Ups and Downs
Italy (Sicily) Stage 05 – Sciacca to San Leone 68 Km (Sat 26 May 2018)
Weather: 16⁰C min – 26⁰C max, clear and sunny
“You can dream about it or you can go out and make it happen.” ~ Unknown
Undulations were the order of the day. Total ascent was 753 m, but it didn’t seem so much because it was a series of small ups and downs rather than a single steep climb. My originally planned route was 75 Km (total 860 m ascent) but last night I trimmed 7 Km by bypassing Ribera … at the same time eliminating a 200 m hill.
When I think of it, the day itself was one of ups and downs:
Down: Complimentary breakfast at Charlie’s Bar down at the fishing ports consisted of a miserly croissant and coffee;
Up: 20 Km along the road I came to a bar-caffe in the middle of nowhere that sold the best prosciutto and mozarello panini and a great cappuccino.
Down: I lost my little coin purse;
Up: It only contained about 8 Euro.
Down: Riding down to the port, the mount on my pannier bag came adrift again, leaving the pannier dangling by one mount;
Up: Some nearby construction workers had some wire and pliers that enabled me to effect temporary but effective repairs.
Down: Perspiration dripped off me on some of the climbs (my Garmin was showing the temperature as 37 deg);
Up: A cooling breeze on the descents fanned the sweat away.
Down: About 40 Km of my journey involved riding on the very busy Strada Statale 115 primary highway;
Up: The road had been recently resurfaced with super smooth hotmix asphalt with a generous shoulder, a dream to ride on.
Down: Check-in at my B&B in San Leone was not until 4 pm;
Up: I was able to start a bit later and take my time en route, savouring the beautiful Sicilian sunshine.
Up: Beautiful scenery all the way! As well as the usual Mediterranean Sea, oleanders, bougainvilleas, olive trees and grapevines, today there were also fertile river flats with fruit trees such as oranges and nespoli (loquats) thriving;
Down: None.
Arriving at San Leone right on 4 pm, I was welcomed by a lovely family who invited me to watch the end of the Giro Italia bike stage with them, while they plied me icy cold iced tea. What a great end to a nice ride. On balance, the positives most definitely outweighed the negatives!
Glad to hear the ups are outweighing the downs – 37 degrees though! Surely that’s too hot for riding?! Hope you’ve got a truckload of water on board!
It’s good to have “down” days to make one realize that life is not always a “bed of rose”. However, the beautiful scenery did make up for your short spell of “down” day. Just be careful riding in such intense heat, and don’t say it’s OK.
Have a safe and enjoyable ride.
Wow Kevin, the photos look absolutely amazing. The sea so blue, it almost looks artificial. And the houses so colourful. Have a great time – you are doing amazing !
Thanks Ursula. The weather has been ideal for photography most days, although today in Ragusa is cloudy unfortunately.