The Bicycle Adventure Club - Come Ride With Us!

Puglia - The Beautiful

October 1st to October 15th

Ride Coordinator: Tony Boyd
Report by: Steve Saxe

Overview. While southern Italy might not be on everyone’s target list, cycling there provides a rich experience of culture, history, landscape, and cuisine. In the off-season (early October), the traffic was light, the weather was favorable, the food very good, and the accommodations first rate. While the pavement is not always ideal, the minor roads give one a close look at what life is like in this less-populous part of Italy. You will also learn a lot about the long history of the many cultures that battled for control of the region.  

Places visited. Matera, at the top of the tour, is an astonishing cliff-side settlement carved out of rock and dating back to Paleolithic times. It is now a thriving tourist destination. Spend an extra day or two there if you can. The popular locations on the Adriatic Coast are romantic, full of history, and rich in culture and cuisine. Gallipoli (not the one famous for battle), on the Ionian Coast, is a must-see, as are Otranto and Lecce, where the tour ends. Most of the stops are two-days-per-hotel and those locations have much to see and do. During the three days riding to the Ionian Coast, we stayed at a converted farm-to-B&B and a country hotel, one night each.

Cycling. None of the routes has much climbing; two longer mandatory days top 50 miles of distance. Others are quite moderate. A few short stretches of highway are included, but the vast majority of riding is on minor roads with good-to-variable pavement, and a few short unpaved stretches. Drivers are courteous and respectful, but there are few dedicated bike lanes. You will see literally tens of thousands of olive trees (which some riders found monotonous), and also ride through dozens of quaint villages and towns, some of which felt deserted. (The region has had some hard times as the result of a blight that killed over 21 million olive trees; household trash is visible on some roadsides.) Many or most of the coastal resorts and many restaurants are shuttered for the season in October, but you will be able find food and/or drink when you need it, at quite reasonable prices. The scenic highlight of your ride will mostly likely be a stretch of the Adriatic Coast south of Otranto, whether you take the long route from Gallipoli around the cape or do an out-and-back from Otranto the following day.

Accommodations, Group Dinners, Happy Hours. The hotels, inns, and B&Bs are top notch, often right in the historic districts of towns, with an easy walk to the sights. Bike storage is generally convenient, except for the last stop Lecce where the bike garage was 300 meters away and not especially well suited to repacking travel bikes. There was one group dinner in each location. Some were long, late-night, multi-course Italian dinners and others were more modest. (No one dines in Italy before 7:30 pm.) Happy hours were not hosted (cash bar), except twice hosted by generous tour participants. In Matera and Lecce, walking tours were arranged.

Weather. The weather was very mild and, by sheer luck, it rained only on two of our optional ride days. Be prepared for some rain and occasional thundershowers.

Tour leadership. The tour was contracted with Hike & Bike Italy, whose friendly and approachable leader displayed good knowledge of the area, culture, history, and options. Some of the logistics were complicated and worked out on the fly, but overall everything worked without undue stress.

Note on Transportation. Most of us flew into Bari, from which we had to arrange a one-hour shuttle (with bike boxes) to Matera on our own. On the backside, we needed a 45-minute shuttle from Lecce to the Brindisi airport, which the tour leader arranged for us. Be sure to anticipate these details.