Most Inspirational Moment
The second day of cycling (Day#3 of the itinerary) is the most physically demanding with a long uphill. The sense of achievement when racing down to the meeting point was not only inspirational, but also exciting helped everyone enjoy the meal and their sleep in the beautiful hilltop hotel.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Giovanni was very passionate and dedicated to make the holiday as enjoyable as possible. He was a little serious at times, but this was his way of ensuring everyone enjoyed themselves. He was very knowledgeable about the Sardinian history and also provided good advice and insight into the upcoming hotels and restaurant choices. He also very honest and made known his feelings on what was good or not so good value / service in many of the restaurants we could choose.
Simone was very enthusiastic and easy to talk to. He had better English than Giovanni, and tended to understand what the group wanted to do compared to Giovanni.
Advice for Potential Travellers
Prior to starting the holiday, there is a checklist provided. The checklist does not include cycling gloves, but on Day#1, it was strongly advised to wear gloves. Fortunately, individuals within our group had spare pairs, which they kindly allowed us to borrow.
The hotel stay on Night#4 is absolutely stunning. Suggest you request a room with a balcony overlooking the pool. Our room also had a washing machine which enabled us to wash our first 3 days of cycling gear. This hotel was the least friendly. The staff were very controlling, insisting on serving you breakfast rather than allowing a self-service, more relaxed arrangement that occurred at the other hotels.
On our last evening, in Cagliari, the hotel was changed (with 1 day notice) from one in the town centre, to one on the outskirts of the town. This was a shame as it meant the group was unable to walk to our hotel from the busy, bustling centre of Cagliari. It also meant our last night fizzled out a little earlier than we certainly would have liked to. In hindsight, we should have remained in the town centre until we felt it was time go back, and obtained taxi back to our hotel.