Week 1 – Italy/Croatia Bike Tour

Giovinazzo to Lecce

March 27, 2022 – April 2, 2022

“Take the next right,” the Komoot lady from my GPS app tells me. I do and immediately stop, quickly unclip from my pedals, and curse under my breath. In front of me is a narrow road full of potholes. Some patched over. Some not. Cars parked along one side of the road making it even more narrow. The direction of the vehicles also makes it quite apparent that it’s a one-way road and I am heading the wrong way. But that’s not the worst of it. The road goes straight up at an impossible grade. An 18% grade.

It is my second day of riding on my tour and I am still trying to feel comfortable on my fully loaded bike, which I named Bella the Beast. She feels cumbersome and awkward at best. But with each stroke of the pedal, I am creating a bond with my steely steed and becoming more confident.

For my first day of riding, from Giovinazzo, Italy to Monopoli, I had mapped out a completely flat route. In the planning stages, I expected it to be a quick, easy ride. Easy enough to work out any unexpected kinks on the first day of riding a fully loaded bike with jet-lagged legs.

As expected, I dealt with a lot of wobbling trying to balance my bike as I headed out the door. I am sure the locals found me quite entertaining that morning as I weaved back and forth along the cobblestone streets trying to stay upright while also trying to look like I knew exactly what I was doing. I fooled no one.

Once I hit the open road, I was soon happily spinning along. With the sparkling sea to my left and the blustery wind in my face, I felt on top of the world. My confidence was soaring. Then came one of those unexpected kinks. My GPS app, Komoot, lead me to a bridge that was no longer there. The bridge, crossing a dry river bed, was under construction.

After looking at other bike tracks, I decided to walk across the river bed to the other side rather than backtrack a few miles to the main road. I pushed and cajoled Bella over the rocks and debris only to find a wall of jersey barriers to scale to reach the road.

As I began to remove my panniers, two burly Italian men came gallantly to my aid. They didn’t speak English but one of the gentlemen made it clear with elaborate hand gestures and a steady stream of rapid-fire Italian, that he would lift my bike and panniers over the fence for me.

I tried to argue that the bike was very heavy and that I could remove the panniers. No, no, no, he insisted. I think in his mind, he was going to lift my hefty Bella in one fell swoop up over the barrier and save the day. In reality, only the front end of Bella left the ground as he lifted. It was only when his friend clumsily jumped in to help with the rear end, and with much grunting (and I’m quite sure, cursing,) did Bella make it to the other side.

After many gracias, I left the two men red-faced and bent over gasping for breath on the side of the road while I wobbled off into the headwind. While I could see my destination of Monopoli far off in the distance down the coastline, I never seemed to get closer. The headwind was getting stronger as the day went on and tormented me for the remainder of the ride.

After arguing with the Komoot lady about which right turn or left turn she said to take as I maneuvered through Monopoli, I finally made it to my lodging deep in alley ways of old-town. I was thoroughly exhausted but happy and convinced that easier rides were now ahead of me.

The next day started with a quiet breeze on bucolic roads winding thru endless olive groves. The orange poppies and yellow rapeseed blooming in abundance along ancient stone walls added to the picture-perfect scenery around me. I rarely saw a car and only occasionally saw a farmer working in the groves. I was enjoying the ride and the breeze was pleasant enough until the road turned inland towards Ostuni, my destination for the night.

Almost immediately upon turning inland, the road began to climb upward. My first hill on a loaded bike. It wasn’t all that difficult since Bella has the gearing to tackle the hill without too much effort from me. The real battle was once again with the strong headwind that suddenly materialized once I turned west towards Ostuni. It was a struggle just to keep Bella upright in traffic on the narrow shoulder. The traffic increased as I neared the hill town and I had to walk Bella up a few steep sections of a busy main road as I navigated thru a rotary or two. I had just climbed back on the bike and started pedaling again thinking that the road was leveling out to circle the town when Komoot sent me up the wrong way on that very steep one-way road.

I walked up that steep road pushing Bella. That sounds a lot easier than it actually was. Pushing a seventy-pound bike and panniers uphill is truly a full-body workout. I kicked myself for not looking more closely at the route earlier. It would not be the first time Komoot and I disagree about the direction to take, but it would take a while before I figured out how to create the ride I want rather than trusting Komoot to figure it out for me.

I only had three days of riding during my first week on the bike. The weather played a huge factor. It rained the day after arriving in Ostuni and it gave me the perfect excuse to take a rest day. I was still dealing with jet lag and combined with my fight with the wind, I was pretty tired. While I suspected the wind would be a factor along the coastline, I did not expect it to be as strong and relentless as it was.

Highlight of the Week

My highlight of the week was my monastery stay at Centro di Spiritualalita Madonna Della Nova in Ostuni. The staff took such good care of me while I was there. The dinner was abundant and outstanding which I shared with some visiting monks and a couple of other travelers the first night. When the next day brought more wind along with rain, I decided to take an unplanned rest day and stay another night at the monastery. As I worked on my computer in one of their empty dining rooms, copious amounts of food was kindly brought to me unbidden. Pasta, meatballs, fresh veggies, cheese, wine, and limoncello. It just kept coming. The following day, I bid adieu feeling incredibly refreshed.

While my first two rides were physically difficult, overall I was enjoying every minute. I was cycling in Italy after all. My third ride for the week, the route between Ostuni and Lecce was a joy despite the rough dirt/gravel roads. Once again I found myself meandering thru olive groves in between riding thru small towns and villages. I was still wobbly on the bike and the roads were atrocious but I was incredibly happy.

Despite the first week’s difficulties, I cycled into Lecce tired, yet excited. I overcame many obstacles: the delayed arrival of my bike, Komoot fails, headwinds, and rough gravel roads to name a few, but none were insurmountable. I did not feel like I had hit my stride yet but knew it was only a matter of time.

Challenge of the Week

Surprisingly, it was not the headwind that was my biggest challenge of the week. After a late departure from JFK and a missed connection to Bari, my bike did not make the same flight. It finally showed up a day later but the airline would not deliver the bike to me. Thankfully, Enza, who initially picked me up at the airport, agreed to drive me back to the airport to pick up Bella. She was a huge help with not only driving but translating at the airport and helping to carry my boxed-up bike thru the pedestrian section of old town back to my accommodation. The challenge turned into an unexpected opportunity to spend time with a local.

Lessons Learned

• Expect the unexpected.
• Komoot routes almost always need adjusting.
• Take time to get in the full swing of bike touring.
• Don’t sweat the small stuff.

Routes

Below are the routes I took for the week. You can follow me on Strava or Komoot to get more details.