We’ve had our fun for awhile, spinning effortlessly along the flats. Today we’re continuing along the coast as we trace the perimeter of the Gargano promentory, but it’s no longer flat. We’ll see whether our legs can deal with the shock of a hill or twenty.
We get an early start, after filling up on an excellent self-serve breakfast at B&B Le Ferule, our new favorite lodging of the tour. It’s really a super place - spacious, artful decor, a working range, a working espresso machine, excellent WiFi. It’s a two story affair with the bed upstairs, and for a nice change even the stairs are easy to manage. Rachael’s been raving about it and tries to talk me into hitching it to the back of my bike and towing it along with us. I beg off, but agree that as a trade-off I’ll quit slipping bricks into her pannier (for a while at least).
And we liked the seaside promenade with its mosaic highlights. In fact, we liked Manfredonia and were a bit sorry weren’t staying two nights. It would make a good base for a day ride up to Monte Sant’ Angelo.
The Gargano promentory, the spur on Italy’s giant boot, is almost completely covered by Gargano National Park, the largest National Park in Italy. Formed by an isolated massif that tops out at about three thousand feet, it is an exceptional spot, for biking as well as for its inherent qualities. We fall in love with it immediately, and have been congratulating ourselves regularly for coming this direction rather than taking our planned route across northern Basilicata.
I’ve been aware of Gargano ever since researching our first tour of Puglia, and considered including it then. It was a bit too far off route for our plans then, but for some reason I was also unsure of how it would be biking here. It’s rugged country with few roads, and in my research I concluded that traffic and narrow roads might make it feel unsafe.
In fact though, it’s incredible - at least if you’re here in the low season. Today’s ride offered some of the best cycling we’ve experienced anywhere, and at the moment it feels like the best ride of the whole tour. It is beautiful - fascinating roadside geology, awesome seascapes with brilliant white cliffs plunging into the sea, exhilarating descents - fun, fun, fun. But challenging - our ride today is a constant series of ups and downs.
And, it’s much quieter than I expected. Much of the ride was on the nearly empty old road, which has been supplanted for most travelers by the modern road that shortens and speeds the ride by tunneling through key parts of the mountain. With few cars to distract you from the nonstop procession of stunning views, it is cycling bliss.
From Manfredonia there are two bike routes west to Vieste, our stay for the next two nights. There’s an inland route that goes and stays a bit higher, or the coastal route. Both look challenging, and the inland route nets more elevation - but I think that the coastal route, the one we followed, could actually be more wearing. There are a few flat miles here and there, but mostly you’re climbing and falling; and, of course, this really means you’re mostly climbing.
Dropping back down to the sea after our first climb of the day - one down, 19 to go. Most of them are shortish climbs, but taken twenty times I’m sure they’ll add up.
I scoped this ride out pretty well, so we were surprised to find this rough but thankfully short stretch on our route. Rachael has been a bit saddle sore lately, and did not appreciate the surprise.
Gargano is different in so many ways from the rest of southern Italy. Here, the olive groves are rooted in a rocky bed rather than the usual red clayish soil.
We’re here on a great day to enjoy the coast at its best. I love the sea under a broken cloud cover that casts shadows across it - there are so many shades of blue here. Across the water we can see lower Puglia, maybe somewhere around Trani.
Dropping through a thrilling series of hairpin bends to Mattinata. This was the most exhilarating stretch of the day’s ride - we would love to repeat it someday. Be sure to watch the video below to get a feel for how great the ride was!
The roadside geology is as interesting as the shoreline is stunning. Here, the pockmarked upper strata remind me of the ant farms I kept in my childhood.
Looking back at Marina di Mattinata from our lunch spot, sitting on the rocks high above the sea. Look at that white cliff down there, with the cave at its base - it looked to us like it cuts all the way through its little cape.
Blockish fortified towers line the peninsula at regular intervals, built for protection from the Saracens. This is Torre dell’ Aglio, above Porto Greco.
Finally, eighteen climbs later, we round a bend and get our first views of Vieste. We heard that it is a beautiful place, one of the top coastal towns in southern Italy; but still, we’re astonished. Its eastern face is lined by sheer white cliffs, reminding me of Bonifaccio in Corsica. Absolutely stunning.
But, as I said, there are twenty climbs to the day. Still two to go, and small though they are, we feel them. We’re quite happy to arrive at our B&B, looking forward to relaxing a bit before heading back into town for a look. So, we’re not amused to find that there is no space for the bikes (we crossed our signals, and failed to check on this when we booked). The host speaks no English, and she has difficulty communicating where parking is available. She points and explains as best she can, and we follow the directions as best we understood them. Ten minutes later we return with the bikes, and try again. This time we bring up a map, and she points. That works.
That took a lot of our free time and the last of our energy for the moment. We decide that we’re staying here two nights for a good reason, and will get a good look tomorrow. For today, we’re happy to rest up until shortly before dinner and then see what we can along the restaurant crawl.
Vieste lies in an exceptional setting. Approaching it from the east as we are must give you the best initial view. Look at those white cliffs!
Faro di Sant’ Eufemia, the Vieste lighthouse, stands tall on an offshore islet just north of town. We’ll get several good looks at this, as it’s on the walking route to where the bikes are parked.
This probably looks steep to you, and you’d be right. The railing on the left is for a powered chair to help folks up with mobility problems. It was a temptation, if only we could figure out how to operate it.
