Well today went from a simple ride with one big climb to a sometimes hair-raising, sometimes eerie but epic day.
I left Gela at about 10am not bothering to get food for the day. I had some bits and pieces that would at least get me to Comiso which was the start of the climb.
The owner of the B&B where I stayed, couldn’t have been nicer. He stored ‘This Moment’ in his garage and suggested restaurants and couldn’t have been more generous. Thanks Antonio !
Gela was an interesting place. At its core is a network of old alleys and streets populated by crumbling buildings but filled with atmosphere. It’s anything but touristy but this area retains charm. Outside of that, it’s a dump. There’s garbage and dirty streets, ugly traffic and dilapidated everything. I was pleased to leave, never to return.
Leaving was interesting. The chaotic traffic was pretty good. Pretty soon I’d left the clutches of Gela and curiously turned onto a dirt road by the railway line. The next GPS instruction wanted to send me off on a track that started through a gap on the fence. I thought that was a recipe for dog chases, so I continued on the dirt road.
It ended at a property by the looks, so I stopped short and checked my phone but the GPS was still not working properly. It wasn’t a problem because four dogs started voicing their disapproval at my presence. I got out of there quick smart and they chased me for about half a kilometre. Luckily, it was a half hearted chase but they were persistent. I went back to the gap in the fence and turned left, hoping my pursuers wouldn’t cut the corner.
By the time the chase ended, I was beside an empty sealed road, so I rode up a small track and turned onto it. The eerie bit started here.
It looked like a freeway, but there was no traffic at all. Bewdy. I kept riding as it was close to where I wanted to go. A BMW flew past and later a farm truck, so it clearly wasn’t closed. The problem I had was where to get off.
Even though the GPS wasn’t working, I could sort of see where I was, and I needed to turn left. So I went to the other side through a gap in the Armco and rode the wrong way down an on-ramp. The lack of traffic was explained by the fence across the on-ramp where I lifted my bike up and over in front of two policemen.
It was hard to work out where to go, but I eventually sorted it out and got back on track and into farmland again. The truth is that I never felt comfortable. It wasn’t just the aggressive drivers. There were dogs going crazy all the time. Here, they were all fenced in, but as I continued, there were fewer and fewer fences. I had a section on a state road but turned off and hit the farmland again for the run into Comiso.
The drivers were shocking. They must have been late to put their bets on or something. No matter what type of car people drive here, there’s an insatiable need to be ahead of the car in front of you. Heaven help any cyclists on the road at the time.
As I neared Comiso, one dog started barking from behind a fence, then took off like it knew where the hole in the fence was. Sure enough, I was confronted by two big angry dogs, got off and took a while to convince them to back down. Luckily, these two weren’t that brave.
Into Comiso. I’d had enough of dogs for this week and didn’t want to see any more.
The options out of Comiso were to go up the main road which would be hell, and was 5kms longer (but easier) than the road and hiking track that Komoot recommended. This is when the epic bit began.
I knew it would be hike-a-bike and I was happy to push for a few kilometres, so I rode until it got too steep then pushed. My phone GPS wasn’t anywhere near accurate and it was difficult to tell exactly where I was.
I came to a fork in the road. Komoot said right, but my gut said left as the track was a hundred times better, so left I went. It was super steep and I eventually turned around because the map suggested that the track would take me way off course. Reviewing the map after the ride, I’d chosen a good route but there would surely have been dogs up there.
So back down I came and turned onto Komoot’s suggested goat track. I nearly gave up. It was heavily rutted, narrow and steep but it was the only option so I continued. Sometimes I could only take one step, lift the bike, stabilise it then repeat. I vowed to stay on roads for the next few rides.
I know everything is transient but this trail had me questioning that. Gee it was hard. Even at the top, the pain continued on the almost unrideable rocky road. When I finally got back to the main road, I was greeted by cars and trucks trying to finish their day and get home.
Nearing Ragusa, I plotted the route to the B&B and couldn’t believe it. I had a road with half a dozen switchbacks to negotiate (thankfully downhill ones). I tried to take a shortcut and came to a cliff. Back to the switchbacks, I descended to the B&B which is fantastic. The views on the descent were amazing, as it was now dusk and the lighting looked dramatic.
It was a ten minute walk to the nearest restaurant. Everything is really quiet here, as everywhere in Sicily in February. I was so tired and sore that I decided on another night here in Ragusa.
