Day 7: Loooong Day: Candela – Benevento 63 miles (287 Total Miles)

Our route runs northwest, following river valleys as much as possible. The map above is approximate due to numerous road closures. We actually covered one section of road at least 4 times. The major climbs are when we cross into another drainage. The autostrada and rail lines bisect the valleys and the roads permitting bikes meander from side to side. The old Roman roads are mostly on the left side and a newer industrial road is on the right. 

Our cycling guidance often does not indicate road closures on the small lanes. Today we encountered a number of washouts, forcing us to backtrack and search for an alternative. Sometimes they permit traffic to pass over temporary repairs; sometimes the repair is too rough to cross. We easily added 7 miles due to blockages and rerouting.

We arrived in Benevento after 5 pm, our latest arrival. We found the street, but the house numbers were misleading. While odd and even numbers were on opposite sides of the street, they were not aligned. We were looking for #31, and found 32, 34, 36 on one block, but 20's were on the opposite side. #31 was on another block, pointed out by a man walking his dog who stopped to help.

I found that many of the booking.com lodging owners use What's App to give entry instructions. Wish we knew that earlier, just another travel lesson. The owner of our Benevento lodging appeared after we figured out how to enter—coded outside gate and coded entry door. But once we shut the outside gate, we could not get out. There was a switch inside the entry, that said "Gate" but in Italian. 

Flat tire repair day for me. I decided to check my bike and trailer tires for embedded glass and thorns. I found and removed 3 thorns in a trailer tire,.One had punctured the tube. I checked my bike tires and found a tiny wire. Using a knife and fingernail clippers, I was able to grasp and remove the wire, and then the tire went flat. Better to find tand fix tires in the evening than along the road;

Lost Roman Bridge? Seems to be in the middle of nowhere.

We are not going there! This was our longest mileage day with nearly 6,000 feet of climbing, per John's Organic Maps estimate. We are now trying to stay in the lower parts of valleys near rivers. One hilltop town at the end of the day is sufficient.

Cat of the Day. We stopped at a small bridge and this cat appeared.

Dogs of there Day. Guard dogs are everywhere, some big, and many just yappy. Fortunately, most are in fenced properties and not chasing us down the road.

I guess the barista liked us.

Oops—Our most dramatic washout. I vaguely recall news about heavy rain and flooding in Southern Europe. We were on newly paved road when we encountered this washout, and backtracking would have added many more miles. Fortunately, the backhoe operator waved us through. John looked and the drop, said no, so he prepared an acceptable path just for us. 

Again. Seems that pizzerias are often the only places open in many of the smaller towns. Fortunately, we both like pizza. This was the closest restaurant, very busy, and very good. Lots of neighborhood take-out.