Today’s ride to Terranova di Pollino was short but challenging - almost 5,000’ of climbing in just over 30 miles. It chops up into three segments: leaving our hotel, we immediately start climbing up the ridge behind Viggianello, gaining 1,500’ before finally passing through a gap, topping out, and dropping 700’ to a small river; then, on the easiest leg of the day, a manageable 800’ lift over four miles, followed by another 500 foot drop; and finally, an agonizing 1,700’ bike & hike in just three and a half miles, and a well deserved 1,800’ drop. Looking at the ride profile, this looks like a series of rather gentle rollers until you look more closely at the distances and elevations.
When we planned this part of the tour, I looked for reasonable places to stay that are a bit farther apart than the 20-30 mile days we’ve been putting in. The terrain is all so rugged here though, and you can’t go far at all without racking up some serious elevation gains.
Rugged and painful, yes; but indescribably beautiful - one of the best days of the tour, definitely. The final climb, as rough as it was, was the best - an almost completely car-free rough surfaced road through a jaw-dropping landscape.We spent the entire day within Pollino National Park, more or less following the north face of the Pollino Range. By the time we head back down to the Ionian coast tomorrow, we’ll have almost completely circled the range.
This is the super-steep climb up to Viggianello I mentioned yesterday. I forgot to show the road itself though, so we came up this way with the bikes this morning to give you a better look. Especially fun pushing a load up the cobblestones.
Climbing rapidly, we look down on Viggianello a thousand feet below. It doesn’t look like much from this direction because all the town is plastered to the far side of the slope. In the distance and shadows, Rotonda again.
Finally we’re up high enough that we can see the end of this first climb. That’s our road angled across the hill straight ahead, bending into that gap in the ridge.
Kathleen ClassenAbout the only sun Keith and I see is in your blog. Keep up the good weather so we remember what it looks like. Reply to this comment 5 years ago
Scott AndersonTo Kathleen ClassenToo late! Out of sympathy for you we ordered up a few days of showers and thunderstorms, starting this morning. I’m so sorry it’s working out this way for you, but at least you’re in a beautiful place to hide out while you wait for your luck to change. Reply to this comment 5 years ago
San Severino Lucano, our pit stop for the day. We’re looking at it from partway down our first drop, and will get there after we bottom out at the river and climb back out again.
Partway up the final climb, we startled a small herd of about a dozen wild horses. They quickly roused themselves and trotted up the road ahead of us for several hundred yards (see them in action in the video). The closest one was apparently wallowing in the dust before we stimulated her to get a move on.
But not the whole way. It’s much steeper than it looks here, but is starting to bend to a more manageable grade. It looks like it’s leveling off ahead, but it’s still climbing at about 10%.
This wasn’t easy to get close up to for a decent shot - I had to scramble over a stone wall and a ways up a steep slope - so I hope someone appreciates it.
Getting up that extra foot makes all the difference. Rachael would like you to look past the saggy butt, but wants to know why one leg is always higher than the other.
Kathleen ClassenTwice this trip I have accidentally put on Keith’s thermal tights. They are identical to mine, just way bigger. You want to talk saggy butt? I had saggy from ankles to waist and it took me a few seconds to figure it out each time. Sheesh. Reply to this comment 5 years ago
For dinner we ate at the Luna Rossa (the red moon), a truly famous restaurant that’s reputed to be the best restaurant in Basilicata. It’s walls are plastered with awards and citations, including a citation from the city of Brooklyn declaring June 22, 2007 to be Chef Federico Valicenti Celebration Day. He’s been in this place for forty years, discovering and bringing back to life old recipes and ingredients of the region. An amazing place, and a menu with a dozen different dishes I’d have loved to try. Amazingly, it was no more expensive than any normal restaurant.
We’ll just show the mains, but everything was wonderful. I’m having ravioli stuffed with lamb, and Rachael ordered pork fillet with chestnut honey, peppermint and wine sauce.
