Randazzo sits a bit above the Alcantara River, one of the few large enough to have a year around water flow. The river has its source high in the Nebrodi mountains northeast of here, and empties to the Ionian Sea near Giardini Naxos. Our ride today is more or less an oval, following the river valley down the southern flank and returning on the northern side. Conditions for a ride are perfect - in the low sixties, mostly clear.
The primary destination for the day is a park on the Alcantara a the point where the river passes through an extremely narrow basalt gorge. It is a 17 mile ride there, dropping nearly 2000'. It sounds like the miles would fly by, but a lot of the distance is on quiet, malsurfaced roads that slow us down, along with a continuous stream of wonders to stop and take a longer look at. This is fabulous cycling country here, and we are encountering more cyclists on the road here than we've seen in other parts of the island.
The Sunday morning market in Randazzo is a huge affair. It was startling to see so many people this morning after walking through nearly deserted streets last night.
This shot of the north face of Mount Etna would have made a good video because the cloud at the summit is blowing so fast. When we first started getting clear views of the summit we thought this was a cloud blowing up from the other side. After watching it for a few days in a row though, I think it must be steam.
The gorge is quite a spectacle. Apparently the river was blocked by an eruption and lava flow from Etna some time in he distant past, and carve a narrow passage through. The sheer cliffsides on either side of the cleft are a striking get-white columnar basalt. The river is far below at the bottom now, but in the wet seasons when it is full it completely fills the canyon - you can see the high water marks on the cliff face, where the Rock is scoured clean.
The place is a bit of a theme park. There are 265 steps to the river level (w didn't go down them today though), and an elevator that you can take back up for a fee; water slides and rafting on the calmer part of the over below the slot canyon; well marked signage for many of the plants along the walking trail; and even animated models of prehistoric animals that were found near here, that spring to life and growl or roar as you walk past.
This prehistoric hippo mad both of us jump when it suddenly turned its had toward us and roared as we walked past.
The Alcantara Gorge passes through an amazingly narrow cleft of greyish white basalt. In the winter when the water is so high it completely fills the channel.
The Alcantara Gorge is a very dramatic and lovely formation, but difficult to photograph effectively because of lighting issues and the few options for where to stand. It would be a great spot for something like a selfie stick, so you could hold the camera out over the edge of the cliff. The trees at the park were a much easier subject, so I included a shot of this colorful eucalyptus.
Heading west again, we follow the north bank of the valley, cycling between impressively rugged country spotted with towns and villages spilling from the tops of ridges. This is the lower end of the Peloritani Mountains, the formation that caps the northeast corner of the island. It is a beautiful ride, with the mountains on our right and views across the valley to Mount Etna from the south.
We climb steadily, gaining about two thousand feet, until we arrive at a decision point in Roccella Valdemone, a small village plastered to the foot of an imposing, towering rock. We would like to keep climbing up to Favoscuro, another two thousand feet up; but it is already four thirty and it doesn't feel like we have the time. Instead, we take the minor road that drops straight down out of the village - so steep that we almost have to walk the first few bends in the road.
After bottoming out, we still have more climbing ahead, before finally reaching the real summit for the day at Santa Maria Vittoria, where we rejoin the highway and drop back to Randazzo to end another very beautiful day on the road. It looks like we could have camped in Randazzo for another day or two if we'd had the time - this must be one of the best cycling spots on the island if you don't mind the hills.
Total elevation gain: today, 3,900; for the tour, 75,400'.
The land on the north side of the gorge is quite rocky and rugged. Our road gradually climbed up the river and into the base of the mountains for a few thousand feet before we finally called it a day and bent back toward Randazzo.
Roccella Valdemone, another village high on the flank of the Alcantara valley. This is the point where we turned back toward Randazzo. We had originally thought to continue climbing north to Favoscuro but it was getting too late in the day - we loitered around too long at Alcantara Gorge park.
As we dropped toward the river, a pair of motorcycles buzzed past - then another, then a few more. They just kept coming! Looking at them strung along the road in front of me I kept thinking I should stop and take a photo of them, and was hoping she had her GoPro on (she did). Finally they all passed and it was quiet again. A few minutes later I looked over the edge at the final switchbacks into Randazzo and was happy to see them all clustered together, racing through the turns.
