September 27, 2023
Day 21: Marcelli to Cologna Spiaggia
Life is so completely zany and free by the Mediterranean Sea
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Technically, we're no longer on the Riviera Romagnola, and it's low season, but I can see from the stacks of umbrellas, beach chairs, etc., that the beaches here are just as packed during the summer months as those further north.
The days are starting to blur. We've had temps in the 60-80F range and good tailwinds for three days straight. It's our 3rd straight day of camping, and our 3rd day of higher than average distance. There were no hills today. That was glorious.
There was one navigation panic today. We were working our way through a series of roundabouts. When we reached the turnoff for the second one, the road was blocked by construction. This led to the only non-autostrada bridge across the river for 8 kilometers! There was no warning, no detour signs, no nothing. After I thoroughly finished panicking, I started scouring the map for alternate routes to the bridge. Imagine yourself surrounded by heavy traffic, squinting at a phone to determine whether the tiny street you want to take connects with a road, or instead goes under it. We crossed our fingers and toes, hopped on this sketchy-looking street past some very sketchy-looking businesses, past the carabinieri who were posted there for some unknown reason (we would've tried to ask them for help if we'd needed it), to the bridge, and onto a sketchy pedestrian path across the bridge. It got us where we needed to go, just barely. The finger-crossing had worked its magic.
We spent a lot of time in urban-ish traffic today on SS16 (the same road that temporarily morphed into an autostrada yesterday). This was probably due to my insistence on selecting a road-bike friendly route. I'll loosen up navigation tomorrow. It was a nice change of pace. The non-urban sections had a wide shoulder, so, except for the road noise, it was pleasant enough riding.
Last night, we treated ourselves to a couple glasses of nice wine at the campground bar. It was a reward for tackling that series of hills with a positive attitude. It's making me think that we should take a day off pretty soon just to do nothing. The other idea is to find a nice place in Bari and spend three nights there. You know, live it up a little. On the other hand, we've got a groove going, and I'd hate to spoil that.
I forgot to mention that we have seen a few other bike tourists on the Adriatic. On Monday we passed two young ladies on a tandem heading north. Yesterday we chatted for a while (while riding) with a Hungarian fellow who was heading down to Malta, and we passed a group of four going north. Today we passed a couple who were also headed north. I feel sorry for all those who are facing headwinds all day. Shockingly, they all seemed to be in great spirits. Good on them!
Tomorrow, not surprisingly, should be more of the same. We'll pass through Pescaro, which was bombed to smithereens during WWII. I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of phoenix arose from the ashes. Again, no significant hills! Yay!
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Sep 28 update: as promised, bonus photos!
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Today's ride: 98 km (61 miles)
Total: 1,209 km (751 miles)
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