Gravina in Puglia 2

Alright then lets move on! I did not do much that evening, I did get out and walked thru the center to get an idea of the place and get myself oriented. Had a great dinner at a local recommended taverna. A delicious Angus and red wine to accompany it with other local delicacies just made my evening. Add a limoncello to that and I remember feeling a little drunk on my way back to the hotel. Well the drunk part was confirmed when I could not get out of bed till 8 am! 

I dropped one of the panniers in the room and just filled one with camera equipment. By the time I left it was 9 am. I loaded the course on my GPS and it read 38C at 9 am!I knew it was going to be tough ride. The ride was going to be thru barren land without a tree to hide under. As soon as I left Gravina I was right in the middle of the wheat vastlands. I had never seen anyting like that in my life. Honestly felt I was in Kansas. The ride was sort of rolling hills and the traffic was mostly made of farm vehicles. A lot of people were busy working in their land and harvesting wheat or laying down the ground for the next season. It gets so hot that people prefer to work either very early in the day or late into the evening. By 10 people were winding down and I had just begun my ride. 

I took it slow and took quite a lot of photographs. The ride was a 60k loop which included passing thru a tiny farming town called Dolcecanto, descending to a dam and then climbing back to Gravina. During the entire ride I saw not more than a few vehicles and that was kind of spooky. I was the tallest object out there with no trees around! Beyond Dolcecanto I lost my way a little since the road I had chosen to descend to the Dam turned out to be a dirt road. I was not in a mood to take that in that heat and face any difficult. I took a good look at the 800 and I figured if I rode a few more kms there was an alternative to descend down to the dam but it included a climb. I thought what the hell. I went ahead and took it, passed a few climbs and then faced a one long descend into the valley enroute to the dam. Here I also got my first open view of the entire landscape. It looked great even if deprived of the best light conditions.

Vast Wheat fields in Gravina in Puglia

The descend to the dam was fast and I did not quite feel that I was riding a touring bike. The landscape was so brilliant and uniquely beautiful. The fact that I had to climb everything I was descending still did not play on my mind. I rode hard to get to the damn. The curiosity was getting the better out of me. How could there be a body of water in this barren landscape? The contrast was something I was longing to see and hence I descended very quickly. A few more rolling hills and finally I got the first glimpse of it and my heart pounded with excitement. I honestly do not have words to describe just how beautiful it was. So I will let this photograph tell you the story!

I basked in the beauty around the lake for sometime stopping quite a few times to take more photographs. By the time I was done it was mid day and it was soaring hot and the temperature had reached 40C. I had a long climb back to Gravina. I was very low on water and the heat and the warm air dried everything inside me. My mouth was so dry I was almost choking on the bike as soon as I hit the climbs. I decided to only take small sip and conserve and just ride without stopping anymore. What I enjoy during these situations is that I am able to rely on my fitness to get me thru. I was confident I would get over the climbs without any difficulty if I just rode. I mean how long can a climb really be! 10kms or 15kms back to the town? I knew it was hot but I knew I could do it. These are times I relish I train so much that I can get by these situations. Saying that honestly.

Beginning of the long climb and a brief look behind. That was the last pic I took on that ride. I packed everything and just rode back. It was tough but I was also happy I was getting a good workout.