Barletta to Giovinasso

October 21, 2024

Time to ride

At 10:00 am we left our home of three days. We could see the skies clearing as we pushed our loaded bikes out through the large courtyard door and into the piazza. The temperature was warming up and we sat comfortably outside at our daily breakfast spot to enjoy our coffees. After three days it would be nice to have a few choices besides croissants for breakfast. I think that we were both a bit nervous but happy to begin riding our bikes south to the town of Giovinasso.

Breakfast time at our usual spot. Not under cover today!

Leaving Barletta was easy as we were already on eastern edge of town not far from the Adriatic. Our routing took us to the coast and then followed the coastline as much as possible to our destination. Reaching the waterfront we passed though a quiet beach community. This road soon ended and we found ourselves on track roads slightly off the coast going back and forth through scrub land. It appeared to be an older agricultural area now dotted with very small hobby-like farms and larger vineyards and lots of fig trees. The going was slow and the ocean was not quite in sight. It was a deserted area and bit strange.

Inland coastal farm road. Not the most fun.

Eventually we ran out of farm roads too, and needed to head back inland to pick up a major road that links the seaside towns of Trani, Bisceglie and Molfetta. Fortunately this road were not very busy and when we could, riding beside the coast in the well organized bike lanes was most enjoyable. The coast seems quiet now and often the businesses looked vacant as summer is over.

All in all, the first day out went very well as we reacquainted ourselves with navigation by Garmin - successfully leading us through the maze of one way streets in the towns. The only problem encountered today was a flat tire caused by a goathead like thorn. Scott repaired this quickly and we were back on the road.

Marina and waterfront at Trani. We stopped for a coffee here.

It is part of the via Francigena too. This route will take you from Canterbury all the way to the foot of Italy - Santa Maria di Leuca

Our lunch stop where we had a sandwich that we bought in Trani.

Very pretty small marina and waterfront In Bisceglie.

Arriving at Giovinazzo and cutting the corner of a very quiet Piazza Vittorio Emanuele.

Fountain of the Tritons in main square of Giovinazzo.

Finding our place in the old part of Giovinasso was quick as we maneuvered the narrow, crooked streets. Our bikes were permitted in a ground floor room and we were located on the second floor. Late in the day we met our host in his shop around the corner, paid our bill and headed out to explore the area. The area did not feel at all touristy and with few restaurant choices, we selected a quality pizza joint above the marina.

After dinner we wandered around a few more of the old town streets and called it a night.

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Today's ride: 42 km (26 miles)
Total: 49 km (30 miles)

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Scott AndersonThis is something I really love about bike travel - you don’t use places up. We’ve ridden this coast twice now and haven’t stayed in either of your last two stops. It makes me want to go back and pick up what we missed.
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3 weeks ago