May 16, 2024
Day 7 - Gallipoli to Santa Maria di Leuca
A day of wind
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Today was about survival. We didn’t take many pictures.
We woke to the whistle of wind across the rooftops of the Palazzo Zaca. Breakfast was very good. Lots of choice, and protein options were available. A major step up from the previous morning.
The wind was supposed to be at peak force between 1000 and 1200. Wind speed was 55km/hr according to the YR weather app. We left at 1015. Not the best timing, but we consoled ourselves with the thought that the wind would be diminishing during the day.
We walked out to the road that rings the old town of Gallipoli. The wind was howling and the sea looked fierce. It was a good day NOT to be in a boat out there. Our problems were relatively smaller. We shrugged and pushed off.
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The first 10km were some of the hardest riding we’ve ever done on a tour. The wind was super-strong, coming at us from about 1 o’clock, and whipping sand off the beach. It was like riding up a 10% grade while being simultaneously sandblasted.
We chugged along at a really slow speed on the flat beachside road until we came to our turnoff. Rich had thrown together an alternate route last night that kept us off the beach as much as possible. We were hoping for some shelter from the wind, too, if we could find it.
We climbed away from the coast. First steeply to get over the autostrada, then more gently as we got some altitude. The wind, unfortunately, was still fierce.
We battled gamely onward, taking breaks alongside the road every few km. We eventually struggled into Taviano, where the “Capimora” cafe magically appeared, serving us some lovely home-baked goodies and giving some temporary shelter from the storm. 16k done.
Back onto the road, it seemed like the wind might be dropping a bit. Occasionally we would get a lull of wind and we could spin up our speed. And then a gust or 2 would hit us on the nose, forcing us to drop back a couple gears and spin into the resistance.
The small towns of Racale, Alliste, and Felline gave us some windbreaks. We broke for lunch in Ugento, where “Locanda Ozan” provided us a meal made entirely of Antipasto plates. We’re getting kind of tired of pizza, it seems.
Once more into the breach! We sallied forth to resume the attack.
As Robin pointed out at one point, it wasn’t raining, the roads were marginally better than around Taranto, and lunch had been good. So we weren’t doing all that badly. We just needed to keep spinning toward our goal.
We did encounter some interesting roads, however. Our favorite was the “thin layer of asphalt on top of stone pavers” version. Nice for loosening those pesky dental fillings.
This part of Puglia has far more dead olive trees than further north. We knew that there was a problem with the trees, but to see so many old trees in such bad shape was depressing. Most of them seem to be resprouting from their bases, but who knows whether they’ll live or not?
We took our last break in Marciano di Leuca, where there was a cute little Carmelite church and an old castle to look at.
We took a short walk to explore a bit more.
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Blissfully, the last 6km were pretty much downhill. Despite a strong headwind, we rolled in to our accommodation “Camere Assud” with no further exertions.
The owner Vito had prepared for the bike by putting some cardboard down in the common area room. So Schnooks has a safe place for the night. The room is immaculate!
Dinner was at “La Conchiglia” and was good. Swordfish for Robin, pizza diavola for Rich. We walked back up the hill to our room and enjoyed the peace, tranquility, and lack of wind noise.
Today's ride: 53 km (33 miles)
Total: 358 km (222 miles)
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