May 22, 2023
Potenza to Pietrapertosa
All signs pointed to a brighter day today, at least unto 2pm, so we wasted no time at breakfast and got out the door and on our way by 8:30am.
I had planned a straightforward route to get us out of out of Potenza, but after a missed turn, we were in the thick of the morning traffic. We stopped multiple times to check our location and occasionally backtracked to stay on course.
We hit every kind of pavement en route, from heat-heaved to cracked and crumbled to gouged to mixed materials and sink holes. Asfor the roadways, they were a multi-layered, tangled mess. Cars, trucks and buses seemed to be going in all directions all at once. Eventually, we made our way to a lightly used state road next to the new highway.
Soon, we were cycling in the the most beautiful countryside and as we made our way uphill, the views became more expansive. It was green in every direction and the roadsides were one huge floral display. Although there is a lot of cloud in this photo, there were blue skies overhead, which brought out the colours today.
The hilltops here are dotted with wind turbines to capture energy from the winds that blow from all directions. Today, the wind was light and few of the turbines were turning. The solar panels seen below were adjusting automatically to capture the solar energy.
The traffic all day (state and provincial roads) was minimal and the road surface was very good. We did encounter guard dogs today and that was not so pleasant. We went past two packs and each instance they approached with teeth bared and ran after us. I kept calm and stopped pedalling. That seemed to work this time. David had a bit more of a scare as an aggressive dog broke through a fence and came after him. Luckily, we were on a downhill slope at the time and the dogs retreated.
As we gained elevation, farms gave way to forests of mainly oak trees. The birds were making a racket, so I pulled out the Merlin app to identify them. We were being serenaded by European robins, Eurasian blackcaps, Eurasian wrens and Eurasian blue tits, plus a few others. At one point, an enormous kite flew overhead as it scoured the field for its lunch.
Flowers of the Day
I stop frequently to take flower photos and so here are the best of the bunch from today’s route. Some of. These, I have not seen before (Bill, please correct me if I get these wrong).
At the max elevation of the morning we arrived in a sleepy hilltop town, Campomaggiore. We spotted a sign for Pane (bread) and went through the beaded curtain to see what we could find. The baker proudly offered us some fresh focaccia with tomato sauce, which we gladly purchased for a sum of 1.40 euro per slice. It didn’t take long to polish them off and we asked ourselves once again... how can something so simple be so delicious?
From Campomaggire we enjoyed a wicked descent to the valley floor. I lost count of the turns. You u can see our destination in the photo below. It’s the jagged peaks on the left side of the picture. I tried not to think about how tough it was going to be, keeping my focus on enjoying the descent in front of me.
The main highway of this region snakes through the valley alongside the Basento River. That’s where all the traffic was. We crossed the river and immediately began the final ascent. The sign at the bottom of the climb said it would be 11km long.
We both settled in to a sustainable pace, aiming for a 1hr climb. I was thankful to my head mechanic for the range of low gears on this new Bike Friday.
Again, we had the road to ourselves and the sun was shining. We heard a few cracks of thunder in the distance and I prayed we would make it to the summit before it rained.
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After an hour or so, we turned the corner and this was the view of Pietrapertosa.
We booked in to our B&B and just five minutes later, the black clouds arrived and began to dump their load. They announced their arrival with huge cracks of thunder overhead. What to do now? The Giro is taking a rest day so no cycling to watch. I snuggled under a cozy warm blanket and to my surprise, promptly fell asleep for two hours. By then, the storm was gone. Out we went on the hunt for refreshments and some sightseeing. What a unique setting!
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If you have been following along on this journal, you are well aware that the food on this trip has been outstanding. Well, this is Monday and I can report that restaurants in small villages like this close down on Mondays. Suffice it to say that we struck out tonight and made do with a very average panini and a Mars bar for dessert 😝. So, no food pictures tonight.
Instead, here are a couple of sunset shots of this extraordinary place. I am happy to report that tourism has not found Pierrapertosa. It’s been an authentic experience and I am grateful for that.
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Today's ride: 60 km (37 miles)
Total: 275 km (171 miles)
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