2025 Italy, Day 13: Pianello, Genga

If you would like to see details about our journey, check out our itinerary and our bike route.

Ken and I checked out of the apartment in Assisi early, at 8:15, just as the overnight rain was ending. It was only 65 degrees; we put on our jackets for the first time this trip. We had a beautiful ride out of town, mostly downhill the first 3 to 4 miles, winding around the edge of a mountain that we had viewed from Rocca Maggiore.

Then we hit the biggest of three passes for the day. We knew from previewing the route that this was a long, steep climb, and we were prepared to walk up some stretches, but we were not prepared to walk on and off for almost 5 miles, both up and down the pass. The road was in terrible shape, deteriorating to rocks and ruts that would be challenging on mountain bikes.

We had finally made it through to smooth tar when a big black cloud swallowed us up and growled. At the same time, we came around a curve in the road, and there was a hunting camp, with cabins that had big, covered porches. One of the cabins was occupied, but the rest were not, so we pulled our bikes up on a porch, out of the rain, and ate the lunch we had brought along. About the time we finished eating, the rain stopped, and we headed back out.

Another mile or so farther, it started to rain again. We put on our raincoats and kept on going. The great thing was there was almost no traffic, as we were on very small roads that skirted around all the towns. The not-so-great thing was that we passed only a couple of bars and restaurants, none of them open. And all that walking and pedaling was making us really hungry and thirsty.

Soon after we ran completely out of water, we dropped down into a real town and saw a big supermarket. I went in and bought water, cookies, and chips. Not exactly healthy, but they looked good at the time.

We started searching for a nice spot in the shade to take a break, and there was the most amazing coffee shop. So we stopped and got cappuccino and crema caffe (cold espresso frothed with cream, totally not healthy).

Feeling like we could manage the last climb and final 6 miles, we took off again. For this stretch, we had a lot of traffic, but the road was in good shape. We had to walk the last few hundred steep feet up to our B&B, but that was okay.

One reason we chose this little guest house was that it advertised a restaurant on site, but Andrea, our host, contacted us last week and said the restaurant would not be open while we were there and offered to drive us to an alternative in Genga, a few miles away. We thought that sounded just fine.

Andrea suggested we go a little early, and he gave us a short tour of the little village of Genga. He left us at La Taverna da Frassasi with instructions to message him for a ride back when we were done. We had the most amazing meal as we watched the ski darken.

Taking shelter from the storm on the porch of a hunting cabin.

This is the road. This is how we walk up the road.

This is also the road. This is how we ride up the road.

Our host, Andrea, had lived in London and spoke fluent English. He was an art history major and seemed eager to tell us about the buildings and people of the area.

Genga. There are a few more buildings on each side of this shot, but not many. It is a small village near the Frassasi Caves and Sanctuary, which are popular tourist destinations for Italians. We considered visiting them, but they closed before we arrived today. They open at 10:00 tomorrow, and take several hours to view, and we have a long day of riding ahead of us. We will just appreciate the beauty of the area, and keep on moving on.

The tiny village of Genga is tucked in a steep valley, with a Roman bridge, fortified tower, and little church.

Another view of the tower and bridge.

Ken watching the rain clouds gather. (The pictures are out of order in most of my posts because I am pulling them from both of our phones and they automatically sort in numbered order from each phone. If I try to arrange them manually in the blog, it takes forever and the formatting ends up weird. So, I'm just leaving them out of order.)