13 May 2019: Sassoferanto to Gubbio (Mileage: 27/89)



Today we crossed the Pennines in the rain. Donning nearly all the cycling clothes we had, it was about 50F and windy. Fortunately, mostly a tail wind. We waited until 9 am to depart, hoping in vain that the rain would let up. It did, occasionally, light rain but never stopping. Auto traffic was minimal.

Wet roads are dirty roads. About half way up the Pennine pass, I lost access to my big ring (not an issue) as we were too wet and cold to ride fast downhill on wet roads with frequent poor road surfaces. Worse yet, subsequently grit in my rear derailleur cable limited upshifting, so I had to stop occasionally to move the chain on the rear cassette.

While that probably sound miserable, the scenery was spectacular. We saw frequent waterfalls, large and small. Another day for both sights and smells — Spring flowers, mountain streams, and water running everywhere. Italy is having an unusually wet Spring, per the locals.

Ready to leave. Christopher is sorry he forgot rain pants and/or tights, but he improvised a rain cover for his helmet.

Our maps.me Recommended Road. Water was rushing around large stream side trees, muddy, and at least several feet deep. We retreated about a mile, crossed this stream on a bridge in a hamlet, and then reconnected with our maps.me route.

Movie. No idea if this 4 second video works.

Typical road up the pass. Narrow, a few cars, mixed surface quality. I'll take a surface photo sometime, patches on patches patches, . . .

Madonna Della Cima, 780 Meters (2560 ft).  I waited a few minutes for Christopher, but it was cold, windy, I was starting to shiver, and he descends much faster, so I rode on. He soon caught up. 

Our Lodging in Gubbio. Good location and generally friendly owner/host. Upon our request, he brought down a hair dryer, toaster oven, (we had our complimentary loaf from the pizzeria), and extra towels. We had a lot of wet gear. We discovered about 11 pm that one of the beds lacked a sheet, so I used the bottom one on my bed and gave Christopher the top sheet. Also nothing in the room regarding the Wifi password, so we had to ask repeatedly.

Remains of the Roman Amphitheater in Gubbio. Looked to be fairly small and many of the stones were probably removed for other buildings. Perhaps hosted a gladiator farm team.

Gubbio. Unfortunately, it was just too rainy and blustery to enjoy wandering about. Just another medieval City.

.


Yes, a River Runs Through It.



Our host recommended a restaurant, but it was closed on a Monday evening. We happened onto Locanda Del Luca and enjoyed thier 3-course special.

Gnocchi


Pork Loin and Roasted Potatoes.

Roasted Chicken and Fava(?) Beans

Sort of a combo of custard and mousse. Delicious.


Comments

  1. BTUMay 17, 2019 at 7:05 AM

    It has been unusually wet many places in the southern areas of the EU per my climber friends (minus Spain), not just where you are, if that is a comfort.
    MB

    ReplyDelete

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