Epilogue

 Some general conclusions on a variety of subjects

Planning

• The route planning, scheduling and accommodation planning went well from my perspective.
• The overall riding distances allowed for plenty of time for sightseeing and to deal with minor misadventure and the need to provide R&R time.
• Not one of the daily routes was a disaster.
• I had chosen the route and accommodation to provide a mix of experiences and we got that!
• I did the research before selecting May and this could not have been better - not too many tourists, excellent weather and being able to experience the festival of Sant Efisio in Cagliari.

The overall experience

• Fantastic. Sardegna is as I expected with the laid-back feel of rural Italy, but without the crowds of much of the mainland.
• The parade in Cagliari was an unforgettable experience.
• Almost perfect weather until I got back to Milano.

Food and drink

• It is easy to get good food in Sardegna, either "generic" Italian, or those dishes and ingredients that are indigenous to the island.
• Wine is good - Vermentino and several red wine varieties were good. Bovale (Graciano) and Cannonau (Garnacha) both produce good wines, and remind me of the close links between Sardegna and Catalunya. There is also good Carignan and to a lesser extent Monica.
• Cheap - coffee and cornetto for €3-4, lunch and a beer for €6 or less, dinner for €20, bottle of wine for €20, about half the price of Milano! We didn't even look for bargains.

Traffic and road experience

• Similar to much of mainland Italy, although lighter traffic throughout.
• Just as courteous as mainland Italy, although a tendency to drive fast on country roads.
• Quite good road surfaces comparted to (say) Puglia.
• The Maremma sheep dogs (which some other visitors to Sardegna have found daunting) were all well behaved - warned us to leave the sheep alone and apart from that were just vigilant. Compared to the magpies of spring cycling in Australia it was trivial!

The hire bikes

• A very good price, but the city bikes were not really up to the task of climbing with loaded panniers. Next time I would spend more and get better. Certainly something mid drive.

Technology

• Faultless - the Garmin 1050 is a beast.
• Three weeks of travel with a data-only SIM was fine.

Health and Fitness

I went into this trip with some question marks over my durability:

• Would I have a reoccurrence of recent problems with tendons in my hands?
• Would I have a reoccurrence of knee problems from overuse?
• How would my feet go?

All came through with flying colours and my body felt great for the entire trip! It was Spring, so I had some hay fever. That's it!

Day 25, On the way home

With the train strike scheduled for today I had to travel to the airport early, but in practice I woke even earlier, so I showered, packed and departed on the 6am Malpensa Express. Almost empty train crossed the flat Po plane in patchy fog that reminded me of Tree Of Wooden Clogs.

At the airport, the fog has lifted, but still a couple of hours till check-in.

The first flight leg to Singapore went like clockwork, but the second leg less so. There was a scheduled 16 hour layover, so I booked an airside hotel room and had a shower and a shortish sleep, then planning to do some leisurely dining a window shopping before the 10:30pm call to the gate.

Unfortunately the 00:30 departure turned into a 03:00 departure due to "operational problems:. Not enough time for more sleep...

Then the 03:00 turned into 08:00, so still no real opportunity for sleep. This also meant that I missed the bus to Canberra, so had to overnight at Rydges Airport which was very nice, then a morning bus on Monday. Oh well, in the grand scheme of things not too bad.

Singapore Airlines apologized to me multiple times, gave me voucher for food, an apology gift at the gate lounge for each passenger and a later S$100 voucher to spend on online shopping as a further apology. I can't fault their response.

Day 24, Rainy Milano

I woke to heavy rain and some wind. I ventured out for breakfast and  to double check the arrangements for tomorrow's transfer to Malpensa. Bottom line, I will be at the platform ready to go at 7:30 tomorrow.

Venturing further than the station in the rain was fraught since the water was 3-4cm deep on footpaths and road crossings, so I caught the Metro one stop to where you can walk undercover into Decathlon... waterproof shoes! Now I can set out to explore in the afternoon and evening.

I had a plan... on the opposite side of the block from my accommodation is a deli/enoteca Chiù Bistrot e Bottega which has a great display of formaggi and salume in the window with lots more besides. So I negotiated to buy an (excellent) bottle of nebbiolo, drink some of it for lunch and come back for more in the evening. Worked a treat.

Day 23, Cagliari to Milano

A warm and sunny morning at Cagliari. I had my usual colazione and departed for the airport. There was a cab waiting at Piazza Yenne to take me to the airport. No queues. Uneventful flight with good views of Cinqueterre and the Po plain.

Fiume Trebbia

The impending train strike and weather report had driven me to make changes to accommodation. Instead of staying at Vicolo Lavandai I played it safe by staying at the same accommodation that I use at the beginning of the trip, right at Cadorna station. This gave me only a short dash from the station to and from the accommodation, and the quickest exit to Malpensa on Friday morning. It worked out well.

Day 22, Sightseeing in Cagliari

My accommodation was quite close to the bastion and do I climbed the stairs to take in the view. 

Spent most of the day quietly and had a low key dinner. All the washing and packing done by so all ready for the trip home.

Day 21 A day at the beach

A day for exploring.

 I caught a bus to visit the (temporary) San Benedetto markets. The traditional one is being refurbished. A quiet day for the markets which suited me. Had a good look at the produce. 

Then down to the beach! I walked about half the beach and found a beachfront restaurant for a dual celebration: Julie's birthday and a celebration of a successful conclusion of the holiday. 

After lunch the onshore wind was increasing and the kite surfers and wind forgets came out to play

Day 20, Pabillonis to Cagliari

Three short rides: from Pabillonis to the train station, then from Cagliari station to my accommodation and finally to the bike shop to return the bike and to collect my luggage.

We made the ride to San Gavinio Monreale rather than the original plan of using Decimomannu because it is a much more bike-friendly station (we had to do big flights of stairs at the beginning of our trip).

So we arrived in Cagliari! The tourist parts of town were a complete zoo with THREE cruise ships in port. Horrible. There must be a special operation that cruise passengers are subjected to which removes all sense about how to behave in traffic, whether that is motorised traffic or just other pedestrians!

Garmin data

The bike shop opened specially for us early in the evening, and everyone was happy with the bike return! By the end of the ride, not one of the bikes was in perfect condition. Keith had his puncture problems, Ross had a motor that overheated on the steeper climbs and by the end I had effectively zero brakes, but given that these bikes were not designed for laden touring or longer rides I guess we can't complain. IOn any event, the ride was successfully completed.