Overview Blog from Tim covering 20th to 24th June

Monday 20th

Cooler day, longer ride, 91 miles, fantastic scenery down the Coastal road from Pescara to Lido di Camposino (just beyond Termoli) the group is growing in confidence & the average speeds are going up. The first session took us to Francavilla where we respectfully shared a coffee shop with mourners from a funeral. Everywhere we go the locals are friendly & helpful, the drivers are courteous & give way, sooo refreshing compared to the abuse we get in the UK. Even the Carabinieri are understanding, Paul & I were running down other groups after the morning stop, idly chatting two abreast as we got waved down by a couple of local cops, luckily we’re foreign & they couldn’t be bothered, LoL.

Tom managed another somersault, he seems to be auditioning for an acrobatic act at one of the numerous circuses there are en route!

Lunch was welcome 32 miles from the end and there were some horror stories of contretemps with lorries (Steve fell in to one!!) Rob was hit by a Smart Car…all survived but Andrew & I are even greyer.

The final 32 miles was fast! Ted, Neil, Joel & me seem to suddenly find ourselves ahead & when we looked at the speedos it was due to the average speed of 25mph…it’s that Neil, he’s not to be trusted out front, gets in the ‘groove’ & just drags everyone along

Our hotel was on the beach, the pool was great, the food fantastic & GREAT value; yet again a typically awesome Italian welcome.

Tues 21st

Tom & Tim’s birthdays started with cards & presents. Their bikes were naturally defaced with suggestive balloons, tape messages & dayglo seat post socks!

Today proved to be hot. Tim was 49 & it was 49 degrees on the ride; Tom was 24 & all were hoping it had been more that temperature!

That being said, a beautiful start to the day & we bowled along the coast nicely finally waving goodbye to the Adriatic & hello to the mountains. Today was make or break day. 102 miles planned with 5000 feet if climbing. It was hot, the roads were bumpy & diversions were adding to the mileage. Both Steve & Tim were soon repairing ‘pinch punctures’ in the blistering sun. Adrian came to Steve’s rescue & Jamie was on hand to help Tim out The lard group of Andrew, Tom, Joel, Ben, Ted & Tim had a fine off piste, café stop in … where they were treated to a final stop in a charming town. Here they met a previous Italian cycling champ, 4 times Tour de France competitor as well as the local Mayor, who was also the butcher! The owner of the Atmosphera Bar treated them to free speciality ice cream & is now Tim’s Facebook friend!

A final stop in … Brought the group together for the last time, 30 miles to Melfi with some big hills, unclear roads ahead saw half follow the Bike hike route exactly & ended up walking a mile through a cultivated field (a now defunct road!) before rejoining the Tarmac! They were home just before dark & Andrew, Neil had gone out to lead them in. The two of them had ridden 125 miles that day!

Luckily the food was fantastic & the hotel couldn’t have been more helpful.  Needless to say it was NIT an early start on Wednesday!

Wed 22nd June

More mountains, more stunning alpine views as we cycled past ski resorts in 40degrees heat. After route problems we were more careful to stay in groups today, all went well until Neil shot past Jac & Loraine with ‘Hannah the Stannah’ van at a crucial turn off to Potenza. We didn’t see him til the evening hotel rendezvous near Teggiano. Luckily Neil was well prepared, no money, no phone, no map & no Italian. If anyone could sort himself out in that situation Neil could & did the riding was FANTASTIC & after fabulous climbs & downhills we finished along a painfully beautiful plain. There was another sumptuous feed but we were at altitude & the overnight washing was not quite dry in the morning. Hannah came in handy though as she soaked up the morning sunshine & acted as a radiator to finish the process on Thursday morning.

Thurs 23rd

Well it was a gentle start, 20 km in the plains, this proved to bs falsely reassuring as it was folded by 20km of climb, hot, Alpine & reminiscent of the terrain over the Pyrenees last September. The reward however was sweet, 35 km of downhill to the coast. The ‘naughty’ lead group went off piste again, avoiding a steep climb & treating themselves to a coffee & ice-cream on the beach overlooking Isola di Dino. Guy, who is impeccably straight was unable to come up with a good enough ‘cock & bull’ story when Loraine rang to find out where we were & there was done serious ‘crawling’ to be done when we stopped for lunch

The Mediterranean coast in Southern Italy is, to put it mildly SPECTACULAR. The volcanic mountains are pyramidal, the slopes & plains fertile, floral & hillside villages & towns litter the area. It is breathtaking &use be visited again, soon!

Our destination was a hotel on the beach at Marina de Fuscaldo. They have a pedalo & it was requisitioned for group amusement, as if we hadn’t pedalled enough already! We had beach & sea on one side with a pool on the other, so much fun, so little time! Pictures will be posted.

Another big feed & a group went off in to town to ‘suss it out’ most however simply crashed out & Phil & Tim were relieved to hear that Nina & Liane had arrived safely at our final hotel destination, Taormina, reports of the hotel were good

Fri 24th

It was a humid & restless night. Many reported broken sleep as the air con was non functionado. Laying awake listening to the sea lapping on the shore was a good consolation however. Many reported ‘heavy legs’ as the humidity sapped strength. There was a promise of a lot of hills today but unparalleled views