Backpacks and Saddlebags

Lecce to Matera

April 3 – April 9, 2022

One would think that the toughest part of a long-distance cycling trip would be the physical strength and endurance needed to complete the trip or even to get through each day. Nope, not necessarily true.

The first week I was concentrating on just staying on my bike without toppling over. The second week is all about the mental game. I was trying to get into the rhythm of bike touring and struggling with the weather, navigation hiccups, and figuring out exactly when Italian stores and restaurants are open for business. The whirlwind of planning my trip, packing, and flying off to Italy was behind me and I now was fully immersed in the reality of the trip.

I cannot say I was in the best physical shape to undertake a ten-week long-distance ride when I started. A bike accident at the end of the summer in 2021 sidelined me for a month. When I was given the okay to get back on my bike, I wasn’t too eager to ride through traffic again. Then the New England winter provided plenty of excuses to stick to hiking or rowing on the erg. The hiking and rowing helped, but I was not ready to climb any Italian hills for any length of time with a thirty-pound bicycle and forty pounds of stuff.

It is true, that training beforehand is not entirely necessary unless you have spent the last 20 years sitting on the couch and your biggest exercise routine is walking to the mailbox. The beauty of bike touring is you go at your own pace. You pick the route whether it’s up the hill or around the hill. You stop when you want, and as often as you want. Training happens on the tour and my strength and endurance increased every day. I thought I was smart when I planned a flat start to my tour, but it sure did feel like I was climbing a lot of hills with the constant headwind. I knew there would be some wind to contend with, I just did not expect so much sustained winds. Perhaps a little training beforehand would have made me stronger initially, but if I waited until everything was ideal, I may never have started my trip.

The physical aspect, as tough as it was, was not the biggest hurdle to overcome in the first weeks of my trip. The most challenging part of my early rides was often finding the mental energy to get through the last ten miles. Or to turn the pedals one more time against the relentless wind. Or even to fight the tediousness of a sometimes uninspiring landscape. The most difficult part of bike touring is not the physical challenge of getting your bike and gear from point A to point B, it’s having the mental fortitude to keep pedaling despite the tired legs, the sore butt, the less than ideal weather conditions, and even the boredom.

I would love to say that once I made up my mind to tackle the hills, push against the wind, and succumb to the tedious rides, then I flew up the hills with renewed energy and roared back into the wind. Not quite that simple. It was still physically tough. But it did help to keep my mind focused on getting thru the next five miles so I could reward myself with half a chocolate bar before tackling the wind once again. (Chocolate is a powerful motivator.)

Thankfully, my ride for the most part offered incredible scenery to also take my mind off of the physical demands. One day I was riding along the stunning Ionian coastline with sparkling blue water mere yards from me, and the next I was cycling along the dramatic ravines that make up much of the region northwest of Taranto.

For my second week, there was no lack of mental challenges. A road closure 3 miles from the campground outside of Gallipoli resulted in a six-mile detour and getting lost. That was followed a few days later by riding an extra ten miles into Taranto, a city I had hoped to avoid. Everything along the coast was still closed for the season so I had no choice but to tackle southern Italian city traffic. Then there were the Komoot routes that led to nonexistent or inaccessible roads that also resulted in additional mileage. And of course, there was the wind, always the wind. But now the wind was coupled with some hills through miles and miles of windmills in a remote and windswept landscape with wide horizons that felt more like Kansas than Italy. Did I mention the wind?

Highlight of the Week

My highlight of the week was one of the best meals of my trip at a hidden gem of a restaurant in Massafra. The Il Ritrovo degli Ostinati is nestled in among the whitewashed narrow lanes of the ancient Terra district. Of course I arrived early by Italian standards and had the entire restaurant to myself. My B&B hostess had called ahead and the owner was graciously expecting me. Everything from the local red wine to the roasted vegetables to the pasta and tiramisu were divine. As ravenous as I was, I savored every morsel of food. The fresh pasta with a pistachio cream sauce is a local specialty and absolutely melted in my mouth. You could serve that dish to me every night for a month and I still would not tire of it. And the tiramisu??? It was one of the best desserts I have ever had. I am not a huge fan of tiramisu, but the owner recommended it and who am I to argue. So, so good. Of course it was all followed up with a limoncello, the perfect ending to an amazing meal.

Each of these challenges was answered with incredible kindness; a house painter calling his sister so she could tell me in English directions to the city, a farmer on a tractor yelling “BELLA” from the fields as I struggled to navigate the potholes and rocks of the dirt road instantly bringing a smile to my face and a renewed energy, and a mountain biker leading me a few miles down the road to point me in the right direction before he headed off once more onto the trails. These simple acts of kindness were all I needed to make it to my destination rather than end up in a crying heap alongside the road.

Another thing I learned very quickly was the importance of rest days. I always intended for my trip to be about enjoying the journey and spending time in places that intrigued me. While in my road cycling life, I love hashing out my various statistics and crushing my Strava segments, in my touring life, it’s all about the towns I am visiting, the people I am meeting, and most importantly, the food I am eating. I am all about slow travel.

Building my trip around the perspective of slow travel rather than simply churning the miles allowed me to take the rest days without guilt. Italy grew increasingly expensive, so as the trip progressed and I gained strength, I rode more. But in these early days, I needed time off to rest both my body and mind. It’s exhausting making all of the decisions yourself, communicating with non-English speakers, and confronting the day-to-day challenges. Rolling into town after a twelve-mile bike ride, on the heels of a sixty-mile bike ride, and taking an extra day is good for the soul.

Challenge of the Week

I arrived in Italy with a shiny brand new Google Pixel 6 Pro. I love it. I love the camera, the long battery life, and the increased storage space. The downside is I bought it on a payment plan so it’s a locked phone. I had to rely on the free wi-fi at lodgings or restaurants. For the most part, planning for the next day’s ride worked out well, until it didn’t. I was expecting the campground just south of Taranto to be open, as their website indicated. I even had a backup plan with one or two of the other campgrounds in the same area. Nope. All of the campgrounds were still closed for the season. After the kind help from a house painter I flagged down, I learned I would have to pedal my already exhausted body through crazy traffic another ten miles into Taranto to find lodging for the night. After stopping many kind locals in Taranto for recommendations and wandering around trying to find those recommendations, a very fancy ($$$$) and fully booked hotel took pity on me and found me an equally fancy ($$$$) B&B in the old town. There was a big convention going on in town and everything was booked solid. It was 8:00 p.m. before I finally crashed onto my bed and fell asleep too tired to find dinner. (Much to the horror of the morning staff, I took full advantage of their extensive breakfast buffet.)

Lessons Learned

If at all possible, bring an unlocked phone
Take full advantage of included meals
Ask for help no matter how stinky and sweaty you are
Listen to your body (and mind) and take the extra rest day if needed

Recommendations

These are my recommendations for lodging. I do not receive any compensation for the recommendations. They are wonderful places I stayed in and I want to pass them on to you.

Novecento Room and Breakfast – Massafra – The decor did not thrill me but the welcome I received and the attentiveness of the owner, Tiziana was outstanding. She made sure I was comfortable and my bike was secure. She recommended the excellent restaurant Il Ritrovo degli Ostinati and called ahead for me. She also called her American cousin who lives in Japan and tours by bicycle so we could chat. I stayed an extra night and when I pedaled off, my panniers were a tad bit heavier with a small bottle of olive oil, a small bar of olive oil soap and some postcards, all gifts from Tiziana.