The Bicycle Adventure Club - Come Ride With Us!

Puglia 2023

April 15th to April 29th

Ride Coordinator: Alma Worthington
Report by: Muriel Rose

Puglia is described as the heel of Italy.  When you mention you are going to Puglia to most Americans the typical reply is “where is that?”.  That’s exactly why you want to go.  Puglia is still undiscovered, but changing fast.  It is a very beautiful area of Italy filled with incredible landscapes, bucolic countryside, olive groves, vineyards, views of the Adriatic and Ionian Seas and unusual Trulli houses.  My husband and I visited this region (including Matera which is in Basilicata) on our own as self-contained touring cyclists and we fell in love.  This tour was coordinated by BAC ride leader Alma Worthington whom has been to Puglia 4 times prior.  She worked in coordination with Giovanni who runs the tour company Hike and Bike Italy and Tony Boyd was additional support. 

The ride started in the ancient paleolithic village of Matera which is technically in Basilicata and not Puglia.  It is a UNESCO world heritage site and known for its cavelike dwellings called sassis.  It has had continuous inhabitation since the Paleolithic age.  Think Mel Gibson and Passion of the Christ and that is Matera.  We came from CA and it took over 24 hrs of travel doing it in one shot.  We stayed in Matera for 3 nights (1 night on our own) which allowed for thorough exploration. There is an included walking tour.

We began our riding from Matera heading towards  Locorotondo with a stop along the way at a masseria for home made cheese and wine.   This is one of the longest mandatory days at 52 miles.  The riding in Puglia is overall gentle and this is the flattest area of Italy.  The rest day allowed for a ride to Alberobello and a visit to 1000 ancient Trulli houses which are a unique conical shape and date back centuries.  Our next stop was down to the Adriatic coast and the cliffside village of Polignano a Mare.  This is where the Red Bull cliff diving happens. 

We then continued down the Adriatic coast traveling through Monopoli and the ancient Roman archeological site of Egnatia (get there by 12:30pm if you want to do a tour of the ruins).  We stayed in a family run masseria and were given a food demonstration of how to make mozzarella, etc. followed by a fabulous dinner.  We then traveled through the white city of Ostuni on our way to Messagne for one night.  From there the route took us to the Ionian coast and finally Gallipoli for 2 nights.  Make sure you check out the castelo and the sunset is magical.  We then traveled inland back to the Adriatic coast and the ancient village of Otranto for 2 nights.  On the rest day many rode to the cape of Santa Maria de Leuca and took a taxi back.  Others took a taxi down and a taxi back.  The rest of us stayed close by. Leaving Otranto, we made our way to Lecce.  It is called the Florence of the South due to it’s classic Baroque architecture.

The itinerary was excellent and we covered lots of ground and got to see all the highlights of the Puglia region.  The roads are of mixed quality so be prepared for some rough pavement here and there.  The routing was excellent and kept us mainly on low traffic and scenic roads.  The drivers are overall courteous but be prepared to be assertive.  If you are interested in a trip that allows you to explore a less discovered area of Italy with beautiful countryside, great coastline, incredible food (seafood focus), this is the trip for you.