SARDINIA RAID ADVENTURE
Back to Base
Rob Howard / 16.04.2011
After the morning’s delayed start, the alternate bike ride allowed the teams still racing to gain some time and complete the day more quickly, making their way back to the welcome warmth and comforts of the hotel.
After the kayaking excursion there was little distance between the teams, although the two Spanish pairs lost time to Pedrini-Iret on the water, finishing together back at the Su Golgone Spring. (This is the outflow source for the subterranean lake beneath the Surpramonte mountains which teams have raced across. The spring flows at up to 2000 litres per minute at its peak. It is also so deep no diver has ever managed to reach the bottom.)
About 90 minutes after the UK team had left the spring to return to the Sa Oche cave by bike, team Lurbel Adventure arrived. Everyone has been impressed with the strength of this Polish team and they had not hesitated to take on the full trekking and canyoning course this morning despite the weather and the difficult conditions. They were a little flustered on arrival at the spring, having just taken a wrong turn and ridden in the wrong direction for 15 minutes, but were lightning quick transitioning into the kayaks and setting off down the river. (They also rang the Race Director later in the day to question whether the CP at the Tiscali archaeological site was in the correct position, but from the discussion it sounded like they were in the wrong place.) At the time of writing they are still on the way to the finish.
The checkpoint at Tiscali was another in a cave, and was on the final trek of the day, which took teams from the Sa Oche cave to the camp at the Silana Hotel. This took teams up Mount Tiscali to reach one of the most impressive sites on the island. Though they were likely more concerned with how steep the climb was! The ‘Villaggio Nuragico sa Sedda e Sos Carros’ is a well preserved prehistoric village site, originally built in a cave on the summit, where the roof has now collapsed, leaving a volcano-like cone with the remains inside. The teams did not go down into the village but were surprised at the size of the cone and the extent of the site.
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