Bella Italia Stage 18

Civitella Alfedena to Bojano the hard way

Strava: 81.4 km, 1,615m, 5:06, 9:51 elapsed, 326 shifts

I slept really well with full color action packed dreams. We had fruit and yogurt then took off before 8:30. We had to descend to the lake, then around it on a gravel trail and we saw a few deer.

Then some climbing on pavement before the fun started. I can’t even remember all the details of the ride today, my brain is overloaded. The morning session had a very long hike-a-bike section through super muddy and rocky cowshit covered trails. I do remember stopping in Isernia after noon for some great pizza. I ended up being SO glad I had a second slice!

Sometime after lunch we got separated. We were riding up a tiny road and just in front of us a train gate went down. After waiting a minute, Wytze and I did the logical thing and went under the barrier, across the tracks, under the other barrier and rode up the road. Andrew and Daniel did the same but their threshold for waiting was longer. They ended up on a different route and very easily talked themselves into adjusting that route to go directly to our destination, Bojano.

That was not in the cards for me. I kind of would’ve liked doing it as they finished hours earlier and missed out of getting soaked and muddy, but when else in my life will I get challenged like I did today with Wytze? I take it as a win. Again I (re)learned: no pain no gain.

The nice road ended after a steep climb at a farmhouse. The track continued but in reality it was pretty far fetched. We were pushing through berry vines, up rocks, and it was starting to rain. On the map I found a way to bail but that was not acceptable. We got off route and it was ridiculous but we managed to go completely cross country and get back on it to earn the right to more endless pushing up through rocks.

At a little pass we could see a small beautiful town across the way with a dirt road not on any of our maps going toward it but that was not acceptable either. Then, a bright spot, we followed the gravel track and a long steep section in the middle of nowhere was paved for about a kilometer. Very strange but no complaints! Finally we completed the six km climb and it was the end of one of our GPS tracks. We started the next (number eight out of nine for our whole tour) and immediately it said we had another 280m to climb, averaging 12% grade. So we did that too, very steep and hard to ride. Then a long descent on gradually improving roads. And we were back in civilization.

From there it was follow the gravel track through the mud, in the rain, for quite a way. We came out on the main road at one point and rode that at 45-50 kph for a while which was surreal. But it was raining and not safe so we exited and ended up holed up in a bar during a big thunderstorm. It poured for maybe 30 minutes but just before 6 pm we deemed it good to go.

The last 12 km or so was super wet, mostly through muddy fields with a brief, fast one km section on the main road, wet and scary. Then we arrived in Bojano and Andrew poked his head out the window and let us into the B&B. The shower felt 👍 but I washed so much dirt down the drain I almost felt guilty.

Pretty soon we went out for dinner. The good restaurant was just across the street but not open until 8. So we had beers at a bar then back to the restaurant. It was a stupendous dinner, 2 and a half hours, just great. The pasta with gorgonzola and nuts and creamed beets was incredible. We had a couple of bottles of an amazing Italian wine. Dessert was out of this world – the tiramisu set a new world standard and the pumpkin pie was awesome. Then a very herbal Amaro to cap it off. What a life! I can barely believe it’s real. Good night!