Cycle Sardinia 2 – it's the tops!

At the top of a huge and wonderful descent - Villanova Monteleone

Hilltop villages are so attractive. They are also at the top of a hill. Take Santu Lussurgiu, or Orgosolo for example. The only way to reach them is to engage a low gear, think of a cold foaming Ichnusa beer and trundle upward round bend after hairpin till you reach the main street.

 

Long and lonely roads - but with wonderful views and colourful verges

Orgosolo has 300
politically-charged murals

At this point you discover the streets are a tangled mass of lanes so narrow, residents can shake hands from their windows on opposite sides. The roads are so steep you can't even push your bike up.


Towns and villages in central Sardinia are far apart in bicycle terms and often there is no chance of refreshment between them. However, every village has a bar: a dark cavern from which the sound of a couple of dozen large men conversing loudly helps you find its location. Step inside and you find in the gloom a plastic table with just four grizzled old guys with loud voices.

But the coffee is good, really good, and with luck there will be a sticky croissant or two. In the end the bill - just €1 for an espresso - how good is that?

As most of the population of Sardinia lives in towns, the communities are all quite large. This means that when you do reach one, finding accommodation is not easy. Then, for an island that welcomes tourists, away from the beaches, there isn't much choice of accommodation anyway. And the surprise in store is that, maybe, you will have to ride on to the next hilltop village to find a bed, even if your legs protest.

But Sardinia has more to offer than good coffee and great pizza.

 

Sunni and Tinnura have murals which will make you wonder where reality begins and ends

At times it seems as if you are riding through the set of a spaghetti western, or maybe a location for Baywatch where the sea is a brilliant blue and the beaches sandy. There are biblical scenes of shepherds and their flocks, enormous views and empty roads, colourful verges, cacti, palms, and cork trees.

 

Scenes from a spaghetti western

And a village, perched on a hill, where you will find 300 murals full of political angst, or come across a celebration where men, women and children are parading through the streets in gorgeous traditional dress

Fancy a bike ride with a difference?  Sardinia is a great choice.

Traditional dress in Orgosolo


Mural in Tinnisura...or is it?

Cycle Sardinia – the Giro

Alghero went pink for the start of the Giro

It's only a bike race. Yes, 180-odd skinny guys pedalling like mad for 3500 km. 

But that having been said, watching the build-up and start of the Giro d'Italia, it is easy to see that it is so much more than the guys on the bikes. Let alone the fact that the whole palaver has to move around the country with a new start and finish almost daily.

30 Police Motorcycles ready for the start - which one caused the crash on the Blockhaus climb?

Without a doubt, it is a feat of organisation. Getting all the bikes, riders, support teams, cars, motorcycles in the right place at the right time. Joe Public, meanwhile, is free to wander among it all. That’s impressive.

The police have rustled up 30 motorcyclists, umpteen cars and vans. Flocks of senior Carabinieri strut their stuff with medals and gold braid prominently displayed.

The caravan of sponsors which leads the cyclists

Then the sponsors with their village of small stalls, and their caravan of cars and vans which lead the cyclists. The mountains of give-aways for the fans along the route. The huge stage and presentation on the eve of the start. Photographers, broadcasters, tv camera crews, tall thin girls to promote everything from detergent to coffee.

All around the town, dozens of bikes sprayed and wrapped pink are parked. Pink is the colour of the Gazette sporting newspaper which founded the event. Pink is the colour of Giro's "yellow" jersey. Pink geraniums brighten every window box and bike carrier. The town and surrounding roads are spruced up and in the pink.

And along the route, the Giro will take, roads have been resurfaces, potholes filled and roadside rubbish collected. 

On the eve of the start, a big show celebrating the 100th Giro

And in the midst of it all, people with bikes; young, middle-aged, old and ancient people, electro bikes, racing, touring, kids, hybrid, chopper, BMX and plain old knockabout everday unloved bikes with their riders came to watch, dream, oggle, envy, photograph, gasp, gape, and most of all, love the atmosphere all created by the simple bicycle.

They're off - Lukas Pöstlberger (centre) who won the first stage

Everyone was in the mood

Nairo Quintana - will he win?

Cycle Sardinia1: the booking conundrum

Threatening clouds over Alghero as the ride to Bosa begins

Riding around central Europe, you are never far from a place to eat or somewhere to stay for the night. Who needs to book ahead? Part of the fun of cycle touring is not knowing as you set out each morning, where you will end up at the end of the day.

Poring over the map after arriving for the first time in Sardinia, it was clear that away from the coast, towns and villages were widely spread with little sign of habitation in between. Choosing scenic roads (marked by green lines) we didn't take much account of the terrain. 

Where is the sun? Despite wet and windy conditions, the ride had to begin

The big question was: "is there any accommodation in these tiny villages?"  For once we decided it was prudent to make some reservations on line using the booking service which seems to have penetrated even the remotest rural community. 

A short four-day tour along the coast and returning on an inland road would bring us back to Alghero in time to watch the start of the Giro d'Italia. A coast road should be largely at sea level shouldn't it? It would be a good introduction to cycling in Sardinia but as a precaution we booked each night along the way. 

The loneliness of the long distance cyclist, grinding up the hills

We soon began to learn a few lessons. Day 1 was windy, chilly and with rain forecast. We had to get going - after all, rooms were booked for the next four nights in four different locations. Accommodation for the first night was only 50km anyway.

But what a ride! We climbed and climbed, in total 1000m, following the coast road south from Alghero. The wind in our faces and the clouds darkening above. The forecast was correct and we experienced a few sharp showers blasted along by the wind. For the whole distance there was not a single place where we could warm up with coffee. The road climbs steadily with a few flying descents, and, at least, most of the final 10km into Bosa were fast and effortless. 

Profile of the 50km from Alghero to Bosa

Colourful houses in Bosa

This was more climbing than we had bargained for and some belated research showed that the following three days would follow the same pattern - in fact they would be tougher.

After 40 years of cycling and years of touring, we were still caught by the Catch 22 conundrum: Book ahead and you really have to go the distance. Don't book ahead and take a chance: will you find somewhere to sleep and eat? Over a period of days the problem becomes increasingly challenging.

Writing this having just walked through this colourful coastal town in a fruitless search for food we are subject to another feature of cycling in Sardinia. You may have finished the day's ride early but you are going to have to wait until 8pm before you can get anything to eat. 

Nevertheless, challenging or not, there are some wonderful views along the way, some very empty roads and, at this time of year, the verges are overflowing with yellow, pink and purple blossoms.

Bosa - well worth the struggle to get there - and to leave

Flat white heaven revisited

It's great when the wind is behind you

Where can you ride on the flat at 20kmh without pedalling? Meet penguins crossing the road? Have a dozen opportunities for excellent coffee and take a dip in the sea - all within 40km?

It is same place where, rounding a bend, you can meet a wind so strong it almost drives you backward. Where seemingly vertical urban streets can leave you gasping. And where an earth tremor could upset your balance at any time.

This is Wellington, "the coolest little capital in the world" famed for it's strong blustery winds and its claim to be the birthplace of the flat white coffee. It's said to have more cafés and coffee roasters per head of population than any other city.

Wellington authorities are responding to the growing interest in cycling with improved bike lanes and signposting. The short ride from the airport to the city centre follows the harbour shore around beaches, bays and headlands.

The final stretch along Oriental Parade is shared with joggers, skaters and strollers. Half the population seems to be on the move. The shared route rolls right around the CBD to the docks where at present there are ups and downs and cracks to negotiate - results of the November earthquake.

Colourful beach homes around Island Bay

Breakfast at the Beach House

New Zealand's north island has some wonderful cycling opportunities and when using Wellington as a base for day trips, the trains take bikes up to the Wairarapa and to the Rimutuka hills without charge, though there are some rush hour restrictions. There's beautiful wide open countryside and just a few towns accessible along the Rimutuka Rail Trail using the old train track.

(see previous blog)

A couple of years back I wrote about the "flat ride in flat white heaven". Revisiting the route recently, breakfast was served by a former mountain biking champion, Myra Moller at the Beach House Café. Formerly the Bach, it has had a complete makeover and now has a typically Kiwi, adventurous brunch menu.  The route from Lyall Bay around to Island Bay follows the coast, ducking in and out of bays and rocky promontories. It's not far but there's a high rate of stunning views per kilometer.

europeanrandonneur.blogspot.com/2015/12/flat-ride-in-flat-white-heaven.html

Take a dip at Breaker Bay

The Flat White ride hasn't changed. It's just as beautiful, just as challenging on a blustery day rounding each headland. One coffee stop omitted last time is Scorch-o-rama in Scorching Bay. Great atmosphere and brilliant setting on the edge of the beach.

Trackie?

Stuck for a place to ride on a summer Sunday afternoon: try track racing at the Hataitai stadium. Friendly atmosphere on the terraces, fierce competition on the banked outdoor track.

https://www.pnp.org.nz/track

@wellington velodrome

Thanks, Burkes Cycles

Many thanks to Burkes Cycles in Kilbirnie for a pair of trusty bikes. This is one of Wellington's oldest cycle specialists, where you can expect sound advice and knowledgeable service.

https://www.burkescycles.co.nz

The wind needle sculpture (right) indicates the strength of the ever present breeze. When it reaches 45º, give up hope of rounding the next headland