Mirror, Mirror on The Wall

It’s been three months since we flew home from Naples, so it is time to put into words some reflections on this incredible trip.  I will try to answer what went well 👍, what didn’t 👎 and why we are so in love with Southern Italy 😍. But first, an update on the bikes.

Bike Friday Update

As you may know, our bikes took an extra week of vacation on the way home. They went incognito in Charles de Gaulle Airport and were no-shows at YVR. In the days that followed, we knew they were not out gallivanting the streets of Paris or doing hot laps of the Champs d’Elysees because we had trackers on them. Thank goodness for that. It alleviated 90% of the stress of not knowing if or when they would come home. 

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Having never lost luggage before, we did not know what to expect. Surely, if the flight is full, there is little or no extra space for additional luggage so how do they return lost luggage?

Once home in Victoria, we checked the Find Me app daily to see where our rides were.  The bikes hadn’t budged after three days. Then on the fourth day, mine moved, but not onto a plane. Finally, we spotted David’s bike closer to the re-fuelling area at CDG.  We took it as a good sign that it was on a plane. We followed it towards the runway and then it went silent. Sure enough, by 1:22 on Sunday, the bikes showed up at YVR. 

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Again the bikes waited for a couple of days, for cargo space I assume. When we saw the bikes move to the C Gate at YVR, we knew they were on their way home. I continued watching the app and tracked right it across the city right up to the moment the delivery pulled up in front of the house. All the while, it was crickets from Air France on their whereabouts.

Watching the bikes’ movements was fun in a weird way, most likely because it was our first experience at such a thing. I have tracked planes and ships and parcels before, but not our personal luggage. No doubt, this too will become blasé, just like heating pasta sauce in a microwave oven. Remember how exciting that was the first time you did it?

👍 … Apple Airtags all the way, baby.

👎... won’t book travel through CDG any time soon, if we can avoid it.

Trip Planning

This trip has been on the books since 2019 and it fell off the shelf with a thud as soon as the pandemic was declared.  We had booked and paid for the flights, a Sorrento cooking class and accommodation in three cities we planned to visit. Although it took some time, we were refunded everything except one night’s accommodation. 

We resurrected our Puglia plans in November of 2022 and that’s when the nitty gritty details were fleshed out. Full confession here, I spent the most time I have ever spent on planning this route. This stemmed from my impression that post-covid tourism would be overflowing in southern Italy and that we would need to pre-book our accommodation, especially in the smaller villages.  Pre-booking meant we had to have a route. In reality, neither of these turned out to be true.

The other factor that took so much time was finding a rideable route through the mountainous terrain of the Appenines. It would have been simple if there were a cyclable route along the arch of the boot, but sadly there isn’t one. The only east-west road on that coastline is a major highway where bikes are banned. That left me researching a suitable route through the mountains with Goole maps, Ride with GPS and Komoot. Here too, the valley roads apeared to be major highways, so it was a challenge to find a route to link with Puglia from the west coast.

In the end, we used bits and pieces of the planned route because the weather made it too risky for us to do it as planned. We dearly wanted to experience riding through the Pollino National Park as we headed east but mudslides and road closures in addition to the socked-in weather made short work of that idea. Happily, we were able to to pivot and meet up with the planned route in Pietrapertosa, the little Dolomite of Italy, and we forfeited just one booking in the process.

👎... I won't spend as much time planning because local factors can throw it all out the window in an instant.

👎... I won't be pre-booking accommodation, other than the first and last nights, just like we have done for our previous tours.

Journal Preparation

Because I had a detailed route plotted out by mid-April, I was able to set up the journal entries in Cycleblaze. I also loaded the RWGPS maps with the idea that I would simply upload the day’s route if we did something different. The plan worked fairly well and all I had to do was upload photos and fill in the journal each day 😜.

👍 … I like the idea of a journal outline that I can fill in, so I will try making a rough outline next time, without maps, of course.

iPad Tech Tip

This is a tech tip that fellow Cycleblaze journal writers might like. Writing a journal involves a lot of scrolling up and down the page, especially when you insert a lot of photos. All that scrolling wastes valuable time when I could be sleeping so I created two shortcuts and made them into Safari bookmarks. Whenever I need to navigate to the bottom of a page, where that all-mighty SAVE button lives, I simply tap and go. Ditto for the top of the page. 

👍 … I love my ‘Go to top’ and ‘Go to bottom’ buttons. Can’t journal without them.

Doggie Daycare

Our Jack Russell is now 13 years old and after covid, the bond we have formed with her and vice versa is stronger than ever. We just couldn’t fathom boarding her this year. Instead, we turned to Trusted Housesitters and by January we had held interviews and secured a sitter who would stay in our house. All was fine until three weeks before our departure, when we learned that our sitter had a family emergency and could not sit for us. We immediately re-opened the applications in Trusted Housesitters and within four harried days, we had another sitter booked. Whew, that was a rollercoaster. Tashi had the best holiday ever in the care of her and our new friend.

👍 … I will use Trusted Housesitters again and recommend it to others. If you want to try it, I can send you a coupon to save a few bucks 😉.

Training

We learned long ago about the benefits of starting a tour in good cycling shape and it’s just part of our our everyday routine now. The freedom to ride without fatigue or muscle strains from the start of a tour is worth every bit of preparation. We used to go to the gym but we now do a 40 minute Zoom workout three times a week. We still can’t believe how effective a light to moderate routine like this is for our overall strength and flexibility. 

Last year, we discovered the joys of indoor cycle training and it has turned out to be a rediculous amount of fun.  David uses and loves Zwift while I am a fan of Rouvy. I crank the tunes and sweat my brains out for 60 to 90 minutes while riding in various places around the world, some of which I have ridden in real life and others that are on my bucket list. David spaces out to the sci-fi world of Zwift while riding neck and neck with European cyclists doing their pre-dinner workouts.

👍 … we will definitely do the indoor training again, Zwift and Rouvy all the way. And, the Zoom fitness sessions will remain a fixture in our lives.

Bikes

Our original Bike Fridays turned 21 this year and were definitely showing the wear from all the kilometers ridden. They had simply aged out and needed to be retired. After doing some online research, David decided to build the bikes himself using  frames from BF and parts sourced from various suppliers around the world. It was no small undertaking but so worthwhile. Not only do the new bikes fit us like gloves but the disc brakes and Shimano drivetrains (11-34/52-34) were perfect for the terrain of Southern Italy. What was not so good was the cheesy inner tubes bought at our favoirite LBS.  The seams blew out on one of them and the area around the valve blew out on the other. 

👍 … I adore my new Bike Friday NWT. 

👎... thumbs down to cheesy inner tubes.

Wacky Weather 

 What’s there to say about the weather? It has become more of a wildcard than ever. Clearly, we expected heat in southern Italy so it was a big surprise that the unusually wet spring weather continued to drench Italy into late May. It played havoc on the roads, but this paled in comparison to the devastation in northern Italy.

We have a standing joke with fellow Cycleblazers, the Classens, that we don’t take rain gear on our spring tours unless we are heading to the high mountains. Good thing they didn’t follow our suggestion for their tour in Portugal and Spain this spring because their rain gear got plenty of use. Luckily, we threw in rain jackets and booties as we packed for this tour and did we ever need them

👍... Puglia is relatively flat so we could monitor the weather systems as they developed and moved across the landscape. 

👍... Overall, the temperatures were ideal for cycle touring.

👎... Getting drenched and cold cycling the Amalfi coast on day three was no fun. 

Ferries, Trains and Buses

Our cycle tour began four days after arriving in Naples with a ferry trip to Sorrento. Using the ferry here allowed us to avoid all the traffic and congestion along the Bay of Naples and it only took about 45 minutes to traverse the bay. It was a little more expensive than the train but very comfortable and convenient. The Alilauro ferry was a large catamaran and had the best reputation of the ferry companies that serve this route. Apart from the side entrance that looked to be ajar for half the rock-and-roll trip across the bay, the ship was fine and it got us to Sorrento in comfort. We took a miss on the capuccino’s being served by the onboard servers who took all the rolling in stride. 

And, where would we be without the train option when cycling in Europe? We found the trains in southern Italy to be inexpensive, modern and comfortable.  They ran on time and the staff were excellent. Notably, there were more female conductors that I have ever seen before. They were very kind and helpful to us. 

The Trenitalia system isn’t just trains. It’s busses, too. So, if the train service is out for whatever reason, Trenitalia fills in the service with buses. They almost always have generous luggage compartments that hold bikes. You just have to be at the front of the line to get first dibs on the precious cargo space.

👍 … I foresee more train, bus and/or ferry travel in our future tours.

Roads, Hills and Traffic

Before starting any tour, we cycle tourists want to know three things — what are the drivers like, what will the road conditions be like and what’s the terrain like? The reflections that follow are completely subjective and may not reflect other cyclists’ experiences. But here goes anyway.

  1. Road conditions

I rate the roads in southern Italy as average quality overall, with some exceptions. Some road surfaces were very good, lots were ok and some were downright awful. Generally, the road condition is related to its size. Major roads are more likely to be smoother and wider. But it’s not always that way because usage, local budgets and other factors come into play. In any case, when the potholes and grooves became annoying, I simply rode on the side of the road that was in better shape as long as there was no traffic. This worked most of the time.  I also thanked my lucky stars daily that I had 1.5” Schwalbe Marathon Racer tires that cushioned the ride and saved my body in the bone rattling sections.

👍 🫳 👎 … we encountered every condition on this tour and, thankfully, we avoided trails and gravel roads almost entirely. 

    2. Terrain 

We are the breed of cycle tourists that love riding big hills, which is to say, we enjoy the rhythm and effort of climbing, knowing that there will be a reward somewhere along the way. It might be a stunning view, an encounter with nature or a thrilling descent after we reach the top. Slowly riding up a long hill gives me time to spot flowers and to jump off for a closer look when I spot the perfect specimen. Riding downhill is one big fun-fest that always ends too soon.

This tour included some doozy hills that did not disappoint. The uphills were tough and the downhills were glorious. A few experiences that stand out are: 

1. The climbs en route to Maratea, Oliveto Lucano, Pietrapertosa and Grassano.
2. Seeing the Amalfi coast for the first time from the summit behind Sorrento was unforgettable. 
3. Summitting the last climb of the day to see Vieste perched on a hill at the end on a long sandy beach on the Gargano peninsula. 

Speaking of hills, the elevation profile of Amalfi coast was downright frightening when I first looked it up on Ride with GPS.  The reports I read about his historic section of road describe it as choked with traffic and vertigo-inducing for anyone travelling by bus or car. We were left wondering if we were nuts to attempt riding it on the first day of the tour. This led to a fair bit of worry and stress, right up to the morning we set off from Sorrento. Lucky for us, we ended up having the road to ourselves and it was one of the most extraordinary and thrilling rides of my life. 

So, what about all the terrain in between the hills? I expected Puglia to be as flat as a pancake but this is not the case at all. There are lots of dipsy-doodles and rolling countryside that were a blast to ride. In all, there was just one section of road near Lecce we found boring because it was straight and somewhat flat for about 12km, but otherwise Southern Italy was a dreamy place for our type of cycling. 

👍 … this tour ticked all the boxes with hills of all sizes and everything in between. 

👎... is all that risk analysis really necessary to muster the courage to take on a challenge? It’s questionable.

  3. Drivers

Italian drivers do not have a good reputation. I’m beginning to think it could stem from a misunderstanding of the Italian driving culture than actual bad behaviour though.  I can’t recall an instance in this tour where someone drove too close to me, cut me off or called me out. I just wish that was true of my home town too. I have had more unpleasant incidents in the time since we came home than in the 5 weeks of cycling in Italy. Add to that, a senior on an e-bike (younger than me) rode into me as I was riding cautiously along a 2 way cycle path recently. I got to practise the art of crashing gracefully, no thanks to that brainless move. 

👍... the drivers in southern Italy get two thumbs up from us. Okay, maybe just one.

👎… me and cycle paths are not meant to be together.

Navigation

One of the essential skillsets for cycle touring the backroads of any European country is navigation. It used to be sufficient to use a paper map. After all, that’s all there was. Nowadays, we have devices with GPS signals and electronic routes too. It inevitably leads to situations where opinions differ: do we trust the electronic route? do we trust the GPS signal? do we trust the road sign? do we trust the Michelin map? Sometimes, things can and do get complicated.

We both use electronic maps and GPS’s but I am more of a situational navigator, taking into account the lay of the land and local conditions. David’s preference is to set a route in the GPS and follow it. The result? Enter the great roadside debates:

  D: 🙂 the route says we should turn right here. 

        Me: 🤨 Let’s keep going, this road is awesome!

  Me: 🙂 let’s follow this road, it’s right here on the map. See?

        D: 🤨 maybe, but it’s not on the GPS route. Looks like a gamble to me!

We work it out and make a choice, then move on. I have certainly learned to be skeptical of my choices after leading us astray more times than I care to recall. I think it works the other way too. 

👍… a good paper map is essential to see the big picture.

👎… there is no joy in persuading  your spouse to follow your shortcut and discovering it is a brutally steep hill that’s unrideable 😳. 

Accommodation

We used Booking.com for all of our accommodation. The platform works well and we were more than satisfied with all but two places. The prices were also very reasonable. Yes, some places are pricey but these are in well known locales where accommodation is in high demand. I’m talking about Amalfi, Sorrento and Matera here. In general we had plenty of choice in the range of 80-120 Euro, including an Italian breakfast which ranged from a croissant and coffee to a full on buffet. 

The one trend we are not fond of is absentee or remote hosts. It seems a common model for today’s B&B’s. I just wish it was more transparent in the booking process as we always enjoy meeting the hosts and learning about them and their town. 

👍...accommodation in Southern Italy is good value. 

👎... I need to up my game to avoid booking places with remote hosts. 

Food and Drink 

  1. Breakfast

The average Italian breakfast on this trip consisted of a coffee, a very good coffee at that, and a croissant. This was often taken at a local cafe. It is not a great way to fuel up for a day of cycling, but it is what it is. As for less than average breakfasts, the ding-dong and coffee with powdered whitener in Grassano took the prize. Then there were the ‘over-the-top' breakfasts where the choices exceeded our capacity to consume. We were spoiled like this in Naples, Amalfi, Porto Cesaro, Potenza, Santa Maria di Leuca, Gallipoli, Otranto, Lecce and others. That’s pretty good odds in my books.

👍 🫳 👎... It was a mixed bag for breakfast. I will continue scanning reviews and photos in Booking.com to suss out the good breakfasts before making a booking.

  2. Lunch

We have developed a habit of having minimal lunches when touring. On this trip, we enjoyed stopping in at a macelleria or small shop and having them build a panini for us to share. Cold drinks were always available to go with the panini. In a pinch, we used grocery stores, the smaller the better. Big chains are time killers. The merchants in the small shops were invariably proud of their breads, meats and cheeses and were only too happy to provide sustenance for us. Some even joked that we needed to eat a lot more because we looked like we needed it!

👍  The macellarias and small shops were great for finding food mid-day.

👎 We still came up short on several occasions, when nothing was open (be careful on Mondays and holidays). Going without lunch is not good for the body or the mind.

  3. Dinner

So, what about dinners? If you followed along in the journal, you know that the dinners were fabulous. It is safe to say they were better than a picture could ever show. So, just what is their secret? It starts with passion. The people is Southern Italy deeply respect the ingredients and the art of food preparation. Everything is fresh to the table and off-the-scale when it comes to flavour and freshness. We did not see mass grown anything, it’s just not a thing in southern Italy. That’s not to say the little farmers are winning any battles against agro-businesses. We just didn’t see or eat much of anything sub-par.

Then, there is the deep reverence for gathering friends and family and sharing food. When we asked our server in Sorrento if she was always that happy, she laughed and said, ‘yes, why not?’. Why not, indeed. 

I honestly can’t recall eating such consistently excellent food on any of our previous tours. On more than one occasion, it was almost impossible to select from the menu because I knew everything would all be out-of-this-world delicious. 

I would do a dis-service not to mention the one aspect about Italian dinner that we northerners have trouble with. It’s the time of day that they eat. Unlike Italians, we don’t take a long afternoon break and eat a sit-down lunch at 2-3 pm, so we are ravenous by the time they are ready to serve dinner at 8:30 - 9:00pm. Our way of dealing with this was to sit down at a bar for a snack in the afternoon and replenish our fluids while others were licking their gelatos. 

👍... The food was outstanding on this trip. I can’t wait to return and sample more of it.

👎… I won’t be able to continue eating like this when I’m not burning the calories at the same rate. As healthy as it is, too much of anything is not a good thing.

People We Met Along the Way

The more we travel, the more we enjoy meeting people along the way. It is what keeps us coming back to explore the world on our two little wheels and, most often, it’s the small things that stick in our memories and make deposits in our emotional piggy banks.

Like the two male hosts in Lecce who were so understated but eager to please. They were waiting for us as we approached the B&B, but didn’t say a word as we rode past, not realizing there was a B&B there. Only when we turned around and were ready to ride past them again, did they ask if we were looking for their B&B. They waited on us hand and foot during our stay. Or the host in Porto Cesaro whose father sensed our bikes were pretty special and used a curtain to cover our locked bikes for the night. Meanwhile his daughter, the host, kept us in stitches as she plied us with drinks and cakes and tarellis for the road. Then there was Antonio in Foggia. He told us we should eat all the candies in the candy dish because they were the good kind (they were!) and called ahead to tell the resauranteurs that we would be on our way shortly, then dropped by our table at both dinner and breakfast to check that we were being well fed. The staff looked up to him. He was a very special guy who we were lucky to meet. 

👍... We are genuinely pleased to meet the locals and other tourists during our travels. Sharing moments with them is what really moves our dials. 

Oh, Those Romans!

We have tripped across many Roman ruins as we have cycle toured in Europe over the decades. To be honest, we really didn’t give it too much thought other than it was interesting to see how far the empire had spread and that their structures still survive in some shape or form. This trip changed all that ambivalence. Wandering through the cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii is sure to get one’s mind working overtime. And, walking on the roads while peering into the houses of people who lived there almost 2000 years ago brings a new perspective. Seeing the contents of these cities in the Archaelogical Museum of Naples was mind-blowing. It left me with a deep curiosity to understand how the Roman Empire came to be and how it fell to pieces. Maybe it will help make sense of the world in 2023.

👍... Travel has the power to transform and broaden your world.

👎... Reading about the history of the Roman Empire puts me to sleep, but I will persist!

What’s Next?

Our cycle tour plans usually take shape in late December and January so it’s premature to pin anything down just yet. The Dolomites and Andalucia are two possibilities we are looking into. For now, we are taking it easy, gardening, cycling, walking the dog and just enjoying summer on the island. In the interim, we are both looking forward to following along with our fellow Cycleblaze friends as they embark on their fall tours. 

Till we meet again, safe travels.

Anne

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