San Severo

May 4, 2023

The day begins in the usual way, with us going to the neighborhood cafe to redeem our breakfast coupon for coffee and a pastry. This is at least the sixth night in a row our ‘B&B’ has outsourced their second B in this way. Today’s partner is a triumph, serving us up tasty slices of crostata rather than the usual cornati.

There are a few routing options to choose from for today’s ride to San Severo, a town we’ve picked for the night only because Lesina feels like a longer ride than we want to polish off in one bite. We could steer ourselves well away from Gargano’s mountains and enjoy an almost totally flat ride but after mastering yesterday’s big fifteen mile ride with no adverse effects I’m feeling frisky. I stare awhile at the map and pick a route that climbs a bit and hugs the face of the mountains before dropping back to the plain again. The climb looks modest enough, and I’m thinking we’ll enjoy some views as our reward.

I’m right. It ends up being a stunning day, serving us up one sensory delight after another for the next twenty miles. The first fifteen are a steady but very gradual climb to the high point of the day ant about a thousand feet above the plain, with the mountains rising not far from us in the east.

The western face of the mountainous formation that defines the Gargano.

It’s visually striking country, with fields of grain gently rising to meet the base of the mountains.

Our road has some light traffic and a few rollers, but nothing that breaks 5% until the very end of the climb.

The view east. The alternative routing today would place us out there in the flats somewhere.

It looks like this frame is one good windstorm away from collapsing.

Wow, what a color! This is Nigella damascena, surprisingly a member of the buttercup family. It commonly goes by Love-in-a-mist, or just a few other common names: Devil in the bush, Ragged lady, Bird's nest, Blue crown, Blue spiderflower, Chase-the-devil, Devil in a bush, Garden fennel, Jack in prison, Jack in the green, Katherine's flower, Kiss-me-twice-before-i-rise, Lady in the bower, Love-in-a-puzzle, Love-in-a-tangle, and St. Catherine's flower.

The ride stiffens a bit toward the end of the climb, but then our reward comes when we turn west and drop back to the plain, losing around a thousand feet in the next four miles. This and the following miles are totally brilliant as one fantastic sight follows another: spectacular views, outrageously colorful flower displays, a herd of maybe five hundred goats on the move, and there’s even a fox crossing the road just ahead that teases me by pausing on a rise to look back my way just long enough for me to reach for the camera and hope for a shot before slinking away.

A look back at the rapidly receding mountains. Conditions are breathtaking today (literally), with dramatic cloud formations and a 20 mph wind that waves the wheat and spins the forest of wind turbines on the flats.

The view across the top of a small ravine, our course for the descent as soon as we round the bend.

I stay in front of Rachael for a ways so she can capture some video footage but eventually I just have to stop.

I hold back long enough to catch her coming around the next bend below. I won’t catch up again for the next few miles.

Goats on the move, part of a long parade a few hundred yards long.

Wow, I say for about the umpteenth time in the last mile.

#143: Hen harrier. At least I assume it’s a hen (so-named because they’re allegedly hen snatchers). It’s definitely a harrier, and the hen is the only white dumped species around.

I forget, but I think she’s doubling back my way here to round up to the next mile.

Nearing the bottom of the descent. Wow, I say again and fall behind once more.

The wind has turned pretty fierce. Those blades are spinning a full rotation in under three seconds.

An old well. Nice to see a pair of uprights with the hardware still attached.

Video sound track: Adagio, by Lara Fabian

We finally reach the flats, and suddenly euphoria turns to slog as gravity’s no longer our friend and we face a grueling upwind grind for the last eight miles to town. We’re both well wind-weary when we arrive in San Severo, glad that we wisely decided to stay here rather than continuing on another fifteen miles into today’s wind to Lesina. It’s about a half an hour before our apartment’s available so we find a bench and munch on snacks until the time comes and then let ourselves in to our quarters for the night.

Apartment G is a modern renovation of an old building and very high tech - it’s self check-in because we preregistered by submitting our documentation electronically a few days ago, and we have to use our phone as a touchpad to let us in a series of three doorways. When we get to the room we get access to the WiFi through a QR code on the table, a refinement we’ve never seen before.

Oddly enough, for such a high tech joint it’s a surprise to see that the WiFi is actually pretty terrible. Good thing we brought along our hotspots.

Not much happens of note for the rest of the afternoon, until we head out looking for a restaurant. San Severo is no tourist destination, and it takes awhile to find any open eatery other than takeout pizza. Finally we take a chance on a gloomy looking hole in the wall, Osteria a Casa Nostra (Osteria at our house). It’s just as it sounds - someone’s home, with a kitchen and a few tables on the ground floor. And it’s brilliant, a fine home cooked meal and an exceptional personal experience. There’s no menu - we’re told what’s on offer tonight and try to figure out the choices because neither half of the couple speaks a bit of English.

We end up with orecchiette with broccoli and fava beans with chicory as starters, and then follow it with a shared plate of Straccetti di Vitelli as the second. Just before we leave a friend of the family steps in the door with a large shopping bag of fresh picked fava beans, drops a few on our table and on that of the only diner in the room and leaves the rest on the kitchen counter for the owners to ooh and aah over. A great way to end a spectacular day. On the way back to the room Rachael suggests I look behind and up and observe the totally full moon.

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Ride stats today: 34 miles, 1,500’; for the tour: 899 miles, 46,500’

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2023 Bird List

143. Hen harrier

Today's ride: 34 miles (55 km)
Total: 899 miles (1,447 km)

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Rachel and Patrick HugensLooks beautiful.
It's done, the blue shirt has been sacrificed, now has a grease tie dye pattern and left behind.
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1 year ago

Janice BranhamBreathtaking shots, to be sure. I'm catching up on your journal with great admiration for how you're dealing with all the challenges of money, health, weather. It's a treat to follow your journey.
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1 year ago

Scott AndersonTo Janice BranhamThere have been a few more than the usual challenges on this one alright, but we’re doing fine - how could we not, being in southern Italy in springtime? Thanks for following along, and hi to Barry.
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1 year ago