I was so tired from the ride into Ragusa that I stayed a second night so I could rest up and look around the place. Here’s a few photos.
Today’s ride on Komoot – part 1
Today’s ride on Komoot – part 2
The plan today, was to ride down to Pozzallo and get the evening ferry to Malta and spend a few days there. Today’s issue was the weather. The forecast was for torrential rain and strong winds. In fact, there were four severe weather warnings – two for wind and one each for rain and thunderstorms.
As I woke, I could hear the rain coming down. It was expected to be heavy from 9am to 1pm but it didn’t seem that bad, and over breakfast, it stopped. I re-checked the forecast and it had been significantly changed in the last 8 hours.
This happens all the time, and it’s frustrating as hell. Because I’m outside for most of the day, I’ll try and avoid bad weather or minimise my exposure to it. So, last night with the horrendous forecast, I started looking for alternatives. There was an afternoon train I could take, or I could ride to Modica (about half way) and decide when I’m there, or I could just put up with it. However, I didn’t want to ride on any busy roads in crazy winds.
In the end, I rode the whole way and loved it. Sure, there was drizzle and a bit of wind but nothing serious at all. The forecasts seem to be pessimistic up until the day, and then they have to be realistic. These pessimistic meteorologists should be called Hanrahans Weather Forecasts Inc. with reference to John O’Brien’s classic poem.
I went via Modica which is another very old town built on steep hillsides, similar to Ragusa. I took a wrong turn and did some extra kilometres and climbing but it didn’t matter as I found a cafe and had second breakfast.
It’s Sunday morning and there was parking chaos. The streets near the churches were full of cars parked at all angles, across corners and alleys, their hazard lights on to absolve them of any parking infringement, with a sole occupant clearly waiting for their spouse to come outside.
After a picturesque descent there was an equally unpicturesque ascent on the other side of town. At the top, I picked up some lunch for later and started a long descent that would bring me to Pozallo.
It was one of the best. I had a fairly serious tailwind, no traffic, a downhill and a pretty good road surface. As a result, I spent at least five kilometres hovering around the 50km/hr mark, much of it no hands, sitting back and yelping woohoo as I hurtled downhill. I felt like getting a train back up the hill so I could repeat it. It’s the simple things that bring out your inner child. (Riding a bike every day means the inner child is never far away).
I rolled into Pozallo and went to the port to get the lay of the land, but found my intended ferry tonight, had been cancelled. When I tried to book on tomorrow’s, I was unable because the vehicle area was full. Too full for a bicycle ? Get outta here.
My only option was to stay the night in Pozallo and plead with the ferry company in the morning. The website says I’ll have to wait two days for availability and that’s completely out of the question. So, booked a BnB up the road, and checked in, then went for a wander through the uninspiring town of Pozallo. The highlight was being given a couple of cannoli at a bakery that was about to shut for the day.
So, all in all … I still can’t decide if it was a good or a bad day. It was definitely interesting though.
