Sardinia Extreme - 4SG240a

We leave Olbia with the sun shining and it's a cosy 19 degrees. There's a bit of traffic as we head out, but it's ok as we have new bikes to get used to and new tyres to scrub in. We are soon out into the small roads and can start to up the pace a little. We make a quick stop at a lookout point for photos and to check all is good and then we head on to our coffee stop at Isola Rossa. It's quiet here so we have a quick coffee and some croissants then head out north east along the coast as we want to get to Capo Testa for lunch. It's a nice easy ride and we arrive just in time as shortly afterwards it starts to get busy. We have a quick lunch and stroll up to the lighthouse to take some photos - in the distance we can see Corsica and the pretty town of Bonifacio. We head out and ride along the coast until we get to Palau - where the group makes a snap decision to go across to the Isola Maddalena. A short ferry ride later and there we are - heading across the bridge and on to Caprera where we stop for some refreshment. Then we drive to the southern tip of the island and a few of us go for a quick swim - it's refreshingly cool!!!! We loop back around Maddalena and jump back on the ferry. A quick 45 minutes or so later we arrive back at the hotel - it's been a great start to the tour!
Wow! What a great day today was! It's another lovely day again as we head out of Olbia with only a few vapour trails visible in the blue skies. We are soon out into the small curvy roads again and it is just a blast - not much traffic and we can really have some fun as we sweep through the Sardinian countryside. All too soon we reach Chiaramonti where we stop for a quick break and a croissant washed down with a cappuccino. We head out again but only for 20 minutes then we reach the Church of the Holy Trinity in Saccargia - the most important romanesque church in Sardinia. We take some time to walk around, look inside and take photos, but it's reslly still too early for lunch here so we continue on our way. We eventually reach the Nuraghe Santu Antine, our second historic spot of the day. There's a small cafe here so we have a quick lunch before walking around the ruins of this 3500 year old bronze age fortification. It's really impressive especially when looking at the size of the structure and stones, thinking about how they managed to built this all those years ago and the fact that it is still standing. We continue on our way, only to find that the SP37 is closed for roadworks, meaning we have to take a detour. We head out and at first it is a long straight boring main road, but as we reach Ala dei Sardi it turns into another glorious mountain road that puts a big smile back on everyone's faces. We eventually meet up with our expected route back towards Olbia and still have another hour of fun on the twisties to take us back into Olbia. It has been a pretty long and tiring day but the second day of the tour has delivered and ends up being a step up from day 1!
We make a slightly later start today as we have to pack everything on the bikes. We leave Olbia and backtrack a little from the ride from yesterday afternoon. Starting from Monti we are back on the gorgeous mountain road again but nobody cares - it is just a joy to ride. We pass through Buddoso but it is still too early to stop for a coffee here, and we are having too much fun! We keep going just stopping for a photo or two. We gas up in Nuoro and then continue up to the staute of Christ the Redeemer on the top of the hill there, where we eventually make time for a coffee and panini stop. We take a bit of time for a break here and then continue on our way heading for the town of murals, Orgosolo. We park up and take a relaxed lunch here and then walk around the town to view the murals painted by the locals to show their displeasure for various political events - very interesting. By the time we are finished here time has rushed on a bit so we decide to ride to the hotel in order to have some beach time at the end of the day. We get to the hotel, walk down to the beach, have a quick dip and then warm up with some Barbadian rum. Then there's just enough time to relax by the pool and take a quick beer before dinner......
Well.....does it get any better than this?? From a riding perspective I have to say probably not - for sure top 5 ride for me. Endless curves, fantastic road conditions, no traffic and no police! We head out of Santa Maria Navaresse backtracking from where we came yesterday. We start to head up into the hills and already it is breathtaking. Eventually we reach more or less the summit where we can look down into the next valley - and we can already see a smooth stretch of black ribbon snaking its way up on the other side of the valley - something delicious to look forward to. The roads are just awesome and we also have fresh tarmac - so fresh theres still no white lines painted anywhere. Sardinia keeps delivering and we are savouring every minute. There's quite a few other motorcycles around as well, and many cafes are full, but we eventually manage to stop in Seui for a break and some refreshements - we need it for sure. Afterwards we continue onwards, stopping for a quick photo at the Basso de Flumendosa lake before heading on to our lunch stop at Barumini. There is a UNESCO listed Nuraghe here, but it is hot today and after our morning of endless curves nobody has the energy to walk around. After lunch we start to make our way back. We stop at the Flumendosa canyon for some more photos and then our next stop is the gas station just before Santa MAria Navaresse. But before we get there we still have to descend down to the coast - and what a descent that is for the end of the day. We have been enjoying the scenery this afternoon as we weave our way through the mountains, but as we start to descend towards Cardedu we hit another awesome stretch of blacktop and just hammer our way down towards the coast. We arrive at the hotel exhausted, but we have to celebrate the day - so we hit the local beach bar for a few beers before heading back to the hotel for dinner.......