Puglia Backroads Cycling Trip - Day One

PUGLIA CYCLING TRIP - Bari to Il Melagrano

We met up with our two Backroads guides at the Bari Train Station in Puglia, Italy on Sunday afternoon, April 24th. Susan and I had just spent a very relaxing few days in Lecce -- about 90 minutes south of Bari. We had a total of 16 friends joining us for this trip and most of us managed to get to the train station in time to meet the guides and get on to the shuttle bus to a local Agriturismo where we would have a quick lunch and then get on our bikes for the first ride of the trip!




After we ate lunch, we changed into our cycling gear and went through the safety protocols and "Route Rap" for the afternoon ride. Typically, the first ride of a Backroads trip is just a warm-up ride -- so nothing more than 25 miles and not too much climbing.



We rode through some beautiful terrain on our way to our first hotel, the Hotel Il Melagrono. We stopped about halfway through the route to check bike fit and give everybody the option of going straight to the hotel or adding a few extra miles. I, of course, opted for a few extra miles before getting to the hotel.

A quick stop along the way to check the bikes

Susan, next to her e-Bike . . . all smiles!

Our first of many Negroni Cocktails on this trip -- they really know how to make these here in Italy!

We arrived at our beautiful hotel, Il Melgrano in time to take a quick dip in the pool and grab a cocktail before a pre-dinner wine-tasting reception. At the reception, our guides asked each of us to give a quick description of why we were on this trip -- this led to many funny stories from our Santa Barbara friends! As is often the case with Backroads trips, our guides (Aitor, Francesca and Lauren) are really exceptional people. Aitor is from the Basque region of Spain but lives in Italy. He is energetic, funny, accommodating and charming. Francesca, the co-leader, is a native of Puglia (a Pugliese) and is a super energetic, enthusiastic and highly intelligent Italian girl who could probably crush all of us on the bike! Lauren was the designated support driver and is from the UK -- she was always smiling.

After the reception, we sat down to a wonderful dinner of local food favorites -- everything from fresh local vegetables and breads and olive oils to pasta, fish and poultry. We were all ready to get the trip started.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Puglia Backroads Cycling Trip - Day Two

Image
 Il Melagrano to Conversano and Polignano On Monday morning we woke up at 7:30 am in time to have a quick breakfast, meet the group, and get ready for our first full day of cycling. On this first day or riding, I did not feel like having breakfast as I knew there would be food offered along the route as well as lunch. As usual, our guides had prepared a humorous description of the day's route -- this is referred to as the "Route Rap." On Backroads trips, one leader typically rides with the group while the other leader and support crew drive the vans as 'support' for the ride. Our Group listening to the "Route Rap" before the first full day of riding It's not always easy to take a selfie while riding at fast speeds! Here is a Strava map of my total ride for day two, which was about 44 miles. As can be seen by this map, we headed first up into the hills to Conversano (and these were some of our first significant climbs of the trip) where we stopped in ...
Read more

Puglia Cycling Day Three - Il Melagrano to Alberobello to San Domenico

Image
On the morning of our third day of the Puglia Backroads Cycling trip we woke up at the usual time and had a quick breakfast at our hotel, Il Melagrano. This was a 'Moving Day' so we had to leave our bags outside of our hotel room so the Backroads staff could transfer them to our next hotel, The Hotel San Domenico, near Monopoli. We departed at 8:45 am on our way to Alberobello where we were meeting up with a guide to give us a tour and also a demonstration of how to make mozzarella cheese. This was going to be a 50 mile day with some solid climbing, so I knew I wanted to start out slow. The scenery was beginning to get even more picturesque as we meandered through farms and meadows in the countryside. Jeff and Adam Riding in the Italian Countryside We arrived in Arberobello around 11 am and a few of us opted to do an extra 10 mile loop before meeting up with our tour guide. This is a common technique in Backroads trips. Oftentimes most of the group will prefer to take a break a...
Read more

Our First Day in Lecce

Image
On Wednesday morning we departed from Bari on our way to Lecce . It was an easy train ride of about 90 minutes as Lecce is only about 80 miles south of Bari and is near the Adriatic coast. While on the train, we could see gorgeous views of the Adriatic to the east and the wide open valleys of southern Puglia to the west. Lecce is in the Salento region, which is a province in Puglia -- it is the true 'Heel of the Boot' of Italy. Because of it's rich history of art and architecture, Lecce is often referred to as 'The Florence of the South.' Our hotel is called the Fiermontina Urban Resort and it is right in the heart of the city of Lecce. It is a beautiful, relatively new hotel. On our first night in Lecce we went to a restaurant that is affiliated with our hotel that is just a few blocks away. However, prior to dinner, we were invited to tour a local museum that is also affiliated with the hotel. The museum is called the 'M.A.M.A' museum . "Designed by ...
Read more