To Erice: Segesta

April 24, 2016

At the end of the day today, Rachael reminded us that I had told her that the first week or so of the tour would be pretty easy, and all the hard stuff was later, when we neared Mount Etna. We could ease into the trip and get in shape as we go. I forgot about the climb to Erice.

We biked only 36 miles today, but climbed 5100' - 2000 of which were in the last six miles, climbing up to the mountaintop village of Erice.

Tomorrow, I can look forward to her asking me why I decided to plant us here for two nights and take a day ride, when all the roads are 2000' below us.

This was a spectacular day. The highlight we were anticipating most was a visit to Segesta, the site of perhaps the best preserved Doric temple in the world. And there's no doubt - it really is great. We were there for a few hours at midday, and ate our sandwiches sitting and gazing at this amazing structure. It is so remarkable that it has survived these millennia intact.

The other highlight we looked forward to was the mountaintop village of Erice, our destination for the night. We saw little of the village though, which was buried in fog when we arrived. A few hundred feet below it though it was still clear, and the views of the coastline were heart-stopping all the way up the steep 2000' ascent until everything disappeared in the fog at the end. As we ascended, drivers coming down out of the fog faced with the stunning view of Monte Cofano rising up from the sea would stop their cars in the middle of the road and jump out with their cameras.

The real highlight of the day though was the countryside. It is so unbelievably colorful here in the interior! All day long we biked on essentially empty roads - a bit malsurfaced, unmaintained, bypassed by newer arterials, virtually our own personal bike path. Along the margins of the road and in.the surrounding fields and meadows were a dizzying variety of intensely hued wildflowers and crops. It was a trip through paradise.

The only negative to the day, if you don't count pushing our bikes uphill from time to time (leaving Castellammare; up the steep cobblestones of Erice; occasional ultra steep spots in the road) were the dogs. Rachael is such a dog magnet! I'm sure they sense immediately her fear of them and zero in on her as the most vulnerable member of our small herd. Four or five times today I fell behind because I was stopped with the camera and would then come upon her stopped in the road, holding her bike like a shield before three or four loudly barking antagonists. I'm sorry I didn't get a decent photo of this - I'll try to do better in the future.

Hooray! We succeeded in bringing Rachael's GoPro and all the necessary accessories. Here's a nice clip that gives a sense of riding conditions today. Notice the vegetation whipping in the wind - it was very windy all day, with gusts probably around 30 mph.

On route to Erice: our own private ridge road.

Don't bike too close to the edge, Rachael!

The view north to the sea from the summit at Segesta

One of my less well conceived shortcuts: save a mile, push up a 25 percent grade. Rachael wants everyone to be aware that she made it further up than I did.

The colors of the fields and wildflowers here are really beyond description.

R: Our hotel isn't really up on top of that, is it? Up there in the clouds?
S: Yup.

Monte Cofano, from the climb to Erice just before we ascended into the fog zone. I don't really mind a tough climb if there's a decent view to distract you. This one qualified.

Rachael is curious why I had to book a room at the highest point of the highest village around. One a quarter mile back before the cobbles began would have been bad enough.

Today's ride: 36 miles (58 km)
Total: 97 miles (156 km)

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