Day 25

Likely the last leg of this trip, unfortunately Aetna mostly didn't want to be seen today and remained hidden in the clouds...

Taormina - Catania

54.2 km
380 m
#biketouring #nerdiontour

Day 24

After taking the ferry from Villa San Giovanni to Messina the day before, today I followed the Sicilian coast southwards.

Messina - Taormina

52.9 km
420 m
#biketouring #nerdiontour

Day 23

Caught a bit of rain today, but also reached the tip of Italy! Will stay here for a couple of nights and plot the rest of the trip.

Gioia Tauro - Reggio Calabria

58.3 km
640 m
#biketouring #nerdiontour

Day 22

There's a stark contrast between the tourist destination of Tropea and the clearly run down city of Gioia Tauro. Its WP article is a fascinating read: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gioia_Tauro
Apparently an estimated 80% of the cocaine in Europe enters through the harbour here.

Tropea - Gioia Tauro

49.2 km
630 m
#biketouring #nerdiontour

Day 21

Today I decided to cycle more hills instead of following the busy coastal roads. Hence the detour via Zungri.

Pizzo - Zungri - Tropea

40.7 km
930 m
#biketouring #nerdiontour

Day 20

Shoutout to the three Dutch road cyclists I met today. They struggled with the same obstacles I did (2 collapsed bridges and one closed for construction work). Due to those obstacles I made a detour via Maida which lays on the hills opposite of Lamezia Terme.

Lamezia Terme - Maida - Pizzo

50.8 km
530 m
#biketouring #nerdiontour

Day 19

(periodic reminder that the pictures have alt-text descriptions that give more context)

Amantea - Lamezia Terme

40.5 km
350 m
#biketouring #nerdiontour

Day 18

Cetraro - Amantea

50.1 km
220 m
#biketouring #nerdiontour

Day 17

Scalea - Cetraro

48.6 km
500 m
#biketouring #nerdiontour

Day 16

Had to do some spontaneous creative route planning today to avoid a 20+ km detour. Worth it though, beautiful views again along the coast!

Sapri - Scalea

44.2 km
480 m
#biketouring #nerdiontour

Day 15

Toughest leg so far on this trip. The 200 m ascent from Ascea Marina to Ascea right at the start had more than 20% grade in some places!

Ascea - Sapri

63.7 km
860 m
#biketouring #nerdiontour

Day 14

Another very scenic trip along the coast with plenty of hills.

Agropoli - Castellabate - Ascea

48.9 km
490 m
#biketouring #nerdiontour

Day 13

In stark contrast to yesterday, a very boring leg today, all along the Golfo di Salerno. Super straight and flat.

Salerno - Agropoli

45.5 km
60 m
#biketouring #nerdiontour

A #caturday special showing some of the lovely kitties I've met so far on this trip. #biketouring #nerdiontour #AllCatsAreBeautiful

Day 12

Big leg today following the beautiful Amalfi coast. A bit much traffic, as it's a super touristy area, but a fantastic experience nonetheless in perfect weather.

Sorrento - Salerno

58.5 km
800 m
#biketouring #nerdiontour

Day 11

After visiting the ruins in Pompeii, it started raining. I waited 2 hours for the rain to stop, then just started cycling. I, of course, got completely soaked...

Pompei - Sorrento

26.1 km
210 m
#biketouring #nerdiontour

Today I visited the ancient Roman city of Pompeii. One unexpected feature was an exhibition of photographs and videos from Pink Floyd's concert "Live in Pompeii" which was recorded in the ancient amphitheater.

Day 10

On the way I stopped in Ercolano to visit the ancient Roman city of Herculaneum. Highly recommended! Smaller than Pompeii but with some fantastic preserved features like multi-story houses and even wooden artefacts!

Napoli - Pompei

28.5 km
170 m
#biketouring #nerdiontour