By bike through southern Italy to Sicily

Why fly home when I actually wanted to travel around the world. Now I'm in Italy and have time, so I'll stay a bit longer and even if necessary, I'll stay alone. My idea is to cycle from Naples to Sicily and fly home from Catania in about 3 weeks. The route will follow the cliff coast and is about 600 km by car. How many kilometers by bike will that be ...? But it should be possible in 10 to 14 days. Then I have another week for Sicily and certainly also homesickness. We'll see.

I want to write the blog in several parts for the sake of clarity.

2020-10-21, Wednesday. Here we go in Napoli. Ulla and I leave at 9:35 with the Capri ferry. 2 wonderful hiking weeks on the Amalfi coast come to an end. One last coffee together in Naples and a goodbye kiss, then Ulla goes to the bus that takes her to the plane and I walk 2 km through the city to San Geronimo B&B. I want to buy a bike today, but no one knows a good address for used bicycles. I find what I'm looking for on Subito on the internet and take the Graffiti S-Bahn to get there. Simon has 3 bikes to choose from. I want to be friends with the Giant. I also buy a luggage rack around the corner. But on the way back to Naples, the bike gives me a hard time. The seat post is stuck and my knees immediately complain. But first let's watch the sunset at the harbor and see what tomorrow brings.

Day 2, Thursday, October 22nd, 2020. With a lot of traffic, I go through the suburbs of Naples. The big backpack that I have stretched diagonally on the luggage rack wobbles dangerously, and I don't want to carry the small one on my back the whole time either. I look for and find a board in the bulky waste, which I tie on crosswise. In Torre del Greco, I take a nice break at the harbor. I look half-heartedly for a workshop to raise the saddle for me, but I also want to quickly go to Pompeii to visit the excavations in the daylight. Shortly after 1 p.m., I set up my tent at Spartacus Camping and soon cross the former buried Roman roads. It's crazy that so many people died in the disaster and that's why we can now admire the place. After that, I feel more like the beach than looking for a workshop. I have a wonderful SU on a completely littered beach. The west wind has blown all the trash here. So I also find wood for upgrading the bike. The chipboard has already broken. With the experience from America, I know exactly what I need and I find it: 1 board and 2 slats. They are too long, but ...

Day 3, Friday, October 23rd, 2020. I want to climb Mount Vesuvius and cycle 8 km to the entrance located 350 meters high, only to stand in front of a closed gate. DARN IT! There is a hiking trail marked on OSM here. I decide to climb over the fence only to be scolded 50 meters further. An Italian triade rained down on me, from which I understand that I am not allowed in here, it is dangerous, and I should leave before the police arrive. I can't find out anything in English, only when I leave, the gate is unlocked. I try to Google, but take it as an omen to take care of the bike in peace. In a Piaggio workshop, I am allowed to use the vice. I clamp the seat post and turn the frame with all my strength: the post moves minimally, but not upwards. I look for a locksmith (Fabbro) in the area. The only one I find has no time. There are also used bicycles at a gas station. I convince the attendant to exchange the bikes. For an additional 40€, I build the luggage rack on the new bike myself. While doing so, I notice that the screw on top doesn't hold. The gas station attendant doesn't want to do anything else for me, but has lunch. From his stock, I quickly fish out a long screw and now I want to eat something in a nice place. So I end up in front of the sanctuary of Pompeii and meet Harry from Leipzig, who is here with his bike, but otherwise travels with a camper van and can support me with tools at the other camp. After visiting the beautifully painted church, I get my wood and the conversion can begin. After coffee, cookies, and limoncello, I take a test ride with the backpack on the new wooden handlebar luggage carrier to the beach and then get satisfied in my tent.

Day 4, Saturday, October 24th. Everything is packed in plastic at 8 a.m., because the weather report promises rain. So I start with new equipment to Pagani on the main road to the east. After a breakfast of caffe latte and croissant, I continue on side roads with less traffic to Mercator de San Severino. I now have to shift to the smallest gear from time to time, but my knees no longer hurt. I climb up to the ruins of Mura Castello and am somewhat disappointed. Maybe I didn't climb high enough or the weather is to blame with its oppressive rain clouds. They soon provide new adventures. I defy the downpours because I'm warm and soon cycle through 10 cm of water on the road. So I get showered from all sides. Even on the coastal road behind Salerno, there is still water standing, and I have to be careful not to get splashed by passing cars. Now I pass many campsites, but they are all closed. I decide to camp wild. Between Lido Samoa and Lago there is the supermarket A.L.D.I. Here I stock up on dinner and drive to the beach, finding a nice place in the pine forest, matching the SU, amidst a lot of rubbish. Unfortunately, I have to realize that my plastic packaging hasn't helped, even the sleeping bag is wet. Nevertheless, I don't freeze during the night, but it is very uncomfortable.

Day 5, Sunday, October 25th. As soon as I'm on the road, groups of road cyclists pass me. Of course, it's Sunday! There's milk coffee at the 2nd gas station, and the cyclists stop here too. It's a shame I don't speak Italian, so the contact is limited to a hello in English. After an hour, it's warm enough for a swim. And since the sandy beach here is about 30 km long, I quickly find a spot and put on my swimming trunks. Before the beautiful Agropoli, I have a second breakfast in the bay with baguette, salami, cheese, and grapes. Now it's time for the first real climb to Prignano Cilento and away from the coast. The road has no traffic, maybe because the highway runs parallel, and a gradient that I can easily handle in 1st or 2nd gear. The view is great, even inland. Then my navigation directs me down small, very steep roads to the reservoir. I would never have been able to ride uphill here. And at the bottom, the road ends either at the highway entrance or at the barrier of a park. What now? After a telephone consultation with the friendly guard, I am allowed to follow my navigation through the park for free, and indeed, the exit is open at the bottom. Otherwise, I would probably have appeared in the news: Caution on the A3: Cyclist! Now it always goes further down the valley, towards the sea, past oil presses and cow pastures. With the altitude, the daylight fades damn early. Only the next day do I realize the reason: there was a time change during the night, and my cell phone did it unnoticed. The campsites are closed here too, but I find another nice place in a parking lot by the beach. Dinner is in the moonlight on the still warm beach.

Day 6, Monday, October 26th. The dawn now wakes me up earlier too, but getting up early has never bothered me. It's more unusual for me to start without breakfast, but I haven't used the cooker so far because after the 2 weeks with Ulla, I enjoy drinking a coffee latte in the morning. Today it will only be available later after really demanding steep climbs on landslide-prone, partly closed roads in the mountain village of Pisciotta. I couldn't even drive the steep sections in a zigzag to spread them out because the load distribution due to the thick backpack is too much on the rear wheel, causing the front wheel to lift in curves and I can no longer steer! In the village, the seniors sit next to the café and play cards photogenically. I speed down to the sea and go swimming for the first time today. The second time in Marina di Camerota. On the way there, I tunnel through individual free-standing rocks, made for the postcard from back then. Here too, the selected campsite is closed again, and the weather forecast doesn't promise anything good for tomorrow. That's why I'm going up in the afternoon. In 1½ hours, I manage to climb 400 meters again, start sweating properly, but can also enjoy the great landscape. The search for a campsite also goes well today in the uneven terrain, matching SU. Today I can also muster up the energy to cook.

Day 7, Tuesday, October 27th. On the 7th day, you should rest, and I almost follow that. But I don't want to do it here on the mountain, where thunder wakes me up at 5 a.m. I pack and hope to make it to Sapri still dry. So I'm already sitting on the bike shortly after 6 and continue to tackle the mountain. In the long descent, a few drops fall shortly after the pretty San Giovanni a Piro, and I'm lucky to make it to Sapri dry. I have 2 options in mind: take the train out of the rain or get a hotel. I have breakfast on the beach and then go to the hotel when the next drops fall. Since then, it has been a day off, at least for the legs. My finger is flying over the phone and I'm writing my blog.