In Termoli: Due Giros d’Italia

May 8, 2023

One Giro

Thank you, Patrick O’Hara! If you hadn’t informed us that the Giro was passing through Termoli today we would have missed it completely or realized it too late to plan for it. What luck to by chance be here on the day it was coming through. I remember studying the route back before our tour started to see if we might cross paths with it somewhere, but didn’t think to look again after we revised the plan back in Sicily an month ago.

Stage five begins this morning at noon in Vasto, a coastal town not far north of here. The route follows SS16, the old Adriatic coastal highway, as far south as Lesina (the previous place we stayed) before turning inland to San Severo (where we also stayed) before continuing to climb into Basilicata and ending at Melfi near Monte Vulture. In spite of the hilly finale it’s essentially a flat stage, one for the sprinters. We can expect they’ll be at full throttle coming through Termoli, and spectators will have the usual view for this type of script: a breakaway group will suddenly appear, preceded by a few team cars with bikes piled on top, polizia, press cars, motorcycle escorts and the like. Blink, and you’ll miss it. Then nothing until the peloton blows by. Then the long train of accompanying cars and bikes. Then, nothing. It all melts away before your eyes and everyone quickly disperses as if nothing happened. So much todo over such an evanescent event!

With this in mind, and thinking of what sort of ride plan for myself would fit in, I decided on an out and back loop north up the coast to Vasto, where the stage starts. Much of the ride will be on busy SS16, but that might work especially well today if I bike on it after the tour passes by and before the highway is opened to cars again. I'll watch the tour at the point where the coastal bike path ends two miles north of town (it helps that we biked here yesterday so it's easy to think through), and then head north.

Rachael thinks this is an excellent, well conceived plan - for me. For herself though, she's fine looking at the photos later but spending her day on a walk in the hills. To each his or her own, I always say!

I leave not long after eleven, leaving me a generous amount of time to ride the two plus miles to the end of the bike path before the tour is due to blast by at around 12:20 or so. I want to get there early to get a good spot with a view of the road, not knowing how many folks might turn out for the race that far out of town.

Because I’ve allowed myself plenty of time, I’ve got enough to spare for a short ride along the base of the walls for a close up look at the trabucco.

There’s a pre-race event on in the principal principal piazza, with music and paraphernalia to keep people entertained until the bikers arrive. I could stay here, but I’d rather find a quiet stretch of the highway where the sight lines aren’t cluttered with flags, signs, bobbing heads and waving arms.

The Termoli trabucco. I wonder if it’s still operational and if you can see its mechanically operated nets lower and raise if you’re here in the right season?

Beneath the walls. It’s never too chilly or early for gelato!

Not much happening on the bike path today. It’s Monday morning, and chilly and foggy. Not quite as inviting as yesterday.

There is evidence along the way that the Giro is passing through.

I arrive at my planned viewing spot a good half hour before the earliest likely arrival time. It’s as I’d hoped - other than a few police and monitors guarding the intersection I’ve got the place to myself. No other spectators will show up for at least fifteen minutes, and at most they will amount to perhaps a dozen. There are plenty of spectators - the highway was lined on both sides as I left town - but not this far out. Perfect.

I sit down on a concrete barrier and settle in to wait, from time to time getting up for a look around. About twenty minutes later a few team cars come through, the first indication that anything is on for today.

Looks like a perfect spot to watch the parade - a good sight line, the ruined Sinarca tower to the side to add atmosphere.

I’m parked right at the mouth of the Sinarca River, which we biked along yesterday.

Even in Italy, not everyone is a Giro fan. Like I said, to each his own.

A few spectators arrive and start getting the rhythm down. He’ll be mostly waving a flag for the next half hour, so I imagine he’ll go to sleep with sore arms tonight.

After sitting on one of those concrete barriers for about twenty minutes it occurred to me that it might become too exciting and decide to move a ways back. I wouldn’t want to find myself in the middle of a crash, with bikes and bikers plowing into me.

It must be after 12:30 when the small breakaway group arrives. I blinked, and almost missed them.

Now! Just got the camera fired up and focused in time.

And they’re gone. You can see in this shot how far away town is.

And then I wait again. Positioned so close to the start of the stage, I didn’t think the breakaway riders would be so far in front; but it’s a good two minutes, probably more, before there’s any action again. And then of course, there’s an explosion of it all at once. Lots of lead vehicles; a helicopter overhead; the peloton, a colorful, loud, slithering snake racing past the roundabout; and then a much longer trailing train of team cars, motor bikes, police cars and ambulances. And then, suddenly, it’s all over. The last of the train disappears, and within minutes so do the observers and officials and the road is quiet and totally empty.

While the snake raced past, I executed my own game plan. I set the camera to burst mode so it would take multiple shots for each shutter click (and thanks to Keith Adams for reminding me I even have this feature so I’d know how to invoke it) and then quickly slip over to video mode. It came out as well as I’d have hoped.

The burst mode worked well. This is the only one of this set of three shots that was well focused.

This and the following shot are from the second burst shot. They’re flashing past about as fast as the shutter clicks off another image.

Enough. Let’s snag some video while there’s still time.

The other giro

So that’s the day really, interest-wise. As soon as the police observers drove off I hopped on the bike and headed north to Vasto. It’s virtually flat the entire way, and not as colorful on SS16 as if I’d biked in the interior (or joined Rocky on her hike, which we’ll post separately). Also, it’s gray and foggy today, reminding me as I bike how lucky we were to have such perfect conditions on yesterday’s ride.

And, I don’t have as much time as I’d hoped for - partly because the tour arrived later than I’d expected, partly because I wasted nearly a half hour wading through the weeds on a short detour through a small nature reserve, and partly because showers are expected to arrive sometime late afternoon. I really only have time to reach Vasto, snap a few photos, and turn back for home. The first showers arrived within about a half hour, so I did pretty well.

Oh, and one other fact bout the day. When I crossed the Trigno River just before reaching Vasto, I entered Abruzzo. I’m hardly seeing it today and maybe never will again - in general, Abruzzo is quite mountainous (think back to those snow covered peaks yesterday). But I’m here now, which means I’ve now biked in every region of Italy except tiny Aosta, up in the northwest tucked up against the Alps. Sorry Rocky, you missed it.

On virtually empty SS16, which is still shut down for the tour. For the next four or five miles I’ve got the highway to myself except for an occasional police car.

I biked/walked through this small reserve near Petacciato by chance. I saw a bike navigational sign to get off at this exit, and then RideWithGPS indicated this route to get back to the highway. It would have been much faster to just backtrack once I saw what I was getting in for.

It gets worse before it gets better. I’ve got my few senses alert, hearing interesting sounds of birds and amphibians all around - but I never see a one. They’re all safety concealed in the reeds and trees.

These are easy to spot though. Say - what’s that bug, Bill? Look at those massive thighs! He could be a sprinter.

Another one worth stopping for. Actually, I’m pretty sure I know this one from the past but have forgotten.

Back on the highway, I see a familiar profile while crossing the Trigno River and crossing into Abruzzo. I assumed it was a gray heron and was going to add it to the list, but I see that the purple heron looks very similar so I can’t be sure. There will be other herons down the road, so I’ll wait.

Once in Abruzzo, I’m mostly riding on a coastal bike path for the next five miles.

Looking up at old Vasto. Looks like it would be worth a stop, so maybe we’ll come back someday and Rachael can add Abruzzo to her life list after all.

The view back south from Vasto toward Termoli.

There are four or five trabucci lining the rocky headland below Vasto. I stopped when I came to the first of them because my bike path ended here.

The Siren of Vasto entices me to return someday.

Ride stats today: 27 miles, 500’; for the tour: 1,019 miles, 51,500’

Today's ride: 37 miles (60 km)
Total: 1,014 miles (1,632 km)

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Graham FinchI just missed the end of the race last night - got home about 11:20pm. Maybe you were on telly!
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1 year ago

Bob DistelbergThe number of support cars with six or seven bikes on the top was pretty impressive.
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1 year ago

Patrick O'HaraGlad you were able to view the spectacle!
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1 year ago