Elba Island

Miles from Home - 5487.8
Firsts / Highlights - Complex logistics worked. Blue water, perfect weather. First very nearly English-free zone.
Miles Ridden - Arrival day – 28.4 miles
Day 1 – 42.26 miles
Vertical Feet - Arrival day - 1,464 ft
Day 1 – 4,366 ft
Route - Arrival day - View Arrival day Route Here.
Day 1 - View Day 1 Route Here.
People - Just me.


View Elba in a larger map



This post is from June 9-10, 2009.

How could you spend this long in the Mediterranean and not get to an island? My answer was, “you can’t”, so Elba was my choice.

How did I pick Elba? There were a number of factors. John Cowell and Callie have ridden Corsica and love it. Much like the Italian-only language on Elba, Corsica is French-only. Although I am illiterate in both languages, I can fake a little more Italian. I assumed that since you can see one island from the other, many of the things they loved about Corsica might also apply to Elba.



Next, Bruce from Garda Bike Hotel recommended it as the location for the Carpenter / Phiney cycling camps. Finally, when I started researching it, I found that it is also the location where Andy Hampsten (the only American to ever win the Giro) brings his cycling tour groups. For such a tiny island, those seemed like strong endorsements. I even selected the same hotel where Andy stays tucked down on the southwest corner of the island. I figured that would put me in the heart of the best riding, which I think worked as planned.

One of these days, my complex logistics are going to burn me. This time, however, I got away with it. My objective was to get from Siena to the far side of the Island of Elba without disassembling my bike, renting a car or taking a $100 taxi ride. I decided to attempt it by leaving my bike box and most of my luggage at the hotel in Siena. I packed the essentials for 3 days into my bike bags and a day backpack (you may notice from the picture that the bike is a little differently configured than on previous rides). The steps for making the move were:

1) Leave hotel
2) Ride bike to train
3) Take a train
4) Take another train
5) Ride bike 10 miles to the ferry terminal.
6) Take a ferry
7) Ride bike 15 miles to the remote western side of Elba
8) Arrive at hotel.



I had to make every connection without delay and arrive before dark. It all worked. I will need to do it all in reverse in 3 days to get back to Siena. Hope for good weather and no public work strikes.

My backup plan is that I am carrying my coupler wrench with me. If the weather turns bad, I can break my bike into 2 pieces and get it into a cab to drive to the ferry. There would still be some unpleasantness in the rain, but it can all be done once I get to the ferry.



Elba is the Etruscan word meaning 'little island with lots of hills that descend only so that they can ascend again'. Rather a lot for a 4-letter word, actually. (Notice all of the divot marks in the asphalt where the rock retention fences didn't quite work).

There is a 3,000 foot peak on the island, but I don't think I ever climbed much above 1k on Day 1. That means that to accumulate my 4k of climbing, I had to go from sea level up to big overlooks many times throughout the day. I think the pictures tell the story.

Lesson learned - when planning a route to circle the coast of an island where people drive on the right, go counter-clockwise. That puts you closer to the scenery and you don't need to cross the road every time you want to look over the cliff.