The forecast wasn't good for today and we were in two minds about cycling on in the rain. However when we woke up it wasn't actually raining - ok, there was a low cloud and a sort of scotch mist, but it wasn't really raining. So we packed up our damp, but not wet tent and set off towards the coast. The first twenty or so kilometers were on beautiful quiet roads and if we could have seen it, I'm sure the view would have been spectacular (no pictures of this section as we were in the clouds and couldn't see anything). We had a few steep climbs before descending to the Alanto Valley at Chieti Scala where we joined a busier, very urban road for the next twenty kilometers to Pescara. At least there was the advantage of being able to stock up on some goodies at one of the many supermarkets - we haven't come across many of those in the mountains! It started raining harder as we joined the Adriatic Cycle Route at Pescara.
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| Cycle route at Pescara, still raining. |
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| Lovely route through pines |
The Italians are developing a cycle route for the entire length of the Adriatic coast, some 1600km, from Trieste to Leuca. So far, though we had found good sections further south, we found very little had been really well developed and we hadn't seen a single sign. In this area, north of Pescara, much has been completed and there is a beautifully smooth route, only interrupted by the need to rejoin the main road for river crossings, though they are building some cycle specific bridges for those too. We also started seeing the first signs for the route.
| Coastal route near Pineta |
Whilst we were eating some of our newly bought goodies sheltering from the rain under a pine tree, we decided that another night in a wet tent wasn't very appealing and booked a room in a seaside B&B near Giulianova. The weather has brightened up, but we are happy to be able to dry out some of our damp stuff.
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| Outside our room at the Agriturismo Frontemare |
Serramonacesca to Giulianova - 79km, 400m climb.
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