In this post we would share the 4th day of the self cycling tour of Sicily, enjoyed by Enzo, our canadian customer who shared with us his travel book notes.
I felt quite well-rested after an extra day in Agrigento. Good thing, as my plan for the day would be a target of over 100 km., with plenty of climbing as I headed back inland for the hilltop town of Piazza Armerina.
The totals for Day 4 were:
Distance: 106 km
Elevation Gain: 1.552 metres
Elevation Loss: 1,047 metres
Today, I also saw rain for the first time on this trip. The rains were steady throughout the night, and into the early morning. I waited out the storm until it subsided to light showers by late morning. On the positive side, it kept the temperatures a bit cooler and only into the low 20’s.
The route finding was quite straightforward today, and I broke it up with a couple of stops to refuel along the way. I even successfully navigated a “shortcut” along a 5 km section of hard-packed gravel road. It reminded me a bit of the Strade Bianche roads that are raced in Tuscany in the spring . With the overnight rains, this section proved to be a bit muddy – so much more fun!
Last view of mediterranean of this stage |
Along the way, I exchanged a couple of texts with the owners of the B&B I would be staying in that evening, as they wanted to confirm what time to expect me – a nice personal touch :) I was greeted with more of that generosity when I did make my way to B&B Maison de Lussy. Daniela was there to greet me, along with one of her daughters Sylva. She spent almost a half-hour showing me around, and going over things to see and do, and where to eat! That last one was most important, as it was early evening and time to refuel. And, they also oferred a secure garage to store my bike.
I quickly washed up, and started walking my way through this medieval city dating back to the 11th century. I would save more of the exploring till tommorrow, as dinner was a priority. Daniela’ s recommendation was a winner with a multi-course feast at Ristorante Al Giardinetto. They don’t have a web site, but have a few reviews scattered around, including this one.
After dinner, I did find some time to walk through the twisty roads up the Duomo at the top of the hill. Some nice lighting for nighttime photography, so I experimented a bit with my 4-year-old point-and-shoot camera.
The Duomo at the top of Piazza Armerina |