All smiles today, with no headwinds, flat cycling, beautiful coastline and cycle paths by the beach. The two Richards had fitted their training wheels and so there were no accidents today either!
Today Richard S is trying his hand at literary penmanship (I think I caught most of his spelling errors, wayward grammar, rogue apostrophes etc.! I left the sentences with no subject as written and allowed sentences to start with “And” as they have been in Italy for nearly a month now and haven’t had much opportunity to speak the Queen’s English, other than in small bursts to Google Translate!):
Total contrast with yesterday. Hugely enjoyable ride of just over 80 miles. The highlight was about half the ride being on cycle paths following the beaches and in a myriad of conditions and colors. We had everything from tarmac and concrete to gravel and pines, through nature reserves often painted in a pot pourri of reds, blues and green. And our planned route provided a welcome relief from the trucks looking to avoid the tolls on the autostrada. It was even a breeze finding a lunch place with carbs - Spaghetti Pomodoro with two shrimps for garnish and, oh yes, the mandatory gelato (lunch has been surprisingly hard to find given the combination of being out of season with the impact of Covid-19). Talking of breezes, we had relatively minor headwinds in the morning backing southerly during the day to a tailwind (Richard S is a sailor, or at least his wife, Sally, is). And, while there was plenty of hot air in discussion and there were occasional distractions, none came in the form of equipment malfunctions or crashes. Brilliant.
Dinner was in a great little fish restaurant with handwritten menus and a super blackboard wine list at remarkable prices (see photos above). Dinner was a massive baked turbot with roasted potatoes and the wine was local tonight (having been chastened yesterday!) - a 2017 Montepulciano d’Abbruzzo Colline Teramane by Orlandi Contucci Ponno.
Data: 81 miles (130km), elevation 1,657 feet (502m). Cumulative: 1,715 miles (2,744km), elevation 83,727 feet (25,728m).