September 28, 2023
Day 22: Cologna Spaggia to San Vito Chietino
Shine on, shine on harvest moon
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On the recommendation of fellow CycleBlazer Scott Anderson, we've decided to spend a couple of nights in Termoli. It better be good, Scott, or else...! But seriously, riding all day and camping all night has taken its toll, and we're ready to be tourist tourists again. So we're taking two shortish days to get there.
It lines up well with our desire to camp, because the only place I could verify as open is here at the halfway point of San Vito Chietino. More on this campground later.
We took our time breaking camp, since we knew we had some time to kill today. The air was crisp, and incredibly, there were no mosquitos! The folks that run this campground keep the place sparkling clean. I think that helps just a little bit.
We spent almost the entire day next to the sea. We got most of our variety from the change in color and quality of the bike paths. The stretch we covered today really did feel like Southern California. Endless beach, endless bike paths. It also reminded me of Spain between Barcelona and Valencia. We finally started to see the turquoise tint I had come to expect from the Mediterranean.
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We made it into Pescaro around noon. I promised I would report on it, but the path went along the beach and we stuck to it. What I can share is that it has a spectacular bike/pedestrian bridge called the Ponte del Mare. They don't win any originality points for the name, but the design is something else.
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Pescaro also has some Art Noveau-like architecture -- a sort of echo of Barcelona.
We did have a climb today. It wasn't wholly unexpected, but it was just a little blip on the elevation profile, so honestly, I had completely forgotten about it! Like other climbs of this coast, it coincidentally came at the end of the day. A hundred meters' height was enough to be rewarded with some incredible views. The way down was the real story. The official route had us veer off onto sketchier and sketchier roads, until we hit gravel, then dirt, then singletrack, then rock, then, finally, this:
It's very obviously a rail trail. If the pristine road bed doesn't convince you, the tunnels will:
Even with the beautiful rail trail and the short day, we were more than ready to relax. The open campground I had worked so hard to find was in fact open, but their reception desk was closed until 4pm. We had almost an hour to kill. We handled this in the most reasonable way possible: by visiting a nearby gelateria.
One look at this campground's mascot will tell you most of what you need to know about its condition. It has a dragon's tail and antlers and a pudgy nose. Oh, and gloves, like old-timey cartoon animals. And a T-shirt but no pants. Strangely acceptable in the mascot universe.
For some reason it reminded me of that Flinstones-themed campground south of the Grand Canyon. When I first saw it at 8 years old, I was captivated. The next time, 30 years later, I thought, who in their right mind would ever stay there? Someone with an 8-year old child, that's who. Anyway, the receptionist placed us on a pitch between two decrepit trailers. Mosquitos swarmed around us and on us as we set up camp. We used the last of our bug spray in a vain attempt to keep them at bay. Oh, and we're still next to the railway.
So yeah, this place is really run down, and I think they're closing for the season in a couple days, and it's just super depressing in that regard. But we're making the best of it. We have no qualms about cooking dinner at a picnic table in the lonely playground, we have the bar all to ourselves, and there's no one around to steal our power bank when we decide to top it up at the nearest outlet. Life is good, if not a little creepy.
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Tomorrow it's back to that amazing rail trail for a while, and then who knows? Let's keep it a surprise.
Today's ride: 68 km (42 miles)
Total: 1,277 km (793 miles)
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