Just sent to us by the publisher Versante Sud. Should be out by end of year. 70 rides in the South and Centre of the island. The cover photo is taken on this ride.
Peter (coordinator of guide and author for 25 routes around where we run our guesthouse for outdoor sports people)

Nice advert 🙂

Will it be available on download too?

Also does it have link to different accomodation in the area, as well as best beaches, where to hire bikes?

I went not that many years ago to North Sardinia which unfortuntaely has become very over run very quickly with holiday resorts, has this happened to the south as well?

Will it be available on download too?

GPS routes are available to download, you buy the book. The one for Lecco we used as a model costs €30.

Also does it have link to different accomodation in the area, as well as best beaches, where to hire bikes?

Yes

I went not that many years ago to North Sardinia which unfortuntaely has become very over run very quickly with holiday resorts, has this happened to the south as well?

No, you can read an article on bikemagic about cycling in this area, just an hour from where I live.

The guide will come out in an Italian version and an English version, around Xmas 2011

People who come and stay with us at The Lemon House can borrow plastified copies of pdf proofs of the routes in English, they arrive just as soon as I can translate…

i’m looking for somewhere to ride in 2012 but have absolutely no idea from your site if sardinia is any good or not.

if you’re hoping to attract any business by linking to your site from here, i’d suggerst getting your site sorted first cos that’s showing me nothing except external links to poorly filmed trails being ridden uninspiringly slowly 😐

as it happens, i rather suspect that there’s an abundance of good riding there – just consider me a customer that you could have persuaded.

i’m looking for somewhere to ride in 2012 but have absolutely no idea from your site if sardinia is any good or not. if you’re hoping to attract any business by linking to your site from here, i’d suggerst getting your site sorted first cos that’s showing me nothing except external links to poorly filmed trails being ridden uninspiringly slowly. as it happens, i rather suspect that there’s an abundance of good riding there – just consider me a customer that you could have persuaded.

Hi trailmonkey, thanks for the feedback. Most people find our site informative and are enthusiastic about the trails: ” I’ll be in touch as your local trails look stunning!” was one email received today. Your point about speed of riding is worth further explanation, though:-
1. some of the trails here are not as fast as bermed, banked trails. If a ride requires you to be able to endo turn, you’re not going to be able to do it fast, are you?
2. The videos we put on the site are the ones we use to show people what the riding’s like and enable them to choose which rides to do. As such, they are of “normal” riders, some good, some not so good…i.e. they’re not using fancy camera angles etc to make it look faster than it is
3. “These were loose, tight technical corners that required low speed bike maneuvering to negotiate.” see rest of article
4. So, if you’re looking for well-groomed, smooth fast trails you shouldn’t come here. Here you find lots of rocky, natural trails, like the Alps, which is why visitors (some of whom stay with us, many of whom don’t) say things like, “A descent like you’d find in the Alps” or “The best singletrack I’ve ever ridden, all the better for being natural” Visitors from the UK generally find the riding more technical and less fast than they are used to
5. Here is a another link to a bikemagic article about riding in Sardinia

When the guide is published, we’ll send a copy to STW to review.

ciao Peter

Here’s the first paragraph of the intro to the guide in English, written by an award-winning Dutch journalist who’s ridden in the USA, Canada, Lago di Garda,….

Candy Store for mountain bikers
Ordinary mortals come to Sardinia for sun sea and sand. Fine, let them stay there. Mountain bikers know better, the interior of the island makes even the most spoiled biker happy. If desired, there are relaxed climbs on smooth dirt roads and easy fast descents. Deeper in the mountains there are series of difficult and technical trails: both up and down. Concentration is necessary because after every turn, and behind every bush, unexpected obstacle can appear. Loose stones, a small drop, an overhanging mountain, a brook or a stretch of loose sand. The descents are sometimes tricky, as the climbing. Steep, rocky, with rocky peaks, or a combination of all. In short, trails to be enjoyed down to your toes.

This confirm what I said above, ciao Peter

Sardinia is fantastic for road and MTB. Been there with Saddle Skedaddle and highly recommend it. Their Transadarta trip is really good (10 days, cross island North to South).

Renato by brf, on Flickr

Wendy and Massimo by brf, on Flickr

Kitty by brf, on Flickr

As well as ride descriptions, in the guide we have “call-outs” talking about Sardinia: from the 3000 year-old Nuraghic civilisation to the Transardinia (see post above). There are several Transardinias as our guide explains:-
1. the one you pay Ichnusabike to go on, no GPS routes downloadable free Transardinia.com One of the co-authors of the guide Amos Cardia is a guide for them. There is the Transardinia Classic and Transardinia West, Amos’s next guide is for the Transardinia west
2. transardinia.net where you can pay or download GPS files free

These are all multi-day rides and these as well as other Skedaddle tours (see here a Guardian article) are good if you want a multi-day riding holiday. Massimo in the photo above is the subject in some of Amos’s photos for the guide.

Our guide, on the other hand, is for day rides 2-10 hours (there are one or two where you can bivvy overnight in shepherds’ huts, see this vid with apologies to trailmonkey if Davide doesn’t ride fast enough) including more technical (All-Mountain, “enduro” in the continental sense of the word, and Freeride) riding than you find on the Transardinias.

Thanks, footflaps, for the nice photos!

cheers Peter

as it happens, i rather suspect that there’s an abundance of good riding there

We have 3 Dutch riders staying with us at the moment. One runs a bike shop in Eindhoven, and after a week said, “95% of the people who come in my shop wouldn’t be able to ride the trails here [they are doing 8 days of FR/AM]. For me, the riding here is exactly what I want to do, as good as you find in Austria, Switzerland, France, La Palma…” They have 160 mm travel bikes and ride what on the Continent is called enduro (not what enduro means in the UK). He has made a load of GoPro footage to make a video for the shop, when it’s made I will try to put a video up here. The main suggestion they made is that the lack of signposting means GPS is essential, and with the code in the front cover of the guidebook you will be able to download GPS tracks for all the routes.

Hi there, Hi Peter.
I am Giogio Pupillo, I created the Transardinia route 11 years ago. After a couple of years of trial and error, compass and map exploration, I came up with a definitive track, which now is becoming a main attraction for mountain bikers. The itinerary is described on the official website http://www.transardinia.net, gps tracks are available there for download. Each year there are also organized guided Transardinia trips. In the past years there has been some people who also liked the idea and started selling similar mtb packages.
I am posting an article about Transardinia written by a Canadian Freelance Journalist that rode the trail 2 years ago.
her accurate description may be of some help to who may be interested in riding the Transardinia, or in general, Sardinian trails.
(by the way she is coming back next May)
Ciao a tutti, Giorgio Pupillo

This is an article by Melanie Chambers,
a canadian freelance writer that did the Transardinia in 2009, thanks Melanie!

Hard hills, gobs of fat and instant friends in Italy

ON A BICYCLE IN SARDINIA—“Why you no marry, Bella?” asks the tiny Italian shepherd with no teeth.

As the first Canadian, and only woman on this ride (six Italian men and one Norwegian), I stand out. Called Transardinia, during this epic eight-day journey I will climb a total elevation of 11,000 metres—but for now–I can’t stop thinking about that cow.

Walking my bike over the jutting limestone rocks, I hear: “She’s giving birth.” It is Bjornar, the Norwegian powerhouse who leads our group up the mountains most days. He calls me over. Sure enough, two legs are protruding from mommy cow. She lays down amongst the twisty cork trees and lets it happen.

Somehow a cow giving birth doesn’t seem out of place in the wild back country of Sardinia, but a girl riding it does. Surrounded by uber athletic type-A personalities on expensive bikes, I feel like I have something to prove—if not for me than all female cyclists.

Transardinia is the brainchild of a Giorgio Pupillo, a pilot who envisioned a ride starting in Olbia in the north, traversing south through forests, mountains, rivers, and desert to the city of Cagliari—450 kilometres later. In 2005 it became an organized ride with the help of Amos Cardia, our guide, and Ichnusabike Company; each year they offer two rides in the spring and two in the fall when the weather is mild.

On the first day—52 kilometres from Olbia to Oliena—most of the men are wearing jerseys with team logos; everyone is busy tweaking their forks, brakes and lubing up their chains. My jersey has a picture of Snoopy and I’m riding a rental bike—no tweaks necessary.

Starting out, the landscape feels prehistoric: there are more sheep than people and there’s a definite presence of former civilizations Our first taste is only minutes into the ride.

Called the Tombs of Giants of Su Monte S’Ape, the mossy black tombstones in this Nuragic cemetery date back to 1800 BC. “The family of the dead used to come here and bring gifts to the dead,” says the guide.

Across the road, a castle is equally ominous: the top half of the turret is hidden in a gray storm cloud. This was once a defense post around the 1200s when Sardinia was a kingdom.

Leaving the cemetery, we begin our ascent—an unending corkscrew up the mountain; three hours pass. Eventually the switchbacks get shorter. The rock plateau, Alà dei Sardi, overlooks the intense green forest below. It’s silent except for the wind that threatens to knock me off the rock. I spot the Norwegian—he pounds his chest like an ape and explains: he’s the first to the top. I’m second: I pound my chest, too. Turns out I’m not the slowest.

When the others arrive, I sense their surprise and respect that I have passed them. Marco—one of the riders unable to finish the first day— makes me a sandwich. “Bella, you ride good,” he says, piling on the prosciutto.

On the tailgate of the truck there’s a spread of pomodoro (tomatoes), figs, and mounds of tissue-paper-thin prosciutto—all locally cured. I pull out the fatty ham. It melts on my tongue like salty cotton candy.

Sardinian food hasn’t changed much since the medieval times, especially in the interior where meat dominates the menu; the meat is the third and final plate served after antipasti and pasta, of course. That night we eat a pig—all of it. Nibbling on the ear, I make sure to avoid the hair inside, but I devour the gobs of white creamy fat—I’m riding after all. Massimiliano Napolitano,a doctor from Rome, who I call Zorro for short, pulls out his neck gesturing that he’s gaining weight: “Uggg, Transardinia,” he says in a deep voice. I agree, but I don’t care.

If the trail had signs we might be able to predict the length of our ride, but every day is long, often getting to our farm house or bed and breakfast at 7 p.m. or later. Amos uses a GPS to navigate us through cow patties, over fences, across rivers and up the mountains. But this year, there’s also unseasonal rain and cool weather.

On the second day, we have to stop early because the mud is jamming up our brakes and gears; we find refuge in a bar. Immediately everyone starts to peel off socks and jerseys, draping them over the stone fireplace. “You need drink?” asks the owner, pouring before getting a response. Downing shots of pompia, a liqueur made from citrus, it burns on the way down. By this time I have squeezed into a corner of the fireplace—any closer and I would be in it.

By day three the weather has improved—somewhat.

For lunch we stop at Su Suercone, Europe’s largest rock crater; our guide explains that during the 1970s bandits kidnapped wealthy people and brought them here. “No one will find you here—not even the police,” says Amos.

By day four the cold rain has returned, but there’s hope: at the bottom of the mountain is the prosciutto-filled pickup truck and one of the guys drying his socks over a homemade fire.

Zorro points at the pigs walking by: “They no pay for this. Why? Why do we pay for this?” For the rest of the week, whenever the rain and climbs are too much, Zorro asks: “Why? Why?”

That night we commiserate about the cold over a fireplace—Amos slides a fist-sized chunk of pecorino cheese into the fire. It bubbles; pulling it out, he cuts a sliver and slides it onto a piece of crispy thin bread called pane carasau that shepherds baked to take on long travels.

Marco offers me his dessert of sabadas—a fried sweet ravioli drizzled with local honey. Heapings of respect for the girl rider. Food has meant so much on this ride—culture, sustenance, and now a much deserved reward.

Melanie Chambers is a London, Ont.-based writer.

Hi Giorgio, thanks for Melanie’s article. When I first started mountain biking in 2008 on Sardinia (I have never ridden anywhere else) all my UK friends said, “You have to find more singletrack”. Now the guide we have written is full of singletracks, from riding some of “Italy’s hardest walk” The Selvaggio Blu to old paths cleaned by volunteers. What is AMAZING to me is that the other mountain bike guides to small parts of the island – eg the German guide to Gallura, or the new guide to the Sulcis, include so little singletrack, if that is really what people want. I asked one of the Germans why this was. Possible explanations:-
1. guide book authors coming from outside the island don’t have time to explore
2. doubletrack is easier to ride and guarantees a bigger market for the publisher

Anyway, now the best singletracks are documented! The guide is on sale at Cordee in the UK, with Amos’s description of TranSardinia. ciao Peter