Later last night I decided I’d worked hard to gain my current elevation, and wanted the return on that investment. So, new plan.
I feel both better and worse. The cold medication reduced my cold symptoms. And then makes me feel a bit off (yes, moreso than usual). The pharmacist worked hard to make sure I understood the dosage, but just how big was a spoonful? In the end, I translated the medication instructions, and then measured out the entire bottle, spoonful by spoonful, to determine the accurate dose.
I turned my keys over to my hostess as I left my small apartment/castle, and headed for Bari. The road to Bari followed a rail line, and dropped 500 m across 50 miles. A service road followed the main road. And I had a tailwind. It was glorious.
A bit too fast though. I moved faster that I tracked my location. As the terrain leveled out I had more small road options. Given my speed and copious time, I wandered a bit. Sometimes lovely small roads. Sometimes dirt track through the countryside. Sometimes, well, there was that 300 m of walking through an olive grove. . .
Arriving in Bari, I hunted for a large supermarket. I ran out of peanut butter a couple of days ago, and didn’t want to risk entering Greece without a supply. I found a large shopping center, which turned out to be a mall. A large mall. I did get peanut butter. However, I wondered during that expedition whether I’d be able to find my way back to my bicycle. I’d locked up the bicycle near the obscure route I arrived, and the actual super-sized supermarket resided on the far side of a convoluted mall.
In Bari I crossed my path from last year when I arrived in Bari from Montenegro. Both Bari and Brindisi have a ferry to Greece (none directly to Corfu at this point in the season darn it). I’ve been headed to Brindisi because it’s the city my wife was born in, and I wanted to get pictures of where she lived, having acquired directions from my mother-in-law. Brindisi was a two-day ride from Altamura, including another day of mountain climbing. Instead, I took a train from Bari to Brindisi. This way I can complete my loop to the coast (and reconnect to last year’s trip), have a more restful day as I recover, still visit Brindisi, yet reap the rewards for recent days climbing, all in one day.
After checking into Centro Storico, I visited the two castles local to Brindisi. Both are in use by the military, which means that I can’t access them, and that taking lots of pictures isn’t the best of ideas.
I have a ferry booked for tomorrow, as well as a room (particularly important as I arrive after dark). In Greece. Total distance for Italy this trip is 1,225 km according to the bicycle odometer.