Summary
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Trail in numbers
- Distance: 21 km
- Total climb: 667 m
- High point: 219 m
- Rideability: 100%
- Duration: 2 – 3 hours
Highlights
- Amazing sea views, all the time. The track circles around Mount Calamita and offers constant views of the Mediterranean sea. On clear days you can easily spot the mainland and the famous Montecristo Island, the setting of Alexandre Dumas’ Count of Montecristo novel.
- Wine Tasting opportunity, as the track reaches a farm where to take a restoring break sipping local wine, tasting delicacies while enjoying the views
Useful info
- When to go: these trails are perfect in the shoulder seasons, i.e. Spring or Fall. Of course this is completely doable in the summer, but do expect very warm temperatures and lots of tourists everywhere.
- Rent a bike: If you haven’t carried your bike with you, don’t despair. There is a bike rental precisely at the beginning of the trail offering everything from hardtails to full suspension e-bikes. They can also provide all the info you need for your trails, including selling a map.
- Directions: it is very easy to follow this track, as it is clearly marked as “Percorso A: Monte Calamita”. You will not get lost, and do not need any GPS or smartphone to follow this route. Piece of cake.
- Food and Water: As this is a very short ride, this should be no issue – just make sure you have plenty of water in your hydration pack or water bottles to stay hydrated, and always have some energy bars with you just in case you get cravings. In any case, there is a nice winery approximately halfway down the track that provides also snacks and food. In the summer it is likely to find many other open restaurants not far from the track.
- Pic-nic is also a nice option, we have done so towards the end of the track at beach Istia – which requires no effort at all to be reached.
Table of Contents for this article:
Photostory
Isola d’Elba is a very well-known holiday destination and attracts storms of tourists during the high season. In July and August, this tiny island becomes so crowded and expensive that one can hardly truly relax.
Fortunately in our case we decided to anticipate the masses and opted for a long weekend in late March, exploiting the Easter vacations. As the sea is still way too cold for swimming and tanning in the sun is out of question, almost nobody opted for Isola D’Elba in these dates. This means we have the island and all its trails all for ourselves!
We decide to go for an easy, explorative ride on our first day. Our main goal is to have a good time and relax, and the view that welcomes us when opening the blinds in the morning is very encouraging in this respect.
Our plan is to head to Capoliveri, a nearby town that seems to be the hub for all mountain biking activities in the south east of the island.
As we get ready for our ride I see that something is wrong with my bike. Both brakes are stuck: the pads are biting on the rotors and the wheels just will not move. After trying my best for some time I decide to give up: this is an issue I have been dragging along since last year and is caused by a design defect of my Sram Guide brakes (which I do not recommend at all), and there is no way I can fix it on the spot. Therefore, I end up renting a front suspended bike for the weekend.
Finally, we can begin our ride! Today we are riding the Mount Calamita trail, a gravel doubletrack road circling around the southern tip of the island.
The track is very easy, but the views on the sea are stunning.
After a short while we encounter an old deserted iron mine, a perfect setting to shoot some pictures!
We keep going. The trail offers no adrenaline nor speed and does not have any feature, but it is a pleasant day and we are relaxing, on a stoll on our bikes. We keep riding, enjoying the views.
It is almost midday and we are getting hungry. Being all facilities closed this time of the year, we have prepared our packed lunch. We just need to find the right spot for our pic nic…and what could be better than a beach all for ourselves?
The trail is almost over, and we are missing only the last few miles to reach our car. However, the weather suddenly turns for the worse and we manage to get to our destination just moments before the heavy downpour.
It is a spring rainstorm though, and after less than an hour it is gone – leaving behind the most perfect rainbow we have ever seen.
Maps and Stats
Max elevation: 219 m
Total climbing: 667 m
Trail Video
Relive ‘Isola d’Elba – monte Calamita’