BAC Le Marche - The Adriatic Coast to the Sibylline Mountains 2010

Please visit today's slide show

We slept in this morning until 6:30. Breakfast was at 7:30 – later than usual. Logistics were the key in starting our ride. Many of our riders were wary of the initial 1000 foot climb. So Tom arranged to transport their bicycles to the top of the hill. He in the van and Ann in our rental car made three trips up the hill carrying passengers. To complicate things, we had one sick, one injured and one with a broken bicycle. After the shuttle service, Tom turned the van over to Carol. Her passengers to the next hotel were Judy and Sue. Ann carried Julie (sick) and Rod (broken bicycle).

The weather started out warm and became hot. This made the climbs seem harder. Most of the climbs in this part of Italy are relatively short – less than 5 km. Several have steep pitches of 7 %– 13%. Today was no exception. I used all of my gears and I am glad that I had low ones.

The GPC Contingent – Sally McKinney, Margie Kirk and Me

We again rode on some ridges giving us wonderful views on each side of the road. Several of us stopped in Mergo at the top of a hard climb. We used a small grocery store to buy cold drinks. The store had a meat and cheese counter. I asked one of the clerks to make me a panino – a hard roll with pecorino cheese and a fresh tomato. I also bought two bananas, a Fresca and a bottle of water. It was getting hot and I needed to drink a lot. We sat under the shade on benches outside of the store to eat and drink.

I was able to ride the whole route today without getting lost until the end when I didn’t see the hotel sign and overshot it by 1/2 mile. I stopped and called Ann who got me turned around and even met me at the side of the road so that I would make the right turn into the parking lot of Hotel Ristorante Giardino in S. Lorenzo in Campo.

I left at 8:35 and got in at 1:30. Here is today's route.

After I got in, Ann joined some others at a near-by pizzeria for lunch. I had eaten enough with my bananas and pinino. Later, she went swimming in the hotel’s large pool while I sat poolside chatting with Dave, Sue, Kathy and Hal.

Tonight we had a wine tasting party. It started at Happy Hour when the hotel served us a sparkling wine similar to prosecco but produced in this region instead of the Veneto region of Italy. We were not sophisticated enough to tell the difference. It was nice, though, to drink it in one of the hotel’s outdoor terraces.

After Happy Hour, we assembled in a covered area for dinner and more wine tasting. Hotel Ristorante Giardino is known for its food and wine. We can attest to the quality of their meals. For a first course Ann and I had grilled eggplant that was wrapped around really tasty ricotta cheese and covered by a slightly sweet brown sauce. For a main dish, I had baked rabbit while Ann had lasagna. We were served both white and red wine. Between our main course and dessert, we had a lecture on how to taste wine. The hotel’s owner gave the demonstration in Italian while his Canadian-born wife and Italian-born son interpreted for us. We tried two reds during the talk. Then we had cake with crumbled macaroons on top.

We got to bed pretty late.