If you would like to see details about our journey, check out our itinerary and our bike route.
Today was brutal. We started early, eating breakfast at 7:30 and getting on the road by 8:15, trying to beat the heat a little. After a steep descent out of town, we wove our way through some industrial areas and up the valley for a little over a mile to the start of an unpaved 500-foot climb.
An hour later, we were finally pushing our bikes up through a farmyard, around a locked gate, and onto an unpaved road. For 1.8 miles, we had pushed and pulled our bikes through a rutted, rocky farm trail, across and around baked-dry fields, and along a narrow cow path. The sun and heat were unforgiving--but the "ride" would have been sooo much worse, actually impassable, in rain and mud.
We drained our water bottles and struggled through the last section of unpaved road before a 500-foot descent onto a flat stretch. That was just a little challenge at the start of a 37-mile-day climbing 3000 feet total.
The flat 10 or so miles to Narni were fairly easy, but the heat was rising again and we were a little worried about the 9.2-mile, 1850-foot climb out of Terni starting around mile 25. We stopped in Narni for cold drinks at a bar and filled our water bottles, then started to climb at a gentle 2-3 percent. We later learned that C. S. Lewis named Narnia after this ancient village, having seen the name in an atlas when he was a child. He had never been there, but liked the name. In fact, Narni is famous for its large Roman bridge (Ponte d'Augusto) and is a striking medieval village.
We continued riding across the valley to Terni, where we stopped at a forno e pizzeria for more cold drinks and a slice of pizza. Then the long climb began. Rising steeply up a secondary highway crowded with Sunday sightseers, we just put our heads down and pedaled, stopping every half hour or so when we found a patch of shade where we could safely rest and drink water. At one point, while we sat on a wall under a tree, a guy pulled up and leaned out his window and asked where we were going, said he was also headed to Spoleto, and waved and smiled as he continued on.
We were so happy to reach the top. As we started down, the traffic became even worse, and our navigation app routed us onto a secondary road. At first, we were glad. Then we discovered it was an unmaintained road, broken and rocky and rutty and very hard to maneuver as it became steeper.
Oh, well. We made it to Spoleto. Our host met us at our apartment, which was on the top (fourth) floor with high ceilings, lots of room, big windows, a wonderful kitchen, and a bed already made up for Meghan in the living room.
Meghan arrived an hour later, just as we finished showering. We all stretched out for a short rest, and then headed out to find dinner. Our first choice of an osteria was not open. Unwilling to wait, we wandered the streets and came across an interesting little restaurant that was just opening up, with a short and simple menu. The Cucina & Ozio was perfect. We enjoyed a leisurely meal, catching up on each other's travels so far, and sharing satisfying plates of excellent typical food.
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| Looking back at Orte as we started our trek through the farm fields. |
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| The little farm lane turned into a narrow cow path. |
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| The farm trail journey ended at a locked gate. Locked gates never stop us: we found a way around on the side. |
