Day 5 in Sardinia - last ride in Orgosolo

Today, I headed towards the reservoirs west of Orgosoloto see the visual juxtaposition of the bodies of water against the mountains and trees. The scenery did not disappoint! After riding by Lago di Gusana, I stopped in Ovodda for lunch. I was directed at the urging of three men who saw me looking for a meal to their favorite (maybe only) restaurant in town. I ordered a half portion of the antipasto, which included beans with onions, some slightly vinegary soft boiled potato bits, a frittata with zucchini, prosciutto and salam (sorry - no picture!), and some super tasty homemade ravioli topped with dried Sardinian cheese. 

 

While I savored every minute of the meal and would have liked to stay, I had to get back to Orgosolo. The first tiny climb was quite painful, and while the subsequent climbs in the ride didn’t sting my legs as much, it was pretty slow going because my body was busy digesting that satisfying meal.

Then came the comical, yet sad part. I somehow had sent myself up the same 0.83 mile, 16.7% average grade I had done less than a week prior. This time, I stopped, but did not walk. The same evil cast of joyful flies were buzzing around me. Maybe they were waiting for me to perish so they could feast on my flesh? I don’t know, but they were the first indication I was back on “that hill.”

The upside of a wee bit stronger a few days in is that I didn’t walk. I did stop to catch by breath a few times. The downside of not walking is that I completely missed the dirt turnoff to complete the rest of the climb. Twice. So I went up and down a short, but very steep part of the climb until I got back onto the course plotted for me by RideWithGPS. Familiarity made it go by a little bit faster, but next year I will definitely have to be more vigilant in avoiding this nasty section of poured concrete.

On the way back to Orgosolo, I felt much stronger and was powering my way up past the vineyards into town while also noticing the assemblage of rain clouds in all directions. Sure enough, as I pulled into Orgosolo’s gelato shop on Corsa Republica, it started to rain just a bit. After ordering my gelato, I ate it outside in the light rain, and then under ever darkening skies, rode the quarter mile back to my place just in time to watch the rain completely let loose. Fortunately, I just missed getting completely soaked.

For dinner, I was going to try the pizzeria around the corner, but they were closed, so I went into the small hotel and restaurant around the next corner and had wonderfully traditional three course meal consisting of prosciutto crudo with melon, culurgiones, which are a traditional Sardinian cheese-stuffed pasta and a selection of grilled meats. I don’t know what they do to grow the melons like they do here in Italy, but I rarely taste ones as good at home. The pasta was cooked perfectly with a tomato sauce with just a hint of acid, and I could not get enough of the rare steak or the veal skewer they gave me, though the chicken was a bit dry.