Final leg to Bari

We are approaching the end of our cycling tour in Puglia. Having set off from London on September 28th towards the south we were excited about the trip ahead but had left any expectations at home. Monday October 1st we set off for the first of many kilometres ahead with the sun shining and today we ended it in similar fashion.

After a pleasant evening in Ostuni Sunday night, we begun our journey back towards Bari with the sun shining as usual. We had arrived at night so on our way out of town we were overwhelmed with the amazing view of the valley below and the ocean in the distance. We headed first to Fasano then towards the coastal route towards Monopoli. No funny money in sight but we did inadvertently take the side road whereby ladies of the night were soliciting daytime customers. A bit surreal on a bicycle as you always get a bit closer both physically and spiritually for lack of a better word to the people and things you pass along the way.

For the rest of the day, we followed the coast on route and arrived rather seamlessly in Bari, another 100 km day under our belt. We had opted to come
back a day earlier so that we could return to Trani where we stopped on our very first day for a picturesque and sensational seafood meal. We decided to do a day trip - 40km each way - to finish off the major cycling of the trip. It is both amazingly different yet strangely the same traveling without the weight of pannier bags. The first few kilometres feel like you are on a brand new bike and that anything that comes at you terrain wise can be overcome. After about 30 minutes, however, the difference is far less pronounced and you realise that the panniers are not what have been slowing you down but rather the obstacles created in your mind.

The ride out to Trani was tougher than expected with the wind and the overcast skies. Yet our return following yet again a phenomenal closing lunch was exceptional. Not a cloud in the sky nor a gust of wind on the horizon. It was fitting to finish our journey as we began it and returning along the same road but in the opposite direction provided a whole new perspective on the towns and people we had passed along the way.

We've ridden 947.3km to date and hope to break the 1000km by the time we get through Bologna, Paris, and London in transit. To give you perspective on the distance we've traveled it is approximately half way from Vancouver to Los Angeles or the equivalent of driving the length of Italy from the Swiss border to the heel. Major miles completed for now but no doubt more ahead in the days and years to come.

I must say thanks again to Kona for their wonderful bikes that have survived collisions, 1000kms in trains and cars, and owner abuse! They have not let us down!