BAC Le Marche

June 6 – Montegiorgio to San Severino

We finally got some protein this morning. There were fresh eggs at the buffet. We put them into a fondue-like pan that contains very hot water and took them out when the were soft boiled and hard boiled. With so many people cooking, it was hard to tell whose eggs belonged to whom. So it was pot luck. I got lucky and found a soft egg. I cracked it over something that looked like toast. It turned out to be a sweet bread. The combination was not very good. I ate the egg and bread separately. We also had really good coffee which was made in individual servings from a huge espresso machine.

I was very disorganized this morning. I finally got packed and toted my bags with Ann’s help out to our rental car. Everyone had left on their bikes ahead of me. It was 8:40 when I left the hotel. I began with an easy pace to let my legs warm up. After about 1 km, a group of Italian Sunday riders crept up on me and passed. I grabbed on and they pulled me for the next 3 km when they went straight and I turned right. It felt good to get a pull early in the ride. I eventually caught most of the group and rode a little bit with them.

Here are a couple videos. The first one proves that I ride with other people. The second one shows what I observe when I ride solo.

Today’s ride continued to provide us with wonderful scenery. We had lots of short climbs with a few semi-steep sections. We rode along ridges again and we could see views on each side of the road. The sun was out and it got very warm late in the morning.

Montegiorgio to San Severino - San Ginesio - Festival of Corpus Christi

The highlight of my ride occurred when I was riding with some of the group and we entered the town of San Ginesio. We rode up narrow cobblestone streets (sometimes the wrong way on one-way streets) until we reached the main piazza. It was a large square with a church on one end and a few cafes lining the sides. A few locals were there celebrating the Festival of Corpus Christi. The surface of the piazza was decorated with several religious displays made out of flowers, flower petals, greens, colored pebbles, etc.

After San Ginesio, I continued on solo until I reached Palazzo Servanzi Confidati in San Severino. Following the route through town, I had to dismount and walk through the Sunday market where vendors were selling clothing, kitchenware and other items for home use.

Here is today's route.

San Severino - Ann, Rod, Peter, Tom and Bill at Lunch

San Severino - Pizzeria

Ann was at the hotel and checked in when I arrived at 12:20. The luggage van had not arrived yet so I was lucky that I packed my things in our rental car. I showered, changed into my shorts and a short sleeved shirt, and then left with Ann to find lunch. We ran into Tom, Rod, Peter and Bill. The six of us walked to a small cafe where we had panini, sparkling water and gelato. While we were there, several others in our group showed up.

After eating, Ann and I walked around town visiting the market again and a small shady park next to the market.

After our Happy Hour, we went to dinner at a pizzeria. You probably know that Italian pizzerias serve other food besides pizza. So Ann had pasta and salad while I had a four flavor pizza in quadrants – olives, mushrooms, artichokes and ham. We both had beer.

At 10:00 and we are ready for bed.