Day 26: San Severo to Trinitapoli

October 2, 2023

meaner than a junkyard dog

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The last two days have reminded me a lot of typical touring conditions in the western United States. No towns between our start and end points, except for the ones we detour to reach. Lots of farmland, and lots of spoilt and unspoilt natural features. And unpredictable encounters with animals.

The day started out very calmly. The weather was once again perfect for a ride. I have to say, I absolutely love mornings here this time of year.

Our host explained to us (in Italian) that the urn on the right comes from his family farm, and was used to hold olive oil. Something about burying it too, but we didn't understand why. Maybe to lower the temperature during storage.

Not surprisingly, the crops of the day were grapes and olives. That's a lot of salad dressing! We were losing elevation little by little, and once we turned ourselves to the south, we gained a tailwind. We were sailing. It was great. Our only real exertion was finding a good lane on the road when it started to deteriorate. We passed a few farmers at work, many of whom smiled and waved at us. It was good vibes all around.

We passed a lot of these brick columns in the olive groves as we left the city. My guess as to their purpose is that these lands may have been used for livestock, and they were fenced in. These would've then been gateways to allow access to the pastures. Or maybe they're just decorative.

Most of the olive trees looked quite old, although a few younger stands appeared from time to time.

Soon we found ourselves facing the mountains and the national park we avoided by taking the inland route. The coastal route looks great. Maybe some other time when we're not carrying so much gear.

By far the youngest olive trees we've seen all day

We passed lots of windmills and solar farms, too.

We had four run-ins with dogs today, each of which we handled in a different fashion. I tried to outride the first, because he seemed uninterested in me until I passed. I figured I had good speed and could accelerate plenty more. What I hadn't counted on was the road conditions. I could no longer steer around the potholes. I was saved by the fact that the dog was simply protecting his territory, and didn't want to chase me any further than that.

The second occurred at a crossroads, just after our first food break. I had considered heading east in search of better road conditions. A dog was guarding his owner's house, and had come out into the road to bark at us. I decided that it was fate, so we took the eastward turn and avoided dealing with that mutt all together.

The third one happened shortly afterwards, along a stretch of open road. A trio of dogs was loose, and they did not like me one bit. I dismounted, put my bike between me and them, grabbed my frame pump, and started the whole "bad dog! go home!" bit. Soon we were both scolding the dogs, in both English and Italian. I'm not sure, but I think the Italian helped. The dogs backed off, we moved forward, they approached again, we yelled again, they backed off, etc., etc. This is the approach I would recommend to anyone stuck in a situation like this where there is no oncoming traffic you can use as a buffer/getaway opportunity. It's time-consuming, but with house dogs, the domesticated animal genes always seem to have some sway. They may not understand bicycles, but they know that an angry human is a force to be reckoned with.

The fourth happened as we were walking from the grocery store back to our hotel. Again, three dogs. This time we simply crossed the street. There was enough traffic that they didn't dare approach us.

So yeah, rural southern Italy is looking more and more like a place where you have to deal with dogs all the time. It's a shame. Unfenced dogs are at high risk of getting themselves hurt or killed on the road. I was mauled by a dog as a child, so while I may act tough, in reality, it's the last thing I ever want to deal with. I don't really care if 99% of the time they're all bark and no bite. It's the 1% I'm constantly considering during an encounter. It's a good thing I love bike touring more than I dislike loose dogs.

Because I've been spoiled by the availability of a cold drink, espresso, or gelato on every street corner, I located a place a few hundred metres off our route, on a busy highway. This really reminded me of the U.S., as it was one of these gas station bars. We've seen a lot of them, but this was the first one we were happy to patronize.

Staring at a display case of windshield wipers

Our stash of bread, cheese, and olives was consumed little by little during impromptu break spots wherever we could find shade and something to learn our bikes against. I even had some wine left over from the previous evening that we had emptied into one of my water bottles. I only took a few sips from it. It didn't seem like the best idea to have a full "peasant's lunch" while we still had lots of pedaling to do.

We were making good time, and we were bored of the endless agricultural plain we were on. I suggested we head towards the sea to get some of those sweet sweet beach town amenities. We agreed to it, but once we reached the ocean road, all we got were closed resorts, annoying traffic on roads with no shoulder, and the dreaded headwinds. Somehow in the trip over here, the winds had shifted almost 180 degrees. The last 25km of our day were a total slog.

Luckily, the sleepy little town of Zapponetta eventually appeared to give us a respite. First we rested in a little park, then we rode over to the only open bar in town for some refreshments. This gave us the strength and fuel to finish up the day.

A lagoon formed to our right. It was cordoned off into little segments, which I knew from previous research to be a sea salt producing operation. As we approached the turnoff to Trinitapoli, we noticed what looked like a roller coaster track in the distance:

Upon closer inspection, it appears to be a collapsed conveyor belt system on top of a huge mound of salt. There was still some macninery operating, and water was being passively diverted from pond to pond, so the partially destroyed infrastructure is something of a mystery to us. It doesnt appear to have happened recently.

More important to us was the return of a bike path. It was our first and last of the day.

We arrived at our out-of-town but very affordable accommodation just before 4pm, where we settled into our normal post-ride routine, which includes typing up the day's journal entry. How meta is that?

It's off to Bari tomorrow. The route hugs the coast most of the ride, and passes through many towns. We're crossing our fingers that the tailwind returns, and that the espresso and gelato flows freely. It's nice to be in civilization again.

Today's ride: 90 km (56 miles)
Total: 1,494 km (928 miles)

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Steve Miller/GrampiesGlad you mentioned the dog encounters, but really sorry to hear about them. We have been considering southern Italy but Dodie absolutely will not travel anywhere there may be loose dogs, so.....
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7 months ago

Kevin StevensTo Steve Miller/GrampiesI empathize with Dodie. I think one could avoid dog worries by sticking to larger roads, but in that case you're just trading one problem (dogs) for another (drivers).
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7 months ago