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No. 11 Passo di Caravai (1118 m), Sardinia, Italy
29-Jun-04
Victoria provided the support on this day trip into the Sardinian interior. We loaded the hire car and drove from Oristano to Nuoro. The town is at 500m above sea level but the road soon drops down to the valley floor in a fast, winding descent. From there it's up to Fonni at 1,000m. These roads were the only quiet ones we saw in Sardinia and the scenery was aridly beautiful.
The hard work is done by Fonni, a town which could be used as the start of an assualt on Monte Spada instead of these two passes, but it's a pleasant enough ride on to Caravai despite the increasingly large bullet holes in the road signs.
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No. 12 Arcu Correboi (1246 m), Sardinia, Italy
29-Jun-04
The second climb of the day was through countryside reminiscent to the English Lake District. A bit of dropping down and climbing up took the last bit of power from my legs and the last kilometer or so was a real struggle, not to keep going but to keep going at an acceptable pace.
A really good day out in the Sardinian countryside.
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No. 13 Mount Etna (1986 m), Sicily, Italy
06-July-04
I started from Catania on the coast and from here the road goes straight up for more than 30 kilometers. The smoky topped volcano is out of sight for much of the ride to Nicolosi but from there the black lava takes over. The roads are smooth, consistently steep and there are nice long straight sections to gain good rhythm. This is a climb not to be missed as the fun going up is supplemented by plenty to see and do at the top of the paved section of road.
The descent is quick with good views of the road ahead allowing the quickest line to be taken and, if the opportunity arises, a coachload of tourists to be overtaken.
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No. 14 Mount Enos (1628 m), Kefalonia, Greece
17-Jul-04
Mount Enos dominates Kefalonia. I rode up it from Sami and enjoyed good early views of the east side of the island up until the 10 km mark and about 500m climbed. The next 7 or 8 kilometers circle up towards Enos (a 5 peak mass of rock) along winding tarmac. The town of Valsamata is a highlight, sitting way below the road in the flat plain which sweeps to the west coast.
The last 7 or 8 kilometers are a real handful on a touring bike and the loose gravel is impossible to climb fast enough to stay stable, as my clattered knee could attest. The views on this last section are guarded by pine trees but the frequent glimpses of the island are well worth stepping off the bike to admire. The top is marked by a huge radio mast which detracts from the overall beauty.
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