Bici, Amici and Italy

​We leave Norcia to head to our stay at an agriturismo in Castel San Felice called Zafferano e dintorni.  We had been communicating by email and I sensed their reluctance to accept our reservation. They indicated that they were busy with the saffron and apple harvest.  They said we could stay but they could not offer dinner.  We were happy with that as there was a restaurant right next door so we wouldn’t starve!  So we drop down from Norcia onto the Spoleto Norcia rail trail. The early morning ride is in cool deeply shaded forest.  It feels strange pedaling on the fairly level rail trail.  It makes us realize that most days have involved lots of steep ups or downs with very few occasions of long level stretches  The level of course comes to an end with a pretty tough climb but only for a few k. Jim takes a moment to commune with a local  He said I should label this two asses!  The views are wonderful and we take a break at the summit for a ...

​The roads from Pioraco and for most of the day to Visso are very quiet and remote.   We are deep into the earthquake prone part of Italy and the powerful earthquake of 2016 which this day happens to be the anniversary of reveals the magnitude of what the residents of this area have lost.   The ride out of Pioraco involved a lot of gravel and broken pavement roads and nary a car to be seen with the exception of a farm vehicle or two.   A long gravelly climb puts us at this atmospheric spot with an ancient church and watering trough.    The other side of the mountain takes us into deep forest with the occasional verdant green farm field.  We check into our bnb which seems oddly new and wooden or so it seems in this land of stone and antiquity!  The town appears to be a newly built town to house the displaced residents and businesses of Visso which were totally destroyed in the earthquake.  It feels a little strange but also you can feel the sense o...