Molfetta to Gravina in Puglia

November 16, 2023

Beautiful, but too many trucks.

I woke up well-rested and my brain finally realized that the internet issue was that the mobile wifi gizmo just needed a charge. That was easy. I finished the Rome journal, did a few NYT puzzles, and prepped for the day.

It was easy navigating the exit from town, but no thanks to my Garmin, which completely lost the plot today and is missing the first kilometre or so. I gave up on the Garmin after one re-loading of the route and then 30 minutes of being told to do a u-turn. No matter, since I had the route downloaded to my phone too, and I seemed to have few turns today. Essentially, I’m just heading southwest, ever so slightly uphill for about 2/3 of the day. I’ll pass through the Parco Nazionale dell'Alta Murgia then downhill into Gravina in Puglia, which has been highly recommended by multiple Cycleblazers.

I made a quick stop for fruit and juice at an upscale supermarket in Terlizzi. A perfect weather start to the day - low 20’s C, and no wind. Looks like there might be a few cooler days coming up though.

I saw a few guys working on harvesting olives today, using the low tech method of weed whackers (or something that looks like that) and netting. But most of the trip was through wide open farmland that looked suspiciously like the prairies, if the prairies had stone fencing.

There were no towns when I might have wanted lunch, so I had a quick snack of leftover pizza on the side of the road and figured I’d have a beer and snack when I arrived in Gravina around 2 pm. But I didn’t see an open restaurant on my way into town. In fact, the approach to the historic area of Gravina isn’t all that special. I approached town through the industrial area, then passed through new parts of the city before seeing the cool old stuff. More on that tomorrow.

Leaving Molfetta on a beautiful morning.

I wonder what this was, or what is was meant to be?

Snow chains. Really? A Gravina resident told me it used to snow about once a year. But they haven’t seen snow in six years.

Welcome to Gravina. Leave your bugle at home please.

An big door with a little door. Still in use, judging by the mailboxes.

This corner is tricky, even for tiny cars.

Gravina by night. It looks deserted in this pic, but there were a fair number of people out.

Today’s weather was perfect, the pavement was pretty good, and the views were nice. More plowed fields than I expected to see here, for some reason. But I didn’t like all the truck traffic on SP238. There were lots of B-train trucks and just about everyone drives too fast. I pulled off the road a few times to let trucks go by. This is the first time I’d really like to have my lost rear view mirror back. I chose ‘road biking’ today in Komoot, but think I might see what the ‘bike touring’ options show. For future days. I’ll take gravel over big trucks.

I spent the rest of the afternoon on organizational things, communication, and laundry.

Dinner was at Trattoria Zia Rosa, recommended by both the Andersons and my hostess here. Unlike the spring when the Andersons had troubles getting reservations, I was the only person in the restaurant when I arrived at the unfashionably early hour of 7:45 pm. My orecchiette dish was delicious. And the wine pour was generous. It was 8:30 before one large group of other patrons showed up. Unlike Sardinia, I don’t think I’m the only tourist in town. But there aren’t many of us.

My B&B is in the old part of town near the aqueduct. It’s newly renovated and very comfortable. My bike is locked in a storage garage across the road. I won’t have access to it until I leave here on Saturday. Tomorrow I’ll be happy to explore the Gravina area on foot.

Today's ride: 57 km (35 miles)
Total: 709 km (440 miles)

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