Italy: Cycling tours in Sardinia
Sardinia, "Sardinia" in Sardinian and "Sardegna" in Italian, is the second largest island in the Mediterranean after Sicily. The shortest distance to the Italian mainland is 187 kilometres, and only eleven kilometres to the southern tip of Corsica. Around a quarter of the 1.65 million Sardinians live in the metropolitan area of the capital Cagliari in the south. The highest point in Sardinia is Punta La Marmora (1,834 metres) in the Gennargentu massif. In the area we visited on the east coast, the region around the Golfo di Orosei, the peaks of the Supramonte rise up to almost 1,500 metres into the sky. Our touring areas, the Baronia and Barbagia regions in the east and the interior of the country, have always been the land of shepherds and are extremely sparsely populated. In addition to its scenic diversity - Sardinia is also known as the "small continent in the Mediterranean" - the Mediterranean island attracts most tourists with its Caribbean-style beaches and idyllic bays.
The route profile in the area around the Gulf of Orosei ranges from undulating in the coastal region to hilly with moderate climbs and crisp climbs in the Supramonte mountains and around Monte Albo. Only those who are in good shape can manage without a triple or compact crankset. At times, perfectly tarmaced roads alternate with bumpy tracks - including huge potholes. Overall, however, you can't complain about the condition of the Sardinian roads. Even on the larger coastal roads, there is hardly any traffic; inland, you can count the number of cars you encounter every hour on one hand. Sardinian drivers are generally considerate; only a few, mostly younger drivers, believe that a safe distance of ten centimetres is sufficient when overtaking.
You can find these tours with GPS data as downloads below:
- Tour 1: Around the white mountain (115 kilometres, 1,330 vertical metres, max. 13 percent gradient)
- Tour 2: Mare e Monti (128 kilometres, 1,300 metres in altitude, max. 16 percent gradient)
- Tour 3: Into the bandits' nest (150 kilometres, 2,340 metres in altitude, max. 9 percent gradient)
- Tour 4: Sardinian Dolomites (104 kilometres, 1,750 metres in altitude, max. 10 percent gradient)
Downloads:
PDF: Italy: Sardinia
GPS data: Italy, Sardinia
