Well, this was an epic day, great in nearly every regard. I had reserved a bike from a shop in downtown Sorrento for the day. Started packing my backpack the night before and woke up early to make sure I was prepared for the adventure. I started walking to the shop around 8:35 and got there with several minutes to spare before they opened at 9:00. The mechanic put my pedals and head unit on, and one of the other staff adjusted my seat for me. I had brought everything I needed except water and the key for the bike lock. I texted Ann to bring the latter (didn't end up needing it after all). Rode through town, after initially getting sent east on a one-way road that had no connectors to let me turn around. Eventually I just turned around and rode carefully back into town, then got on streets going the right way, toward our Airbnb. It took a little time for me to get used to the saddle position, my left glute was a little tender but didn't end up being a problem. Right leg was fine throughout the ride. I won't list the roads I rode on, will just summarize. Before I left town I stopped at Jolly Market, bought a bottle of water, put on my gloves, head covering, and bike light, and started climbing. This first climb ended up being a little over four miles and almost 1500', occasionally steeper, particularly around sharp turns. But the general gradient was very manageable, even enjoyable. I stopped several times to take pictures, once when I realized I still had my gym shorts on over my bib tights. Got to the top of the climb about an hour after I started the ride, made decent time for the most part. After that came a six-mile general descent, never very steep but with a lot of sharp turns and sweeping curves. I was very cautious, no real scares. The cars, trucks, and motorbikes were pretty manageable for the most part on this section of the ride. The road eventually brought me along the coast, and it was flat-out gorgeous. Once on the coast the road became more undulating, with generally gentle climbs and descents, not so many flat sections. I arrived in Positano before 11:00 and texted Ann. No reply. Tried to call on WhatsApp. No reply. Sent her a conventional text. No reply. I ate a banana while I waited for her to pick up. Eventually I called her and got through. She was still on the bus, surprising to me, but it was running behind schedule (fairly common on these roads). She got off the bus around 11:15 and sent me the address, so I rode down (thankfully) to where she was. We had a drink together at a bistro, and I also had a coffee to get some caffeine. Also had a GU gel. I got back on the bike a little before 12:00 and decided to ride along the coast some more,aiming to make it to Praiano. This part of the coast road seemed more narrow, particularly as I got further east. It too was undulating, with ups and downs that were generally not too steep. I got into an area with no cell signal right around Praiano, as far as I could tell. Near what I thought was Praiano, my Wahoo showed me off-route, so I backtracked and took a road off the main coast road. Turns out it was one-way the other way, and with no cell signal I couldn't tell where I was. Legs were still feeling good, so I figured I would keep going until I was at about 25 miles, then see where I was. More undulating roads with tunnels at times and lots of sharp turns. At one point. T close to my turnaround point I stopped to do a recon, crossing the road to where there was a wider gravel patch. When I hit the gravel I very nearly went down, just barely held on to keep from tumbling over ignominiously. I eventually got to another coast town, which turned out to be Lone (I didn't know it at the time, just figured it was appropriate to turn around here. In reviewing the map later I saw I almost made it to Amalfi. So I turned around and started retracing my route. Turned my route tracking on the Wahoo off and made my way back through Praiano and Positano. There was a lot more traffic by this time, and with larger busses occasionally clogging the way I had to stop a number of time before the vehicles in front of me could continue. It was warming up as well, not uncomfortably hot but noticeable. There was a fairly long and steady climb, the last major one of the day, that started just before I got into Positano. It was about 6.5 miles, but there was a descent section in there, so it wasn't all uphill. At some point I stopped and had a guy take some pics of me and the bike (a BH Ultralight with mechanical shifting and rim brakes, incredibly light and fairly responsive, although I hadi or issues with brakes fading on the long descent into Positano). At this point I also took my thermal undershirt off, felt cooler after that. A little more climbing after this short rest break, then I turned off the coast road and took one that headed toward Meta and Piano di Sorrento. I think, after making this turn, the road started descending steadily. This was another fun part of the ride, although I had to pay close attention to lots of sharp turns. It helped during the descents to have my Wahoo on map mode, so I could judge the upcoming turns more easily. The route took me down into Meta, where there was this crazy little loop that had a short, very bumpy large cobblestone section that I had to navigate. Due to poor cell reception, my Wahoo wasn't letting me know when turns were upcoming. Instead, it would signal when I was off-course. This happened on the cobble as I was climbing, so I got a little extra cobble action to enjoy. Back on route, closi8loop and then heading into Piano di Sorrento. This was a steady, fairly gradual descent, fun to ride but limited in enjoyment by the heavier traffic. Through Sant'Agnello, although I didn't know it at the time. I was just following the route and hoping it would drope into Sorrento. This happened soon after, I knew I was close when I saw the railway bridge over the road sporting the word Sorrento. It dropped me onto the street by the bike store, but they were closed until 4:00. Stopped my ride here, it significantly exceed what I expected it to be, nearly all in good ways. Traffic management was about as expected, rarely scary but occasionally mildly frustrating. The drivers were generally courteous, no issues there, thankfully.
Avg speed = 13.2 mph. Total mileage = 45.7 mi
Avg power = 112 W. Weighted avg power = 143 W
Total elevation gain = 4100'
Avg heartrate = 131 bpm (Coospo)
Relative Effort = 145
Training Load = 166
Intensity = 65%
I debated sticking around but decided to ride back to the Airbnb instead. Restarted my Wahoo for the extra couple of miles. I got back to the flat around 3:00, it felt good to sit and reflect on the day's ride. I watched a little TV (Mr Mercedes, first episode), then rode back to drop off the bike.
Avg speed = 10.6 mph. Total mileage = 2.3 mi
Avg power = 74 W. Weighted avg power = 95 W
Total elevation gain = 140'
Avg heartrate = 113 bpm (Coospo)
Relative Effort = 2
Training Load = 5
Intensity = 43%
That went smoothly, and I walked to the Airbnb to have a shower, which felt awesome. Later, I walked back to the town square to meet Ann for dinner. She took the ferry back from Amalfi, a much better choice than the sketchy (because of schedules) bus service. It was about 20 minutes behind schedule, not too bad. I walked down to the central Piazza and met here there, then we walked to Capri Blu for dinner. Simple, delicious pizza for me, seafood ravioli for Ann. Meal was quite tasty. We walked back to the Airbnb after that, and the rest of the evening was quiet.
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