Benevento to Salerno

September 16, 2015

So today was supposed to be an easy day. And for the most part, it was. We were really lazy, had a casual (so-so) breakfast, loaded up the bikes, and were on our way by 10:30 or so. It was only 40 miles to Salerno, but we did have two major climbs and about 3200 feet of total climbing to do. But tomorrow we would be on the coast and taking a well-deserved rest day.

Today's ride to Salerno

Heart

Comment

Link

The ride out of Benevento was quiet. We were already on the edge of town and did not have much city to clear before hitting the countryside. The first five miles or so were on small country farm roads that had no traffic and a few joggers.

While it looks flat, I think it had a slight grade. We had descended a significant distance into Benevento, and we would need to climb out of the valley and through a mountain pass to make it to Avellino, our expected lunch stop.

Eventually we ended up on the main road to Avellino, which first passed through a beautiful mountain gorge before starting the ascent over the pass and into town.

The mountain gorge before the climb to Avellino.

As you can see, the road was relatively quiet.

We then climbed through some great scenery that included vineyards and olive groves.

And on this particular road, a truck or two.

We arrived in Avellino close to lunch hour, and traffic was very busy along the main thoroughfare. We eventually made our way to the main square and found a spot to relax and eat. We were halfway to Salerno and had tackled one hill. The next, however, would be steeper . . . much steeper!

Getting out of Avellino was more difficult than getting in. I imagine if we had stayed on the mainline road, it would have been much easier. However, that route had a tunnel we were trying to avoid, so we aimed for a secondary farm road that would bypass it and then return us to the mainline for the final leg into Salerno.

Italian towns and villages, urban or not, have many one-way streets, both because they are narrow but also to help with the flow of traffic. So, after some wayfinding and diverting down one-way streets the wrong way, we found our road. I must have had RWGPS on walk mode when laying out this part of the route!

Which became much steeper . . . not sure how I made it up that one.

It started out as a "reasonable" climb but shortly became "unreasonable," which, by my criteria, is grade and road condition. The worst grade we saw was 24%, but on average, the parts we could not bike were around a steady 20%. And if you stop to rest on a steep grade, it can be very difficult to get started again. Combine that with poor road conditions, and the risk of a fall while clipped in was too great. So, yes, we walked a few of the steepest parts.

And pushing the bike was tough as well since cleats don't exactly have the best surface grip! Finally, the top came into view, and it was pretty much all downhill from there to Salerno!

After we crested that hill, it was an ugh moment, but it was then mostly level or downhill going forward.

And even though there were ugh moments, the view was incredible.

So after that adventure, we were back on the main line! And traffic was not bad. We probably could have handled that tunnel, but the story would not be as interesting! We had one more switchback to do, but it turned out to be downhill as well. So smooth sailing to Salerno!

Salerno is down this valley somewhere. Just follow the Garmin!

As we got closer, it became more urban. But we saw lots of cyclists on what became this busy road. They rode in groups of two and three and just about where they pleased. No horn blowing (other than the usual stuff!).

Today's ride: 41 miles (66 km)
Total: 287 miles (462 km)

Rate this entry's writing	Heart	0
Comment on this entry	Comment	0