Bikepacking Italy

Since i was already far behind my plan i had to collect my bike from the repair shop in Rome as early as possible, 9:30 am, and then skip a bit of distance by train to make up for the effectively 2 days lost. From Roma Termini to Salerno in 3 hours seemed the best option to me, especially because Salerno was en route.

Around 2pm I arrived in Salerno where I had a delicious lunch at „Zero - Healthy Bar & Poke“. Definitely recommend that place, if you ever find yourself in Salerno and like healthy food options -> give it a try! Then i finally continued my trip, heading towards Capaccio. It was raining slightly but nothing awful and the radar prognosed that it would stop raining soon.

While riding along the coastline it stopped raining indeed. Shortly after i found myself admiring the stunning views of the sunset along the coastline. Absolutely marvelous. Because of the cloudy weather the sun, peaking through the enormous wall of clouds really created a magical view.

Very little did i know what awaited me. Around 15-20 minutes and a couple of kilometers ahead i ended up in something that can only be described as a monsoon. It was raining like I’ve never seen it before and within a few minutes the streets where absolutely flooded. The cars that where passing by created a wave of water that completely soaked me and my bike, every single time. I mean, it didn’t even matter anymore since i was already soaking wet from head to toes, but anyway, some decency maybe?

This continued pretty much all the 40 kilometers until destination for the night. There were some moments without rain but since i was completely wet it didn’t make much of a difference. The sun was long set and slowly but steady i started to get cold.

A handful of kilometers before Capaccio, i realized that i had to push through once more. A 400 meter climb stretched across round about 6 kilometers, thats an average of 6.6 % incline…pretty though for the end of a day when you are soaked, cold and tired. But the thought of a warm shower kept me going and so in around 40 minutes i made it to the top and was welcomed by my host of the night. Now i will have a shower and spoil myself with a delicious dinner in a warm and cozy restaurant.Read more