It was a great trip, although we got rained out for a day and a half. The food and accommodations were great and the riding was fun, but easy. We selected hybrid bikes because some of the roads are rough. The couple we traveled with chose road bikes and had a few flats. If you are considering a trip to Italy I would recommend you first try Tuscany rather than Puglia. The scenery in Tuscany is more diverse and beautiful - more what you expect in the Italian countryside. Puglia is drier and more barren - much like southern Spain. The other aspect of Puglia that didn't appeal to me is the conservative culture. As you ride into small towns all you see are men, sitting around the squares and bars. The women are at home behind closed doors. We got a pasta making lesson from one of the guides' grandmother. The guide remembered eating at the the table at their house with the men and her cousins but granny NEVER ate at the table with them - she worked more like a hired cook. Things struck me as more egalitarian in the north. Here are a few pictures. If you are interested in more you can take a look at my online gallery.
Barb riding up the coast:
Me (left) and Barb (right) with the couple we traveled with:
Riding through flooded olive groves after a torrential rain:
Riding into the small town Ostuni:
A typical olive tree field:
Overlooking the Adriatic coast after a long ride into a 25 MPH wind:
The whole crew we rode with our charming granny pasta maker:
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Every man is, or hopes to be, an Idler. -- Samuel Johnson
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