The road from Porto-Vecchio to Zonza climbs out of the humid coast into another Corsica, one of chestnut and pine, granite and cold streams. Zonza lies at about eight hundred metres in the Alta Rocca, a small village of fewer than two thousand people scattered across a ridge, with the great granite needles of Bavella standing over it to the north. The coast is only twenty kilometres away, but the altitude, the air and the sense of space make it feel much further.
The Aiguilles de Bavella are a row of jagged granite pinnacles, bare and orange-brown in the late light, rising above the pass of the same name at around twelve hundred metres. They dominate the skyline for miles, and in the morning mist they appear and vanish like the spires of a drowned cathedral. The forests of laricio pine, the Corsican black pine, which grows tall and straight, cover the slopes, and the smell, resin and warm needles, is intoxicating. Wild mouflon, the shy mountain sheep of Corsica, live on the high ground, though you are more likely to see pigs and cows wandering on the road.
The riding is glorious. The road from Zonza to the pass is a narrow, winding climb through the forest, with tight bends, views over the valley and plenty of places to stop. The surface is generally good but uneven in places, and the road is often shared with free-roaming livestock, which have right of way in all but name. In summer, the traffic of campervans and hikers makes it slow, and in the early morning, it is magical. Weather in the mountains changes fast, so carry a waterproof.
The local food is the real treat. Corsican charcuterie, such as coppa, lonzu and figatellu, is cured in the mountain air, and a plate with a slice of brocciu, the fresh sheep's cheese, and a glass of local red is the perfect reward. Fire is the great danger here, and in dry summers the island is on high alert, so no smoking at the roadside.
Zonza has a few shops and restaurants and is the natural stop on this ride, but fuel is not something to count on, so the safest plan is to fill up in Porto-Vecchio, about twenty kilometres away.