June 7, 2023
Trani to Manfredonia
Trani has been a gem of a place for a stopover. I am a pushover when it comes to an old town whose buildings curl around a small harbour, where fishing boats bob and piles of fishing nets sit in waiting and the seagulls soar in the currents overhead. Add to that the ambiance of an interesting centro storico and restaurants that spill out on the sidewalks and streets and I just couldn’t ask for more.
Our Italian breakfast today was at a bar in a piazza not far from the B&B and included a bottle of carrot/orange/lemon juice, cappuccino and a fresh marmelatta croissant.
Trani was showing off in the morning light and clear blue skies that greeted us this morning. It’s a photogenic place and deserves every bit of its reputation as a pearl of Puglia.
It’s another bumpy start to the ride along streets made of large stone blocks. We always try to find the smoothest and most even sections but when it comes down to it, you just need to ride slowly and carefully. It does end, eventually.
I have to add here that I was unsure of the decision to use such fat tires for this tour, but I am utterly thankful for them now (406mm x 1.5” for you cyclists). Fat tires add resistance in my mind, but tire designs are changing and improving. My advice is, don’t leave home without them if you are considering cycling in Puglia.
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10 months ago
Today’s ride was more chilled than yesterday since we are out of the Bari area. The route hugged the coast all the way to Manfredonia, passing through a couple of small cities. The roadways were in good shape and the sun was shining. A light breeze from the northeast kept us comfortable.
The beaches here attract the crowds in summer. At least that’s what we assume from the parking lots, the signs and the beach itself. And, a useable two way bike path, to boot. At this point, we expect more beach-goers so we are crossing our fingers for all the small businesses that it will transpire soon. It appears that too many bars and campsites have gone out of business, which is pretty sad. I hope the crowds arrive soon when the kids are out of school.
Leaving Margherita di Savoie, we entered an area with natural salt pans, the largest in Europe. We saw huge salt piles, but sadly there was no activity. In fact, the huge conveyer belt above the mountains of salt had collapsed and there it sat. It seemed like such a loss to waste all that work harvesting the salt. Maybe one day, someone will pick up where the work left off.
We had stopped to view the salt pans when a distinctive bird approached us. It seemed to take a lot of effort to fly but it circled toward us, then would retreat and land at a distance. Its legs hung out behind its skinny body and it really was not a great flyer. We suspect it was a black winged stilt and it had a nest somewhere nearby so we pushed on.
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10 months ago
As you can probably guess, this is a nature reserve and there are lots of birds here as a well as fish, insects and flamingoes. The pinkish colour of the salt pans is actually the result of the crustaceans that flourish in the salty water.
The coastal area to our right (beachside) is cultivated with onions and carrots. Some of the fields had already been harvested and others were about ready to be picked. Leftover carrots and onions lay on the dry sandy soil and the scent of freshly picked onions filled the air.
As a gardener, what struck me is was how “terrible” the soil looked. I have worked hard to make compost and add organic materials to my veggie garden every year. It’s a constant struggle so to see such sandy soil that’s devoid of organic material growing crops like this is a real eye opener. I will have to re-evaluate my idea of how best to grow carrots.
As the salt pans became shallower, we started seeing flamingoes. They are notorious for keeping their distance from humans so they were difficult to photograph but we did manage to get one decent photo. We love to watch them stir up their food from the mud by stomping their feet as they move in circles. It’s serous work!
Eventually the salt pans ended, the fields were cultivated with grains and the bird life changed. Now, we saw storks on their huge nests atop the power poles. It’s hard to see, but the closest nest had 3 chicks in it.
We were nearing Manfredonia by 2:00pm and had pre-arranged to meet out B&B host 2:30. As I rode up a rise over a highway, I got that sinking feeling I had a flat. Yes, indeed. The front tire was flat. A quick inspection revealed that the flat was caused by a thorny seed pod.
David set about inserting a new inner tube to fix the flat. He inflated it to 50psi and we were all set to go when the tire popped and went flat again. Phooey! He stripped the tire off and found that the inner tube had split along its seam. How disappointing! We always try follow the mantra ‘cry once, buy the best’ but in this case the bike store was out of the regular inner tubes and sold him a junky brand. He had a new repair kit on board so he patched the tube, inflated the tire and we were on our way.
As we neared Manfredonia, we passed a dairy farm where they made and sold bufala mozzarella. I stopped to watch the water buffalo loafing in the mud. I, for one, have to thank the Italians for figuring out that the milk of the water buffalo makes a delicious fresh mozzarella. We have sampled it throughout the trip and I know I will miss it when I get home.
Manfredonia sits at the southern gateway to the Gargano Peninsula, the spur of the Italian boot. We cruised in to town just in time to meet our host at the B&B.
| Heart | 1 | Comment | 0 | Link |
| Heart | 1 | Comment | 0 | Link |
We always ask our hosts to recommend a place for dinner and sometimes they give us a list, other times it's just one or two places. After seeing all the fresh seafood in train, we chose a place that out host recommended for its seafood. We ordered and shared a salad and a grilled local fish.
Today's ride: 75 km (47 miles)
Total: 1,034 km (642 miles)
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 7 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 2 |
https://www.schwalbe.com/en/rollwiderstand#:~:text=Which%20factors%20affect%20rolling%20resistance,an%20effect%20on%20rolling%20resistance.
This will provide the explanation of why you are liking your wider tires, and dispel the myth that wider tires have greater rolling resistance.
The comfort factor of wider tires at lower pressure for touring is a huge consideration for touring also IMHO.
Great trip through Puliga, it must be wonderful to be there in the spring.
10 months ago
10 months ago