Sardines on Toast
 

Words: Dave Mitchell
Photos: Dave Mitchell & Ditte van der Meulen

Part Two

We relocated down to the picturesque town of Cagliari. It sits in the centre, at the southern end of the island with a promising selection of rides both east and west. To our surprise, our apartment was below ground level so we hoped for no rain. Pizza and Gelato were just a five minutes walk. The days were still warm under a blue sky and we had the back country to ourselves.

Ride 15 Chia Capo Spartivento 106

Starting from the town of Chia we headed immediately uphill on seal to Arcu de Gruxi for a short downhill then a forestry road climb to the circuits high point at Arcu de is Surderas. The Sulcis hills we rode through used to support isolated farmsteads just big enough to support one family, most have long gone. From the top stunning views fan out along the coastline to the beautiful bay of Capo Malfatano and inland over bush-clad hills and rock outcrops.

We reached the coast at Tuerredda rejoining the main road for a bit where a cool salty breeze gave us relief from the hot sun. At the summit of Sa Guardia Manna resides an old military lookout building and below it on the coast line the famous old lighthouse of Capo Spartivento which has been converted into a hotel. A grey granite military road took us down there in style where waves lapped the rocky headland and the sun reflected brightly off the water. A picnic by the seaside.

After lunch we headed back inland to Chia then straight back to the coast via an old Roman road and a rewarding climb on dirt followed buy undulating singletrack to Pinus Village. We closed the second loop on seal back to the coastal holiday town of Chia.

Ride 05 Domusnovas Perdu Marras 60

Another stunning day greeted our rolling tyres as we departed from the Grotta di San Giovanni. We were entering the Marganai region which is almost entirely wooded and revered for it’s flora and fauna. The area is home to many abandoned mines and adjacent ghost towns from the late eighteen hundreds and early nineteen hundreds. Amazingly the sealed road climbed gradually through a natural cave resplendent with stells and limestone flows. Two-track soon followed where the real climb kicked in and about halfway up we spied Miniera di Tinnì, an abandoned lead mine.

We explored the mine, marvelling at the beautiful stone work and touches of Italian flair. A steep mule track elevated us to Barraconi Pass and the high point of our ride. Surrounded by stunning views a patchwork of Sardinia fanned out before us and a mule track descent to Perdu Marras where singletrack beckoned. Along the way we encountered the partially restored village of Arenas and its maze of cemented pathways, not a sole or their vehicle did we encounter, even though many of the buildings were ready to rock. Above the town we checked out an old rusty mining poppet head rusting in the wind like a modern sculpture.

Closing this short loop back to Miniera di Tinnì gave us some great riding and beautiful scenery. The track now headed back towards Barraconi swung south to Su Crabiolu and eventually Monti Crabas on an amazing sweet singletrack descent. More downhill took us all the way back to our start point and after packing up the van and congratulating ourselves on our good navigation we headed for gelato.

Ride 31 Brabaisu Burcei 182

The once majestic Hotel Sant’Angelo was past it’s best, all locked up and overgrown and this was our starting point. We headed up the gravel and onto an old mule track that looked the worse for wear. It climbed steeply into rocky outlaw box canyon country and onto an old miners track of ill repute. This track featured stone walled cuttings and was super rocky. It runs high above the Rio Baraisu, which was one of the few rivers we had spotted in Sardinia showing signs of water flow.

We negotiated a few track washouts before arriving at our very first Sardinian ford. Shallow warm water lapped our tyres and rims and if there had been a swimming hole in sight we would have indulged. An old forestry road took us up in steps to Su Fenu for a final sealed climb to the top at Burcei. This was where the MTB finished and the windy road decent commenced. Super fast and flowing with amazing scenery to boot.

The Arco Dell’Angelo stretch runs through a deeply cut gorge with it’s sheer rock walls of coloured granite with veins of quarts and porphyry running through them like sky trails. The surrounding hills are mighty stacks of rocky crags, tors and sheer faces. They look like mountains to us, miniature 300-400 meter ones. It was back to the ghost hotel for an imaginary splash in it’s pool and some room service.

Ride 12 Ferrovia Becia Rosa 92

We parked up at Medau Pitiu and headed straight onto the old historic abandoned Sulcis railway line where tracks once were for trains. The steel rails have long gone but the beautiful stone bridges and tunnels remain. This 110 km railway line was built in 1923 from Cagliari to the inland mining areas and includes 5 tunnels, 20 stone bridges, 14 metal bridges and 18 beautiful built stations along the way – most of which have fallen to rack and ruin. The route leaves the railway and heads into the bush clad mountains before climbing in fits and starts to the high point and a sawtooth downhill. We reached the restored mining village of Rosas which hosts a museum and runs guided tours into the old coal mines but only in Italian. We lunched and checked out the very cool painted murals on show. Back in the forest we hit singletrack and a 40 degree descent. More railway track magic took us back to the start.

Ride 06 Guturu Farris Corovau 64

A ride of two halves, where the first half was relatively flat to Lago Corsi and we almost became unstuck and stranded. We were peddling the start of the lake track on gravel only to be stopped in our tracks by a menacing metal gate and intimidating barrier. Lucky for us the lake inspector came by and after exchanges of mixed Italian and English he waved us through. The lago was lovely with oak and olive trees reflected in it’s dark blue waters. This was followed by a long climb to Punta Campu Spina on parts of an old limestone paved cart track with wheel ruts worn into the rock. From the top nothing but downhill awaited us on singletrack and cobbles.

The abandoned mining village of Malacalzetta
This is the descent of Guturu Farris and gets progressively narrower and more gnarly. We loved this bit. At Corovau we came across a Shepards hut ruin.

Ride 22 Foresta Campidano 136

This ride featured three long sections of singletrack between forestry roads and mule track through a regenerating forest dating back to Austrian POW labour from the first WW.

Ride 70 Ortobene Bike Park 392

We were heading back to the ferry but there was one spot on the way we didn’t want to miss. A vast array of cool singletrack resides in this pine forested bike park above the town of Nuoro. We climbed up the granite slopes of Monte Ortobene doing a mix of flow trail and technical rocky track descents. Lunch in town proved a treat as we munched on fresh pasta and local speciality pastry. Yum.

Train Spotting

We left the bikes behind and rode the historic mine railway to the end of the line in the mountain village of Giro. It rattled up there in one piece and treated all road railway crossings as stop signs. This was amusing but probably well advised with wandering stock and wayward Sardines. A nearby ghost town was duly inspected. It was in the graceful glacial manoeuvre of slowly sliding down the hillside. Many moons ago the residents relocated to the opposite side of the valley. Most of the Islands railway lines have been retired and some provide great MTB rail trails , but many are disappearing into the undergrowth their tunnels an echo chamber for bats and goats. We lunched in Giro and headed back down the line.

The Sardinian people are friendly, helpful and keen to see visitors explore more than just their beautiful beaches. We loved this unique slice of Europe and the tracks and trails, history and relics that are waiting to be discovered – and there is no better way than by bicycle. Adventure awaits.

Disclaimer

Mountain biking is a reckless and dangerous sport attracting the very worst sub section of society. Its participants are thus, mindless cretins that should have been euthanised or lobotomised in their youth and then cremated or locked up indefinitely in a high security mental institution. For this reason it is sheer coincidence if places, people, plants, animals or minerals used in this story resemble anything dead or living now and in the future. No item of cultural or historical significance went into to the writing of these words. No farm animals, spectacular scenery or insects were recorded without express permission. R18 The images and content are not suitable for persons, animals and higher beings of a sensitive disposition or those who readily fall into a catatonic state, and lumber jacks. You have been warned.