Hmm. Remember in my very first post my thoughts and prayers being focussed on my rear wheel spokes? Well I’d clearly been lacking in the thinking and praying department as the tell tale ping of a broken rear spoke interrupted our early morning grand depart from the camp site.

I’d got some spares but checking revealed another four spokes about to ping so it was a bike shop job. Luckily we were only half an hour from Oristano where Signor Google told me there were three bike shops-loading my panniers onto the front and riding gingerly,wincing at every bump, the Italian version of Sods Law meant that it was only the very last shop we tried that could do a “while you wait” job.

BK Bikes was clearly a labour of love for the owner, with half a dozen beautiful classic Italian road bikes on display, I’d guess from the 1980s. We had an in-depth conversation about these strictly “not for sale” beauties without understanding a word each other was saying ! We got the drift.

Job done. Five new spokes later we set off for Sardara. A spa town apparently, with several of the hotels offering that kind of health and wellness package, we instead had ignored all that nonsense and opted instead for the unfortunately named Corona B &B.

Thirty six miles today and the riding was a bit harder. I learned that the Italian for “head wind” is “vento contrario” which sounds nicer but is still a head wind. It made me realise I hadn’t been checking the weather at all-normally my rides in the UK are preceded by obsessively checking the wind direction etc and planning routes accordingly, but here I hadn’t bothered , probably because it wouldn’t make any difference to the days plans in any case.

The scenery was fairly similar for the whole ride -there was definitely evidence that we were now moving inland through flatter plains ,with cloud topped mountains looming either side of us.

This seemed to be grape growing country and some vines were being harvested -tractors were bumping past us with trailers piled perilously high with the almost black crop.

Corona B & B was basically a first floor extension of the owners house . It was actually really nice and comfortable, a small foyer with two rooms off, but although access for us was via external steps, the owner Mauro was able to access the area from a secret locked door leading down into his house .

I’m sure he meant well but silently appearing and disappearing, and hovering just a bit too long was all a bit Norman Bates. He did later recommend a cracking pizzeria though so you know, swings and roundabouts !