Cycling Matera & Puglia
~ Simon Burrell
The last time Mike and I headed to Italy, we climbed Stelvio, Gavia and Mortirolo - three iconic passes in the Italian/Swiss alps. This time we had a completely different plan.
We like spending time on a bike, but also like sightseeing, sunshine, coffee and great food. We both also enjoy spending holiday time with our respective wives. So, why not combine all these things? Thus began the genesis of Project Matera and Puglia.
Quite a lot of preparation went into this plan:
I met Joan 8 years ago on a cycle trip, in Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. Persuading her to do more such trips wasn’t too difficult, based on her reliving meeting the man of her dreams!
Last year Mike persuaded Mai to join a group cycling trip with him in Sicily. She chose an e-bike for the trip and I waited back home with bated breath, to hear about the experience – a lot was riding on this. Luckily Mai seemed to have enjoyed it, so the game was afoot.
After our clever preparation, the wives were more easily persuaded to partake in another cycle trip – now just to find a suitable one. We chose an intermediate level (3 out of 5) challenge in southern Italy, an area that none of us had explored before. Luckily Mike’s old friends from the States (Franco and Annette) were also up for it, and they flew in from New York for the first part of a three week European holiday. This gave them a chance to catch up with relatives in the old country, as Franco hailed from near Matera.
I wanted to tell you a little about this type of group trip, as we find them to be a great blend of cycling, sightseeing and family holiday. It seems to tick all the boxes.
The cycling wasn’t dramatic but was enough to give most on the trip a bit of a challenge, especially at temperatures up to the high 30s. We cycled from hotel to hotel with an itinerary by day as follows:
Matera – meet and greet
Alberobello – 69km / 611m
Ostuni – 39km / 408m
Oria – 61km / 246m
Gallipoli – 58km / 274m
Otranto – 71km / 556m
Lecce – 54km / 291m
So, about 350km and 2,400m all in – not too challenging but enough to keep us interested, and a good challenge for some of those on the trip. Sightseeing on a bike is an amazing experience – the landscape changes slowly and sights come into view at a gentle pace. Chatting and getting to know others is easy on the quieter roads, so we were soon all the best of friends. Coffee and lunch stops are a joy, with the evening meal and a glass of vino well earned.
These trips can be quite international – on this occasion we had 15 riders: 3 Irish, 3 American/Italian, 2 Canadians, 1 Scottish and 6 English. On other tours (especially Intrepid) you also tend to get a few Aussies and Kiwis. This makes for a great mix of interesting people, plus those on a cycle trip tend to be the ones that are up for a good time. The group dynamic is a big part of the fun of it all, and we are still in touch with people from previous tours.
We had a mix of 7 e-bikes and 8 standard. Some were regular cyclists and others didn’t know how to work the gears when they first started. All of them managed the whole distance and a few were strong enough to practice group formation and join a flat race and a hill climb dig. Part of the pleasure is seeing people find a real love for the bike.
These trips are not training camps, and some might find them a little sedate. Saying that, I tend to find opportunities to stretch the legs without breaking up the group. On occasion you can head up the road and turn back to meet the group, plus riding between front and back of the group adds some challenge, as it’s tough to find the front of the group again from the back.
After the cycling we spent a few nights in a fabulous Palazzo in the beautiful city of Lecce – a nod to Joan’s liking for 5 star establishments. Mike and Mai joined us for the first 2 nights, so we had a bit of balance and relaxation after the physical effort.
I love these trips as they incorporate different things I enjoy, plus I get to do them with my wife, who also finds it a good mix. I have used Intrepid, Exodus and Explore, but there are other companies doing the same. These companies provide the bikes (hybrids, allowing for off-road), plus organise the accommodation and all logistics, with a guide on a bike and a mechanic driving the van (containing your luggage). It just so happened our driver holds 4 Guinness world records for cycling (https://www.leonardosaponaro.it/)!
