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

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Riccione Country Loop

We were up at 6:00 and made it down to the breakfast buffet at 7:00. We had real food including fresh fruit and eggs – some protein to get us through the morning.

Our ride started at 8:30. I had to scurry around to find water bottles because I had left mine at home. Because Hotel Sarti is a bicycle hotel, I was able to get two of the hotel’s special bottles. After filling up with water, bananas and pinini piccolo, we were off.

The hotel supplies a cycling guide. Paolo led us out of town and 10 KM into the hills. This meant that everyone had to ride as a group, very slowly with lots of stops – a very frustrating experience for the faster riders.

We finally broke into groups. I took the longer option led by Tom Leever. There were 7 of us and we went a lot faster. The tandem team of Richard and Carolyn lead the group followed by me, Tim, Tom, Susan and Dave. As we began a gradual climb into the hills, we passed cherry trees, fig trees and fields of corn that were beginning to sprout. There also were red poppies blooming in the fields. At one point, I stood up on a steep section and my chain skipped slightly. This was enough to cause my rear fender to move and clamp down on my rear wheel. Needless to say, it was a lot harder to pedal. So we stopped at a piazza in Morciano where I removed the fender and hid it in the branches of a small tree hoping that it would be there when I drove back later to fetch it.

The rest of the ride was uneventful except looking at the scenery from the ridge tops. We rode over lots of ups and downs and the group split up. It was warm and humid with threatening skies. I heard thunder once.

Tom and I stopped for a snack in Mercantino and then rode on to the hotel. I was a little faster on the hills than Tom, so I got ahead of him. This gave me the opportunity to get slightly lost coming into Riccione on the way to the hotel. Because the hotel is on the beach, all I had to do was ride toward the water and turn south to the hotel. I forged a new route.

Here is today's route.

Back at Hotel Sarti, I took off my front fender which was loose and rubbing on the tire. I went up to the main floor where there was a buffet for cyclists – fruit, yogurt, cheese, pasta and some sweets. (All meals are included in our room rate).

Riccione

After showering, Ann and I drove back to Morciano to fetch my rear fender. We had lots of trouble finding the spot where I hid it. Things look a lot different when you are in a car than when you are on a bicycle. We made several passes at the entrance to the town and decided to retrace the day's route. This worked. We found the tree that still had the fender in it.

Back at Hotel Sarti, we decided to walk through Riccione along the street of shops. We ended up at an outdoor mall where there were lots of upscale shops and restaurants. Hundreds of people were there beginning their Saturday night stroll.

When we got back to Hotel Sarti, they were serving light appetizers and prosecco. Then we went to dinner. The antipasti bar was again filled with lots of tempting selections. We both used caution and did not take as much as the night before. We wanted to enjoy the rest of our meal. I had a first course of ravioli while Ann had consommé. We both wanted pigeon for our main course, but there was none left. We settled on veal stew. The first and second courses have small portions so we do not overstuff ourselves.

Dinner starts at 7:30 and lasts for two hours.