Sapri to Paestum

Wandering out of the hotel this morning, it was obvious we were in for an interesting day as far as the weather is concerned. It had rained quite heavily during the course of the night, and the grey clouds both out to sea and over the mountain tops were looking rather ominous. By the same token, the level of humidity was right up there, so the big question became "What to wear". In the end I opted to skip the long johns, but went with the wet weather jacket over the top of my normal riding jersey.... Can't be too careful.

The first 15 kilometres or so, were to be along the sea front and I didn't want to be overly burdened with a heavy set of clothing unless absolutely necessary, which it proved to be 10-15 minutes after I started our first serious climb for the day. I got so soaked in fact, that I used it as an excuse for a coffee stop with Harry even though we'd only been on the road for an hour or so.....

Fortunately the rest of the mornings ride proved uneventful, and hence we were able to motor along through the hills & valleys of the area, taking in sights such as more mountain top villages. Today's route Sapri to Paestum

It's got to be a bugger to do the shopping and I can't imagine that I'd be particularly keen to take up cycling or any sort of sport for that matter, living on the top of a hill, as the locals do....

Somehow or another I found myself one of the first into Ascea which is where our lunch van had set up shop in the town square.... I suspect that say's more about the fact that everyone else found a really good coffee shop as opposed to my pace. Wanting to keep it that way - OK - I was in boy racer mode, I tucked into a tasty cheese & tomato roll that Doutse had prepared as quickly as possible wanting to get through to Paestum before the heavens opened up again.

I was enjoying myself so much, that I even did something that I would never condone or dare do at home - I popped a couple of headphones in and listened to the likes of ACDC, Queen, Ultravox and The Levellers to see whether that could spur on my cadence - It did!

Arriving into the town of Agropoli, the rain really started to come down, making it doubly difficult for me to make sense of my map / route instructions. I think I must have spent an hour today, trying to find my way through town, all the time getting colder and colder.

In the end, when it started to hail, I ended up seeking refuge under a petrol station awning. Boy o boy was it cold. The picture below might give you a bit of an idea what it was like..... Unfortunately, my photos of the road, which was covered in the hail stones, forcing drivers onto the footpath (and I kid you not) didn't get properly stored on my camera - Not to sure why! All I can say, it is a scenario I have never seen anything the likes of before....

Once the rain eased off I found myself a restaurant in order to grab a couple of warming coffees and the opportunity to make a bit of sense of my map. It's time's like this that I wish I had bought the latest greatest Garmin and input the GPX so I knew where the heck I was....

Fortunately and it is amazing what a latte does for the mind & body, I managed to work out where I needed to go and consequently hopped on my bike to ride the final 10-15KM to the campsite. The idea of setting up my tent, sending me into such a shiver that I invested in a cabin. It wasn't much but it did have a heater - What bliss....  

On a sad note it would seem that Liz had a fall and in the process broke a rib. I'm still a little unclear of the circumstances but wouldn't be surprised if the rain were a contributing factor.... This news however has shocked all of us, leaving everyone feeling a little sick.

Tomorrow we continue along the Amalfi Coast and hopefully we'll have better weather.