Licata to Ragusa Ibla

March 28, 2023

This was the ride I was concerned about when I modified our itinerary when we decided to skip Punta Secca after learning that the Montalbano House B&B wouldn’t be open when we passed through. There wasn’t anywhere appealing to stop between Licata and Ragusa so we decided to just go all the way to Ragusa. This meant a distance of over 100 km with a big climb right at the end.

We started with a few flat km but soon enough found ourselves on the SS 115, a busy highway with a lot of trucks. Unfortunately, for half an hour or so, it was the only option. We had some relief on quieter roads for a while, but as we neared Gela, we were on the road with all the truck traffic once again. It seems that this road, signposted SP 83 or “Strada dei Due Castelli” and shown as a narrow white road on my Michelin map, is a popular bypass route around Gela. We couldn’t wait to get off.

Castellucio del Gela, one of the presumably two castles along the “Strada dei Due Castelli”

I remembered an option from when I was creating routes and sure enough, there it was at about the 43 km point on our track. I hadn’t used it as RWGPS showed part of it as unpaved. Unpaved is better than trucks going past at 80+ km/h (in a 50 zone!) so left turn it was.

The first bit was bumpy and unpaved but that section was very short. We soon found ourselves on what had been a divided highway, complete with overpasses and interchanges. We saw maybe 3 cars on it; it was otherwise abandoned for reasons unknown. It was 5 or 6 km of well-paved bliss.

Yup, we get that big viaduct to ourselves.

When we had to leave it, by way of an exit ramp, we chose the ramp which would put us on SS 115 for a short distance until we could exit onto SP 189. The distance on the busy highway was even shorter than expected—maybe 10 m. We squiggled around on quiet roads until we had to join our planned route through another section with limited options.

We stopped for a restorative chinotto in Comiso, then navigated through the steep streets of the town until we were spit out onto the main road to Ragusa. Thankfully, this highway wasn’t steep, maybe 4 to 5 percent grade, but it carried a lot of traffic.

We were very glad to get off it and onto the quiet streets through Ragusa and then down the narrow twisting road to Ragusa Ibla and our B&B.

Ragusa Ibla seen from that narrow, twisting descent through Ragusa Superiore.

We went for a short walk to find dinner and ate what I thought was a mediocre meal at a restaurant just off Corso XXV Aprile, the main street along the ridge. An early night, as always.

Duomo di San Giorgio, at the upper end of the pedestrian street through Ragusa Ibla.

The route we rode, better than what I’d planned. One of the reasons I don’t always follow the plan.

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Today's ride: 105 km (65 miles)
Total: 602 km (374 miles)

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