Day 9: Alife – Cassino – Ceprano 61 miles (395 Total)

Pretty close to our route, as we tried to minimize the climbing.

Beautiful riding conditions, 55 F start, 65-70 F for most of the day, sun, no rain, and a light breeze. I've enjoyed the smells of apples and fermenting silage. Lots of people out trimming vegetation before winter, most of the fields are plowed, and packs of small dogs bark as we ride past. 

However, it was a long day, mostly flat, but I was crawling up every hill in low gear. We both could use a rest day, but with 2 more riding days, John needs time with his friend Marco, near Rome. We just ride slower.  No need to push.


Mostly roads like this winding through apple orchards and small farms between the river, autostrada and rail lines. Knowing it was a long day, we wound through the river bottoms.

Bulk wine by the liter. Bring your container, or use ours.

Ponte Corvo

Fishing with a long pole.


Casa NaLa. 
3 Traversa Chiusa Grande, 03024 Ceprano, Italy

Casa NaLa. While about 1 km from the center of Ceprano, this was a good find. It offered 5 rooms, newly construction, in a residential neighborhood. When I made the reservation, a craft beer bar & restaurant was nearby, but it had closed. Our only option within 1 km was another pizzeria. We waited until it opened at 6:30, arrived before 7:00, and were told that due to the number of orders, we needed to return at 8:30 for pick-up. We did, waited 20 more minutes, and rode back with 2 pizzas in my trailer. Again, really good pizza, dinner, breakfast, and some more as road food.



 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Overview

Image
I have visited Northern Italy by auto and cycled across Italy east-to-west, through Tuscany/Umbria in 2019, starting and ending in Rome. (Blog: https://lnewman1107italy2019.blogspot.com/ ). I have yet to venture south of Rome.  We plan to cycle on paved roads, 11 days riding, carrying our gear, staying in small hotels listed on booking.com, and sampling the local cuisine.   Weather Southern Italy in summer is hot and dry, but October typically has some precipitation 1/3 of the days, with temperatures in the 50-80F range. I’ve packed full rain gear, just in case. Riders We are 2, 76-year old veteran cyclists. This will be my 4th tour with John H. John is taking his S and S coupled bike and will use panniers to carry his gear. (An S and S Coupling also known as a Bicycle Torque Coupling or BTC is a coupling which enables bicycle frames to be separated into smaller parts).  I will ride my 1994 Bike Friday Pocket Rocket folding bike with 20” wheels. The 30” Samsonite b...
Read more

Day 5: Head Wind Day: Matera – Gravina – Palazzo San Gervasio 51 miles (189 total)

Image
Ominous Warning from Italian Air Force Headwinds We managed to start early, by 8 am, but by 10am, winds were gusting in the 25 mph range. We ended up on some inferior roads and were saved from a mud bog experience by a bike tourist from Nottingham, UK. He was roughly following Euro Velo Route 5 and had slogged through a mud section 5 miles ahead of us. We routed around it, adding more miles. We arrived in Plato San Gervasio exhausted. Hilltop Towns As we ride further from the coast, most towns are situated on hills, making the final miles difficult. Palazzo San Gervasio was no exception. A good average speed with loaded touring bikes is 10-12 mph, but we struggled to make 7 mph into the wind on the flats. I was at 3-4 mph on the climbs not hilltop cities. Web description: Palazzo San Gervasio: (Pop. 5,000) is a small agricultural town and commune in the province of Potenza, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata. While the regional Lucanian dialect is still spoken amongst the old...
Read more

Day 3: Trulli Day: Ostuni - Locorotondo - Alberbello – Putigano (October 5, 2025) 29 miles (102 miles to date)

Image
We began by walking the walls of Ostuni, then getting an 8 am start to get to Putigano before a forecast rain and high winds. We largely stuck to the more direct car roads with better surfaces and fewer sharp climbs. Rain began about 5 miles outside Putigano, we arrived by noon, damp but not soaked. We managed to find Accogliente Dimora, Via Santo Stefano 44, 70017, in 10 minutes. We are within the walls  where GPS is not terribly precise.  We rang the bell and were about to text when Giuseppe hailed us from up the passageway. We left our luggage in the lobby, parked our bikes in a nearby building, took luggage up one level to our room, then had lunch in his restaurant. Excellent lunch and our likely dinner spot, as most of the businesses are closed on Sunday. We stopped at a large supermarket in Alberbello with impressive deli and take-away options, but he could not sell hot coffee on Sunday. Interesting blue law . Ostuni Morning Stroll Photos. All the following pho...
Read more