Pietrapertosa to Grassano

May 23, 2023

What Goes Up Must Come Down

We woke to a beautiful sunny day, at last. The skies were blue and there was not a puff of cloud to be seen. What a treat it was after so much inclement weather. Pietrapertosa sits at 1000m elevation so it's downhill from here no matter which way you go.

We departed our cozy B&B and headed uphill to the bar where we had, ahem, ‘dinner’ last night along with an assortment of young and old men just hanging out. Oh yes, the foosball table was going full tilt and the TV was playing music videos for some added ambiance. The bar did a much better job of breakfast, although it was still Italian (coffee and pastry). The service was great.

From the bar, we pointed the bikes downhill and pushed off to enjoy the 11km cruise down the hill that we had come up yesterday. We stopped off at the viewpoint over the zipline to see if any brave souls were waiting in line, but no zipping was happening today. It makes me wonder if anyone has tried it this season. It’s an 800 meter drop to the valley floor, so it’s not for the faint-hearted.

Looking across the valley to Castelmezzano, where the zipline goes.

The coast down to the bottom of the hill didn’t take long, maybe 20 minutes. The scenery and views were astonishing in the morning light. As I mentioned previously, we are travelling in an easterly direction and the mountains are oriented north-south. That leaves only one option for us to advance: climb another 1000m summit. Of course, we knew this and are prepared for it but even so, there's always some trepidation at tackling a 1000 meter climb.

We crossed a small bridge when we reached the valley floor and the uphill started right away. The road coursed through a section of forest along the Basento river and was dotted with cypress trees like you would see in Tuscany. We haven’t seen these growing anywhere else so it’s a mystery why they grow in this location.

The excitement came on quickly after the ascent began. Clanging bells and fresh cow patties were the first clues and as we rounded a bend in the road, there they were. About a dozen cows were wandering lazily along the road, every once in a while snarfing a mouthful of grasses and weeds from the bush. They were not particularly fussed by us, but we are city kids and have no experience with animals of this size. And, they had very large pointy horns! I kept thinking of my brother-in-law, who calmly reassured us when we encountered a large bull on our walk across England. I wondered, what would Wynn do? If only I knew! These guys and gals had free range to go wherever they pleased which is to say, there was no shepherd in sight.

Our first strategy was to wait and observe them to see what their temperament was. Then, we hoped for a car to come, but that didn’t happen. David has a pretty mean whistle, so he let out a few loud ones (it seemed shepherd-like to me) and that seemed to prompt the big leader bull to move on ahead. The others formed a row on either side of the road momentarily but then started wandering willy-nilly once again. The laghard of the bunch stood nearby and watched us. Eventually, the lead bull moved off the road and we took it as our signal to 'go like hell'. The whole crew looked rather nonchalant as we passed by but we were relieved just the same.

The road took us through another beautiful forest. Sunlight filtered through the trees that were sporting new chartreuse green leaves. The understory had been mowed down and tilled by the cattle. Naturally, they add fertilizer as they go, so I would say it was a healthy forest.

The upper part of this ascent took the wind out of me. The grades had been rideable all the way but in the last 2k, it was over-the-top quite literally. When it’s over 10%, I don’t last long and it is just as fast to walk.

I looked up to see how far David had made it. He had ridden right on up, quite an amazing feat. I noticed a sign next to him that said the upcoming descent was 18% and I called out to ask if we were at the summit. No answer came and with that, he disappeared from my sight.

I soon realized that the 18% grade just carried on. He had made to the top and parked his bike, then came down to push mine over the final crest. I gratefully accepted the help.

The things that make hill-riding exciting are many but the sense of accomplishment in making the summit, the exhilaration of the descent and mastering the downhill hairpin bends top my list. We have disc brakes for the first time and they make the descent much more enjoyable because of their superior stopping power.

Olivetto Lucano wasn't on the planned course, but we ended up there after missing a turn on the downhill.

We stopped briefly do a cold drink in Olivetto, then carried on downhill, winding our way through the lush green meadows. The roadway had quite a few ‘issues’ with severe slumping, crumbled pavement and assorted holes which made for a few bucking bronk moves, but otherwise it was pretty fine for riding. At the bottom, we enjoyed a nice long flattish ride alongside the river.

Then we hung a left and started the final ascent to Grassano, another hilltop town. This time, the sun was shining on us, and we were both feeling the previous climb. The grade went off the charts quickly (8-10% and more) and was relentless. At the summit, the grade was 14%. What’s more, the entrance to town was the lowest point in Grassano. It went up from there and it so happened that our B&B was two streets from the highest point.

Looking down one of the streets in Grassano. We had much more to go before we’d reach our destination.

The horizontal streets in the village of Grassano are interconnected with stairways and short but very steep alleys. Navigating these places with google maps or GPS is never easy. David went off on foot to see if her could weave a path up the hill to the B&B, and called down to me when he thought he was getting close. I pushed a little and rode a little to inch my way up and ing the way, struck up a conversation in French with an elderly man. Before I knew it, he was leading us up the steep road next to his house. We had been in touch with our host on Whatsapp and he was there waiting for us.

Our host was very helpful in orienting us in his town and suggesting a place for dinner. He made reservations for 7:30. That gave us plenty of time to relax, but we were hungry so we headed to the main street and had a piece of focaccia in a park overlooking the hills of Basilicata.

We had an interesting conversation with a street vendor who was selling his hand made cheeses. He told us all about the cows we had met and how their milk is very high in fat and is good for making caciocavallo. We didn’t buy any cheese as we had nowhere to keep it cool.

When 7:30 finally rolled around, we stepped into the restaurant and ordered dinner. Not five minutes later, a group of 20 eleven and twelve year old boys marched in for dinner, to celebrate the 13th birthday of one of the boys. What ensued was bordering on hilarious insanity. We were swarmed at one point when they decided it would be fun to pepper us with questions in English... all at once.

They knew absolutely everything about football, and even who the Candian soccer stars are. One boy pronounced that it was impossible to ride to Grassano from Napoli. Another wanted to know, why did you come to Grassano and how many nights are you staying. And then there was the little cutie who insisted I take a selfie of us, so I obliged of course, even though as I dislike taking selfies.

We were given a piece of home made birthday cake to share in the celebration. It was crazy, but what fun. It was the best dinner entertainment of the trip by far.

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Keith ClassenYou guys are getting a workout in dem der hills! I share your views about climbing … but 18% ? That will catch your attention. Glad to see the weather has changed for you.
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1 year ago

Anne AnastasiouSounds like a great and challenging day. So glad you both enjoyed it. The dinner sounded fun too. Those experiences really add to a trip. The scenery looks beautiful!
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1 year ago

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Rachael AndersonTough day! Congratulations on making it to the B&B.
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1 year ago

Anne MathersLoL, I’m sure you two have encountered this before. The grade was pretty insane and the streets that are actually staircases throw a wrench into the mix. Locals are always helpful in situations like this. We were asked several times why we had come to Grassano. They obviously don’t see many tourists.
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1 year ago