Sardinia

It may be a long way to go but the ultra grippy tarmac of Sardinia just has to be ridden to be believed. More on that in a moment.

Our excuse for coming to Sardinia was the 2nd annual KTM Adventure Rally Europe.

There were three groups following the bitumen only routes. Our tour group was made up entirely of our Maschine riders while the other groups were a mix of riders from various countries led by KTM staff. 

So, to the tarmac.

There are so many twisties that I even made myself feel a bit quesy in the stomach one morning which prompted an early morning tea break. Some of our riding buddies were saying it must have been the volume of wine consumed the night before but my story is it was the twisties and I’m sticking to it!

I was riding a KTM 1290 Super Adventure R for this one and had the tyres fitted to the bike were adventure tyres. While these may not be as grippy on tarmac as a full on sports bike tyre they are still offering plenty of traction on this bitumen. Rolling through the corners in 2nd gear I could feed in the throttle while on the side of the tyre and be confident it would hold. Where there was a chicane formed by a quick right-left combination the mere act of picking the bike up upright to head across to the left hand corner would be enough to send the front wheel skyward! Trying to drop the front back down again to smoothly enter the next corner was an excuse in killing the wheelie good times early.

Police presence on the roads over there seemed minimal and certainly we didn’t have any issues during our three days of scorching around the island.

What’s the off-road riding like in Sardinia? Well we didn’t ride much of it but the bit we did I can say is very skatey. The trails were made mostly of decomposed granite which resulted in lots of rocks steps with tiny ball bearings laying on a hard baked clay surface in between.

So, if ever you find yourself in Europe with a motorcycle underneath you and you’re not sure where to go, try pointing your bike towards the Italian coast and hopping on a ferry destined for Sardinia. You won’t regret it!

The Big Oxmox advised her not to do so, because there were thousands of bad Commas, wild Question Marks and devious Semikoli, but the Little Blind Text didn’t listen. She packed her seven versalia, put her initial into the belt and made herself on the way. When she reached the first hills of the Italic Mountains, she had a last view back on the skyline of her hometown Bookmarksgrove, the headline of Alphabet Village and the subline of her own road, the Line Lane. Pityful a rethoric question ran over her cheek, then she continued her way. On her way she met a copy. The copy warned the Little Blind Text, that where it came from it would have been rewritten a thousand time.

Blind Text should turn around and return to its own, safe country. But nothing the copy said could convince her and so it didn’t take long until a few insidious Copy Writers ambushed her, made her drunk with Longe and Parole and dragged her into their agency, where they abused her for their projects again and again. And if she hasn’t been rewritten, then they are still using her.Far far away.

A wonderful serenity has taken possession of my entire soul, like these sweet mornings of spring which.

The Big Oxmox advised her not to do so, because there were thousands of bad Commas, wild Question Marks and devious Semikoli, but the Little Blind Text didn’t listen. She packed her seven versalia, put her initial into the belt and made herself on the way. When she reached the first hills of the Italic Mountains, she had a last view back on the skyline of her hometown Bookmarksgrove, the headline of Alphabet Village and the subline of her own road, the Line Lane. Pityful a rethoric question ran over her cheek, then she continued her way. On her way she met a copy. The copy warned the Little Blind Text, that where it came from it would have been rewritten a thousand time.

Blind Text should turn around and return to its own, safe country. But nothing the copy said could convince her and so it didn’t take long until a few insidious Copy Writers ambushed her, made her drunk with Longe and Parole and dragged her into their agency, where they abused her for their projects again and again. And if she hasn’t been rewritten, then they are still using her.Far far away.

A wonderful serenity has taken possession of my entire soul, like these sweet mornings of spring which I enjoy with my whole heart. I am alone, and feel the charm of existence in this spot, which was created for the bliss of souls like mine. I am so happy, my dear friend, so absorbed in the exquisite sense of mere tranquil.

I should be incapable of drawing a single stroke at the present moment; and yet I feel that I never was a greater artist than now. When, while the lovely valley teems with vapour around me, and the meridian sun strikes the upper surface of the impenetrable foliage of my trees, and but a few stray gleams steal into the inner sanctuary, I throw myself down among the tall grass by the trickling stream; and, as I lie close to the earth, a thousand unknown plants are noticed by me: when I hear the buzz of the little world among the stalks, and grow familiar with the countless indescribable forms of the insects and flies, then I feel the presence of the Almighty, who formed us in his own image, and the breath of that universal love which bears and sustains us.