La Nuragica: Exploring Sardinia by gravel bike

Sardinia. One of the many places where inhabitants speak Catalan (on the west coast), is not only a popular summer holiday destination, but also an island full of gravel roads waiting to be explored. By organizing four gravel events in 2024, Cristina Zedda and Massimiliano Molon from La Nuragica provide many reasons to give the Italian island a chance to visit.

La Nuragica was born after years of exploring gravel routes in our home territory. In 2018, after one of our first cycling trips with MTBs, we met Fabio Putzolu, founder of ICHNU Cycles. He proposed a collaboration that brought us closer to the gravel world, and we started to explore on two beautiful titanium bicycles.

From that moment on, we rode thousands of kilometers, in search of the most amazing places on our island. At every place and after every discovery we asked ourselves the same question: ‘why not let gravel enthusiasts, who perhaps had only visited Sardinia in the summer to enjoy its seaside, discover the island in its entire beauty?’ The first idea came to fruition in 2020, and that year, La Nuragica was born, a company that offers the rental of bikes and e-bikes and all those accessories that may be needed by a cyclotourist to independently visit our island.

We also started creating personalized travel itineraries for those who want to explore our mysterious land and enjoy every corner, with the peace of mind of having routes already tested by us and a tailor-made travel plan based on their wishes.

In the summer of 2021 the first itinerary was born. Led by an experienced travel guide, the aim was to cross the whole of Sardinia, from the North-East to South-West, traveling inland through the most remote areas, whilst experiencing the flavors of our cuisine, while also enjoying genuine Sardinian hospitality and discovering the breathtaking landscapes of this ancient island. The Transichnusa is a 5-day bike packing trip covering 600 kilometers of the best gravel riding that Sardinia has to offer, full of charm, tradition and unforgettable views.

In 2023, we also added the first Gravel Rndonée of Sardinia to our calendar of events, the so-called GravelDonnée. It covers 215 kilometers to savor the Costa Verde and the Sulcis area – rich in history, wild coasts and mountains with enchanted woods.

Also, we will organize the GravelWeekends, a 3-day bike packing trip to discover the entire area of Costa Verde, including the mining area of Ingurtosu and Montevecchio, and the woods and the lake at the foot of the Linas massif.

This 2024 will see us busy with events of various kinds, with variable durations and targeting different groups of travelers and cyclotourists. However, we are always happy to create custom events for groups of friends who want to experience a tailormade gravel adventure in Sardinia based on their specific requests.

This story is part of Nafent Magazine volume 9. Read the full story in our digital or paper magazine. Go to our webshop, or buy yours at one of our 200 partner places.