Day 7 in Sardinia - first ride in Bosa


I woke up after a great night of sleep, assembled my bike, and headed to a breakfast down the street of cappuccino and chocolate croissant. After writing a blog entry, I mapped out a course to head to Macomber and traverse the interior before descending back into Bosa.

The ride started quite windy with a very impressive headwind. It was pretty slow going, but I left at a reasonable hour and wasn’t worried about making it home in the dark. I crossed the little tiny railroad tracks for the train from Arabatax to Macomber a few times and later on found myself on a tiny one lane road through fields grazed by both sheep and cattle. During a 5 mile stretch I saw precisely one car cross my path!

I stopped for a light lunch of grilled chicken and vegetables close to where the side road intersected with the highway about halfway through the ride.

On the return, the winds worked in my favor and I had several nice descents, the best of which was the final 5+ mile roller coaster into Bosa. It was so much fun, but in the back of mind I was even more excited to be making these high speed turns in snow in a few months.

Back at the apartment, I spent too much time making videos of the day's ride. Fortunately I was forced to stop by my 7PM reservation at Locanda di Corti, where I ate more than three times while staying at Bosa last year. And the head waiter recognized me when I showed up! 

This year they are not offering a la carte - you can choose either a four or six course meal that is meat, vegetarian, or fish. I chose the six course with fish and a three wine pairing. One aspects that makes a really enjoyable meal for me is food that honors and respects the traditions it comes from while also building on that to make something new. And the other is when the kitchen gets inventive with flavors and textures. 

There was certainly more of the former than the latter, but there was enough of the latter to keep things interesting. 


Octopus with chickpea cream

Cuttlefish with potato and tomato and traditional bread

After mixing up the cuttlefish dish
 
Shrimp over fried vegetables and pasta

Ravioli with sea bream and topped with Bottarga sauce

Monkfish with celeriac sauce and local mushrooms 

Warm brownie and gelato

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Arriving at and riding day one of Giro Della Sarda

Image
Getting to Sardinia this year was very auspicious. It started with Swiss Air flight 55 to Zurich , after which I’d be taking a connecting flight to Cagliari , the capital of Sardinia. As we got up to speed on the tarmac, it felt like the plane hit a large bump and the captain then hammered the brakes. Fortunately, my five electronic devices were wired up to their charging cables in preparation for cruising altitude and they did not meet the same fate as the airline supplied plastic water bottle which went flying into the seat in front of me. The captain calmly told us that the engine overheating light had gone on, so we had to abort takeoff. I thought maybe they were going to take a beat and try again, but then I looked out the window to my right and saw several airport fire engines accompanying us with their lights flashing.  Clearly, we were not going to take off, and it probably was something more than a warning light. Then we were told by the cabin crew that we were going to...
Read more

Day 5 in Sardinia - last ride in Orgosolo

Image
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...
Read more

Day 8 in Sardinia - highs and lows

Image
For my 8th day on the Island, I wanted to reprise a ride that I attempted last year from Bosa to Alghero and back. I couldn't actually complete the ride I had mapped out due to a car race which closed most of the key roads. But to start the day, I wanted to eat at a different place for breakfast, upon walking by I realized they only open on the weekends for breakfast, so I will be back in a few days.  The ride began with the climb up the descent that I had taken the previous day, and it was a marvelous way to see different vantage points of the Bosa unfold. And of course, because it is Sardinia, there were very few cars on the road. However, during yesterday’s ride I actually saw quite a few cyclists of all stripes from serious looking racer-types to full on e-bike German tourists in their 70s. I love the latter and the spirit with which they are still getting out there! I forgot to mention that on my descent into town yesterday, I saw someone in a full on UAE kit together with the...
Read more