Day 8, Samugheo to Ottana

Once again we woke to rain showers, and once again they cleared for our ride.

Garmin data

The day's ride was 55km with over 800m of climb, but we didn't find it hard going - except for one short segment which turned into a steep unsealed track and then not even a track for about 200m but we got through it OK.

The section from Nughedu Santa Vittoria had fabulous views of a large dam on the Tirso river as the road wound down and down until we finally crossed the river.

We arrived at the Hotel Funtana 'e Donne in Ottana in plenty of time for lunch. Now there would be some who would claim that it was only luck that the rain then reappeared once we were safe and dry inside.

The hotel is used as a base by work crews on nearby construction projects and the food was really typical rustic fare: quite good. We had a hearty bean soup, sausage and potato in a nice oily sauce, washed down with a small carafe of red.

The only real drama of the day is that the front brake lever on Keith's bike is leaking hydraulic fluid: the plan is to nurse it through to Nuoro tomorrow where there are a couple of bike shops.