Ciao Sardinia

Over is my week-long climbing trip. Way too soon although my fingers are rather happy to have a day off today, haha.

Went to Cala Fuili again since the blue sky in the morning promised another hot and sunny day and so it came to be. Still we spent most of time before noon belaying in the shade of some trees while the ones who climbed the hot rock were boiling in the sun, haha.
I felt really tired in my fingers, arms and legs and just wasn't fresh enough to enjoy the routes as much as I usually do. The more difficult climbs at Buchi Arta and the 6a at Budinetto took their toll. Still I tried to do as much as I could on my last day and still had some good fun.

Cala Fuili in the morning

Had a break lazing about on the beach in the sun with some lunch and a fresh coffee before we hit the second wall and did some more routes. It was 6pm before we knew it and I enjoyed the solitude with all the people gone watching as the waves came rolling in in the evening sun before we carried our gear up to the car.

Had some last-night-cocktails outside near the beach at a surprisingly good restaurant before we headed back to the apartment for supper. Worthy ending of a fantastic week with great people and lots of fun.

Sad thing is, other than last year I cannot say if I'm back next year. It is quite unlikely even, so I'm almost leaving with a heavy heart. I do love the gem that Sardinia is, I love the deep blue sea, the rough rock, the climbing, the organizer and guides, the relaxed atmosphere and the sun.
I may be back some day with a different idea though. Swapping climbing for cycling or more serious canyoning which I find very thrilling.

But for now I'm only saying

Ciao Sardegna!

Climbing in the Sun

After my lazy day I finally had enough energy to let two days of climbing follow. It was still hot but instead of pressing humidity the sun came out and I enjoyed scaling the hot rock at Buchi Arta yesterday with enough trees around to lay in the shadow between climbs. The routes are a bit more difficult there and I did a few of the easier ones which all ranged in the 5c area.
Two of them were downgraded from 6a, I still found them really really difficult for me, but managed to get to the top, yeah! Good feeling climbing outside my own comfort zone and still finishing the route after some good fighting.

5c/6a done!

View from the top of a route at Buchi Arta

Went to Budinetto today since the small climbing area at Cala Cortoe was inhabited by some Fanco Swiss people who we had met before and who stayed in our memory as the guys who had to burp all the time. We didn't want to share the rock with them again and there wasn't enough space for too many people anyway.
Drove back to Budinetto which lies just above Cala Gonone where we have our apartment. We were almost alone up there scaling several 5cs and trying a 6a without success. Great fun anyway and boiling hot with the sun shining relentlessly from a blue sky almost all day. I loved it! Much better than the overcast heat earlier this week.

Looking back to Cala Gonone

Climbed until we were too exhausted to do more. Had some ice cream and a pint or two and I collected some more midges bites just from sitting outside the ice cafe. Yesterday I got 15 in as many minutes! Arg.

Abseiling Like A Pro

We did the canyon tour today that I did last year and despite knowing it already I was very much looking forward to it. For the first time since I arrived the sun was out from early morning on a blue sky as we walked the dried river bed West towards Cala Fuili.

The feeling of being right in the Jurassic age crept over me and the cry of some bird could've been some Pterosaur easily, haha.

But was I was really looking forward to was the abseiling. I had done it the first time ever last year at this spot and never again afterwards and it was such great fun! When we arrived at the first spot I was so eager to do it, that I was the first one down two short and easy rock faces. I was still confident in how to do it and now even more eager to do the longer ones down into the narrow places. Yeah!

Walked a bit ahead of the group to enjoy the silence and unique atmosphere. Then we did the second and third abseils which were just amazing. Down into something like an open cave. Brilliant! I really have to research some nice cave adventure with abseiling and exploring near Bristol. Had my GoPro running and the video is not too bad. Will put some nice music on it and publish it soon.

Abseiling from up there

Went all the way to the beach of Cala Fuili reaching it just after noon where we relaxed for quite some time before the others went climbing nearby. I just stayed, slept, read a bit, slept again. Ahhh. So relaxing. Lately I was just too tired to read at all so I was happy to start one of the many book that I have flying around.

Looking back down to Cala Fuili

Went back to our apartment after a fantastic day. All pictures have been taken with my GoPro. I have my "proper" camera with me, but even though the GoPro doesn't have a display I'm happy to take pictures with it. It's a bit of a surprise what I get but that wide angle lens really does a good job most of the time.

Beach Climbing

We took the rubber raft to Cala Luna today which is one of the most beautiful beaches around and also offers some climbing, mostly tough routes though. Again walking to the rock face was the most dangerous part of the day.
Found a beautiful spot on a large flat stone to sit on with the turquoise sea way below and people scaling the walls above. It was almost too beautiful to climb at all but I decided to do one of the three routes in the grade I can do.

Too beautiful a place to leave

It was quite an unusual one since most of it was along a dihedral merging into a crack higher up. With one foot on each side of the dihedral I pushed myself up and had such great fun although it was very exhausting. Loved it so much that I decided not to do the other two routes as it was very unlikely that they would've been equally cool. I just didn't want to spoil my new favourite route ever.

Yeah!!! Done!

What a view

Belayed three people on a route where I was pretty much hanging over the precipice secured by a sling. Such a relaxed way to belay as you don't need to move around and have a secure footing all the time.

Went to the beach afterwards. I laid out my towel but didn't really use it in the end. Went to the cafe for a cappuccino first and then along the rocky coast for a bit although it was quite ouch going barefoot, but I didn't want to go back to get my shoes.

After all a very lovely day. Enjoying a beer now on the porch looking forward to the canyon tour tomorrow even though I know it already.

Rock to the North

The mostly overcast but terribly hot and humid weather continued yesterday as we drove just five minutes out of Cala Gonone to its North end and then walked on a nice easy gravel road for half an hour to find the rock face we we wanted to spend the day at.

Lovely Rock

The final approach was - as so many around here - very very steep with lots of loose scree. Boo! Hate that. Especially when carrying ropes and other climbing gear. Drenched in sweat we finally arrived at the rock and the guides set up some routes.
Routes were really really nice with diverse styles and a few tricky bits to them so we had a lot of fun. Enjoyed it even more when a slight breeze set in cooling us all down.

Casualties

The walk back to our car didn't seem that long then and was very pleasant with some hazy views South as the sun vanished behind the hills to the West.

Sardinia Reloaded

After one of the toughest weeks at work and a brilliant gig of my favourite band on Friday night I flew down to Sardinia on Saturday noon for a week of climbing. Had been there a year ago and loved it so much, that I just had to go back again.

Had slept the whole two hours my flight took in an almost empty plane. The guide of our group picked me up at the airport and the drive to our apartment in Cala Gonone felt rather short as we were chatting all the way catching up

Had a well earned beer on the porch enjoying receding humid heat. What a difference to Bristol! Shorts and tank top again, yeah!!!

The people of our group are just fantastic. Very funny, very relaxed. Went to Cala Fuili today, which was only a short drive and a walk down some stairs to the beach. At 10am the heat had us drenched in sweat without even having touched the rock yet.

Did a few routes and then retired to the beach napping when the sun hid between some clouds while the others did some more climbing. But I was just toooooo lazy today. Enjoyed just sitting there doing nothing watching climbers scaling the rock around and people on the beach.

The First of Many

The night in the tent was very chilly and I had to put on a shirt halfway through. Must have been as cold as 3 degrees. So at least I know now my sleeping bags limits, hehe.

The nearby A-road didn't really help with an undisturbed sleep (who's driving around the Cotswolds at 3am???) and morning just came too soon. Had a quick breakfast at 6:30am and packed my cold and wet tent. My fingers and feet were numb from the cold by the time I set off after using my ice scraper for the first time this year. Brrrr.

Arrived at the Cirencester College around 7:15, got my racing number with timing chip, changed and set off in the freezing cold at like 8:15 with the second group. The atmosphere with a couple of 100 cyclists was very friendly and cheery despite the cold and I really liked it. Everyone was just looking forward to a very nice ride, as at least the sun was shining.

Unfortunately, my phone was very low on battery and there was no time to charge it, so I couldn't take pictures :(. I didn't really have time to marvel at the beautiful frost covered fields all around anyway as I was simply busy with cycling and I didn't want to spend all day but rather go at a reasonable pace without so many stops.

It took almost an hour to get my body working enough to send warmth all the way into my finger tips. My feet just stayed numb though. After a short bit along an A road and through Cirencester we soon turned onto quiet country lanes rolling a bit up and down until the first really steep climb had quite a few cyclists struggling and pushing their bikes up on foot. I cycled all the way, but stopped once to catch my breath.

After 30 miles I arrived at the feed station which was well equipped but had nothing for me really, as it was all bread, flapjacks, bananas, sweets etc. Instead I pulled half a dozen meat balls I had prepared the day before out of my back pocket and munched them happily.

I sat down, massaged life back into my feet and set off for the second 30 miles. My back was quite stiff already which along with my hurting bum made the rest of the ride more uncomfortable. The scenery - as much as I could pay attention - was stunning, with lovely small villages, rolling fields and frosty sunshine.

Just between the 45-55 mile mark a few mean climbs prevented an easy roll back into Cirencester and being long and steep at the same time made me really feel my thighs for the first time all day.

Crossed the finish line back at Cirencester College after 63 miles with 3700ft elevation gain just after 5 hours of riding, yeah! Back in Germany I had ridden about the same distance a year ago but without any decent climbs so this is quite an achievement for me.

If it wasn't for my back I think I could've even done the long route of 100 miles. But I'll keep that for sometime next year.

The friendly atmosphere, perfect way marking and generally good fun of my first sportive will definitely make me do many more. It kind of feels like a race without the competitiveness. Everyone was just really friendly and helpful and it is kinda cool to cycle in a group of 5-15 people, even if it's just for a limited time.

I paid a reasonable £25 for the event which is not too much for the perfect organization and sportives are generally in that price range. So I looked a few more of them up and filled my calendar already, hoping to do one per month which will very likely boost my fitness considerably, yay! 

Into the Heart of the Cotswolds

As my first training camp (for Kilimanjaro) in Scotland was a full success I decided to concentrate on cycling for the remainder of the year. My fairly new road bike - which I fondly named "Black Mamba" - certainly plays a part in this, hehe. I just enjoy rolling mile after mile a lot more than ploughing over rocky and muddy ground on my mtb.

I have done a few day trips so far around Bristol and slowly get a few ideas where I can ride without much interference of cars. There are countless nice cycle paths around which lead through the beautiful countryside around Bristol throwing in a couple of hills as well. That is the big difference compared to riding around Berlin and I love a hill or two, but certainly need more training.

So I enlisted for my first sportive on Sunday! I never heard of those events before Rich mentioned it to me. Basically it's like a road race without the race. So you ride with a couple of 100 people on marked routes, but there's no winner and there are cars as the roads are not blocked, but organizers choose quite roads mainly. You pay a small fee, get some goodies, a timing chip, a map and off you go.

My first sportive will take part tomorrow in Cirencester and since I want to be on one of the first groups to head out I chose to go there today - a day before - since the event HQ opens at 7 am.

Arrived mid afternoon after an hour and a half on busy roads at the very nice Mayfield campsite, pitched my tent and cycled back into town. The dark morning with a good share of rain had given way to beautiful sunshine and a lovely blue sky.

Cirencester is really beautiful and full of those typical Cotswold sandstone houses. Walked around a bit, had a coffee and a massive piece of homemade chocolate cake and a cider later.
It was getting rather chilly and despite the sun, the feel of autumn cannot be denied. The air was nice and fresh and I guess it's going to be really cold tomorrow morning when I get up.

It's only a 15 min drive to the event's HQ from the campsite. And I can't wait to cycle the beautiful countryside around Cirencester. Forecast looks ok. Not much sun but no rain either.
My route is as long as 64mi/100km. Been a while since I cycled such a long one, but I'm quite confident to have an enjoyable ride without any trouble of finishing before the broom wagon.