So here’s a tip for those that want to include video in their posts: don’t make your video the initial entry, because there are no edit handles for it so you can’t add space above it or delete it. I’m stuck with it here unceremoniously locked to the top without context, so I have no choice but to give Rachael the first word today.
Which isn’t actually all that bad, because I don’t have many of my own words to add anyway. Between sleeping much more than usual and obsessing over the release of the Mueller Report I’ve done a poor job of time management, and unless I want to fall behind I don’t have time to add much other than the photos.
Quickly then: today’s ride was low on drama but high on scenic content. A beautiful ride through the green Iblean mountains, with few specific details to report. We’re ending the day in the small town of Grammichele, very happy to have arrived dry once again, and to have been warmly welcomed to a spacious room with an excellent heater and all the hot water we could want. After two normal dinners, I seem to be back to my more or less normal health. Rachael’s lacerations are healing well, and her knee is a bit bruised, very slightly swollen, but seemingly recovering well. Life is good.
Looking east from a viewpoint on the edge of town, we can see the snowbound summit of Mount Etna. We probably wouldn’t have noticed this ourselves if Marco hadn’t pointed it out for us.
Corso Vittorio Emanuele, the Main Street through the small Sicilian baroque historical center. Like most towns in the region, this was all established in the wake of the 1693 earthquake.
Leaving Palazzolo Acreide, we follow the quiet, smooth SS124 for about 15 miles. After dropping about 600 feet we begin a 1500 foot climb out of the upper Apano valley, beginning with a diagonal ascent up this slope beneath the ridgetop town of Buscemi.
Today’s 1,500’ climb is nothing like yesterday’s, showing that no two are alike. A steady 4% grade, it takes little out of us but gives us a fine view of the surroundings when we reach the top. Green every direction you look.
The blades are spinning, and it’s fairly windy today. They’re a mixed bag for us because we keep changing our bearing as we execute a fifteen mile long semicircle leading up to the ridgetop town of Vizzini.
Leaving SS124, we follow an unnumbered, barely maintained road for the next half hour. Cows, green fields, potholes, puddles, and a single small pickup truck are our company. Our favorite type of road.
Lunch break, looking up at Vizzini at the top of another 900’ climb. We eat enjoying the spectacular view of the town, contemplating how the climb will feel on a full stomach.
Partway up the modest climb to Vizzini. I could have made a complete post with just photos of this town, which is visible from multiple angles for almost half the day’s ride.
Vizzini from the back side, after we’ve crossed it’s ridge and have begun the descent to Grammichele. The cultivated swath covering the ridge in the foreground is a prickly pear orchard.
The country between Vizzini and Grammichele is very beautiful, I think. It’s especially augmented this afternoon by the darkening skies, which encourage us to keep our pace up.
We’ve lost track now of how many days have ended up like this, with us racing for shelter and hoping we’ll arrive dry. This tour would feel quite different if we were to lose a few of these races, but so far our luck has held firm.
Grammichele is a small place, easy to navigate. At its center is this perfectly proportioned hexagonal plaza. It’s a lovely spot to sit at the end of the day as we wait for our restaurant to open, watching the small human drama and the hundreds of swifts maneuvering above.
