First my video 6+6 south
We have already been here in 2019. Probably, hopefully… it will be wonderful again. We will be able to escape the winter, because April is still like that at home this year, and cycle through wonderful landscapes…
This year the format is different: the route does not include both islands, Sardinia and Sicily, but a 600-kilometre loop through southern Sardinia followed by an equally long loop through the north of the island. In between, a long night’s rest in Dorgali, the starting and finishing point. The route runs on roads with little traffic and the cyclists have to ‚climb‘ many mountains, around 7000 m altitude for each lap.
Those of us who now enjoy the more ’spartan‘ races, i.e. those in self-support mode such as the Atlas Mountain Race, the GBDuro, the Granguanche Audax Gravel, seem to have landed in the land of milk and honey: there is a checkpoint with food and drink every 100 kilometres or so, and even showers and sleeping facilities halfway through each lap, and you can even have a bag with a change of clothes or whatever carried there. But we have to pedal ourselves, and pedal hard!
For Hermann and me, the 6+6 Ajò Isole spontaneously runs a little differently than we had thought in advance. After the first lap, which is quite tough due to the many metres in altitude (7000 m in 600 km), an equally demanding second lap through the north awaits the randonneurs.
When we arrive in Dorgali, Hermann says that continuing to ride might be counterproductive for our next highlight in June, the Transbalkan Race. Actually, I am still fit for the next round … But I agree. The decision to stop here is not difficult for me, because my Covid infection was only 3 weeks ago and it is therefore more sensible not to overdo it.
With almost half of the participants unexpectedly throwing in the towel and the weather promising rain on the last day, it is even easier for me to stay in Dorgali. And besides, our replacement programme promises to be exciting. (Goroppu Gorge mountain tour, hike to Cala Luna, good food in between, hike through the Biderosa nature reserve).
We will certainly make up for the missed beautiful route through the north sometime!!!
Thank you to the organisers who made a great effort to provide a great experience for the participants. I was very happy to see many of our cycling friends again for a chat or a kilometre or two pedalled together!!!
Lap 1 – south: 587 km/ 7150 Hm
Lap 2 – north: 590km/ 6980 Hm
The Video 6+6 Isole (2019):