cruising the off the west coast of Scotland than clifftops, with stupendous views over Mediterranean Italy, with jagged our shoulders to Capo Enfola, then ridges wreathed in clouds. But soon we were whizzing downhill again to after leaving port the sun appeared, Marina. the clouds dissolved and we rode Refreshed with another espresso,

august/september 2010 cycle 33 great rides ITALY

Fact file Elba, Italy

Getting there: Numerous carriers fly to Pisa from UK airports. I flew from East Midlands with Ryan Air, taking my bike in a CTC plastic bike-bag – though at £40 each way you could find your bike costs as much as your seat. and ferries run between Elba and the mainland for about £36 return, including bike. The route: The Elba Circuit (ride anti- clockwise) was 120km in two days with the hilliest sections at the beginning it was time for the climb of the day – 8km of and end of the ride. Pisa hairpins winding up through shady trees to to Volterra was 70km, with Marciana. Though so far the sea had rarely Volterra to Piombino/Elba been out of sight for long, after crossing two 86km. more minor ridges we had our full reward for WheN: May/June and riding anti-clockwise. From the western tip of mid-September/early the island, for 16km there was nothing between October are usually us and a still but a low wall and perfect for cycling. the cliffs below. We dawdled along above rocky Where to stay: Plenty headlands and isolated coves, where the crews of campsites on Elba at of yachts lounged in the sun or swam to shore. about £10 each per night. Keen swimmers ourselves, by Cavoli we could B&B accommodation at resist it no longer. Albergo Api Elbana was In the centre of the south coast are three large, £45 per night each. beautiful bays edged with golden sand. Suitably Maps: Touring Club provisioned in the first of these at Marina de Italiana 1:200,000 Campo, we cut across to the second – the Golfo Toscana. Free maps of di Lacona – to the perfectly named Spiggia Elba are available on the Grande (‘Big Beach’). Its two campsites must be ferry. heaving tent-cities in August, but for now it was Guides: Lonely Planet’s almost deserted, and it was quiet as the stars Cycling Italy has some came out above the still waters of the bay. useful information. northern tip of the island, and from there it’s Summer’s sunset 10 kilometres and 170 metres back up onto the A pre-breakfast swim in water like silk and just ridge to Rio nell’Elba. One of the most ancient one more coffee meant the sun was already settlements on the island, its churches, town climbing high before we put lycra to saddle square and views over the sea deserved much again. The heat climbed into the upper 20s as more than a fleeting glance. But late September we toiled uphill to . Described as days are short and with the sun low in the sky a ‘perhaps the loveliest town on Elba’, in reality flash of reflected light caught our eyes. there’s little to distinguish it from hundreds of Was that a car passing just below that peak up other Mediterranean villages. there? It was, and that was where we had to go… Back on the main route and heading north, But thanks to the skill of its engineers, a series we tacked up the beautiful, forested side-ridges of cunningly graded hairpins took us painlessly that radiate out from Elba’s rocky, crenellated up the last 150 metres to a narrow passage sliced (Above) You’re never far backbone – the remains of long-extinct through the rock. Higher still, perched on the from the sea on Elba. volcanoes. We freewheeled down through the cliff-edge, was the castle of Volterraio. But even Riding anti-clockwise around the island provides rusting remains of abandoned -workings to more spectacular – waiting to slide behind the the best views. remote harbour villages. mountains to the west – was a great orange sun Fishing boats still head out nightly onto the Tyrrhenian The last of these, Cavo, lies close to the most reflecting across the bay of Portoferraio. Sea.

34 cycle august/september 2010 junE/julY 2010 cycle 34