MTB Malta 10th October

This was to be my last full day in Malta for the trip - so I headed further out for a longer ride North towards the il-Majjistral Nature and History park.

Rough country lane to Zebbieh from Ta Qali

Ta Lippija Tower on the way to Ghajn Tuffieha

Il-Qarraba and Ghajn Tuffieha - rode down the clay ridge below, then continued right and around the point in the background

Ride took rocky walking tracks along the cliff top in the-il Majjistral nature and history park

Returning past the Ta Lippija tower on the way home

MTB Malta 9th October

Dingli cliffs

Mnajdra Neolithic temples

Heading south towards Wied iz-Zurrieq

Looking back at Hamrija tower

Wied iz-Zurrieq

MTB Malta 7th October



The old fortified city of Mdina



 

 

San Pawl tal-Pitkali Dingli

 

 

Dingli cliffs

 

 

Buskett Gardens

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Malta MTB 4th-10th October

Since Northern Italy, I have been enjoying beautiful scenery and amazing food in both Malta and Sicily. What I have been missing though is the riding!

So I've hired a basic hardtail MTB for the week and have been able to explore some new roads. Last year I avoided many of these smaller roads as I had my road bike with me.

Most of the riding has been on country lanes (both sealed and some dirt) with some single track thrown in for good measure.

These are some photos from the weeks riding.

 

 

 

 

Malta riding and sights to the 20th September

Steep descent to Gnejna Bay. What the climbs lack in length many make up with angle.

Gnejna Bay

Golden Bay - towers old and new. The Knights of Malta built originally 13 limestone towers around the island within sight of each other, so that if the islands were under attack, a warning signal could be sent along the towers back to the capital.

Road north of the village Manikata.

The coast road south of Salina. A popular flatter stretch of road offering a 10km loop. Used for the local triathlons.

Climb to Mosta

I rode with the Mosta Cycling club on the last two Sunday mornings. These are from the 18th

Malta riding 20th September

Malta doesn’t claim to be a destination for a training cyclist; with its small size, narrow roads, almost as many registered cars as inhabitants, and a reputation for bad roads and impatient drivers. Where indicators are seldom used and roundabouts are organised chaos!

But in reality the drivers have so far been no worse than Melbourne drivers, with most giving me plenty of room. The roads so far that I’ve ridden are mostly okay, with only a smaller number better suited to training for the cobbled Paris – Roubaix road race, and I’ve ridden 60 – 70 km days without having to ride the same road twice in the day.

There is a small road and MTB racing scene on the island, with a calendar of races in the cooler months. It was with the islands oldest cycling club – the Mosta Cycling Club that I rode with on their regular Sunday morning ride. Since it was the off season, it was mostly at a leisurely pace and they took a scenic route via the south west coast so I could see some of the sights. We then continued on just below the old city of Mdina before riding a lap of the Coast Road to St Paul’s bay where we stopped for a social break. I obviously hadn’t acclimatised yet to being on the island and even in the heat I had an Espresso, where as everyone else has a cold drink.

The only serious incident so far has been when I hit a patch of Maltese ‘black ice’ taking a corner on Monday. I took the corner at a speed that would normally be fine elsewhere, but this corner was a glassy smooth piece of tar which I quickly discovered had zero friction. The bike went straight out from under me and I slid a good distance on my left side. Luckily the cars going both directions were far enough away so could stop in time.

I did well putting myself between the bike and ground, so the bike was relatively unscathed. Unfortunately though I’m now down one pair of bib shorts, sporting a nice red, seeping 8cm diameter section of missing skin on my left hip plus grazes on my triceps and knee, and expect given how sore my hip is a nice bruise to go with it.