Surly They Won't Make It

13/12/24

There was a breakfast included at the B&B but not like Deborah’s. We were able to have some packets of dehydrated toast and some jam that was, curiously, labelled in German. Of course there was also some coffee and we had a couple of drinks each. We bid goodbye to the lady, and headed up the hill back to the road, only to remember moments later that we’d left our water bottles behind so Jonathan had to return and re-climb.

We left Alvignano down a hill and soon turned onto a quieter road which undulated at first before reaching a steady climb with a nice little switchback. We then followed some larger roads into Telese Therme where we picked up some food at the supermarket. As we were stopped the rains began. We knew they were coming but ever hopeful that they would be the pitiful sprinkling we’d become used to. 

Telese Therme had the expected bathes, which were closed. We rode out of the town past the Lago di Telese, which was far smaller than expected, and more like a pond. The road was narrow but absurdly busy at first. That soon changed and we were passing through olive groves with the occasional car or van squeezing past. 

We suddenly remembered that we needed to change the route from the EuroVelo 5 to the route provided by a Warmshowers host who had called themselves an EV5 hub. Apparently the route was blocked between Telese Therme and Benevento since April 2024. We were pleased that we knew now rather than later, but the reason why it was closed was about to become rather evident.

The new route took us into a very muddy road. A road, but covered in a light brown emulsion. There were also multiple construction site access signs. While we were next to a single railway track already, the huge operation we could now see was the development of the new high speed line from Napoli to Bari. The road had essentially become a construction access road. At one point there was such a long queue of lorries parked down the road waiting to unload, that we had to use the gaps between them as a waiting space for the oncoming traffic. 

This entire time of course it was drizzling, making the road worse and worse. The gears of the bikes became very upset with their complete absence of lubricant, and instead were utilising the muddy paste to grind through the cassette. It went on forever, and every turning we hoped in vain that we would be on a clean road again. 

Eventually we came to what looked like an escape route but instead was a closed road with the escape actually being across the existing railway onto a tiny olive grove track that had been bolstered into, a now overused, rocky road. We tentatively cycled along and then up a steep hill, before still having to pass some kind of cementing process that was blocking the diversionary route too. 

A few miles later, now back on a road, we reached Scauzone. Here the large motorway delivered and received all the heavy traffic, the rain stopped, and the route was clear again. The only caveat was that the new route had inserted a large climb in our path. Four miles and 270m of elevation to overcome. It was gentle though due to being a fairly consistent gradient. Expansive views opened up behind us as we slowly climbed the contours round the side of the mountain. 

At the top was a small town called Utile, with a closed supermarket, and we were glad we’d bought supplies earlier. The descent was rapid. We stopped a short way down to tighten up the brakes on the black Surly before continuing, and were extremely grateful we’d not ascended this way as it was the same elevation in half the distance. 

At the bottom, there was a large motorway but our route snuck under it and onto a perfect cycle path. No road attached. It was both a pedestrian and cycle path, extra wide, and stretched out in front of us. It was a welcome surprise, as was the fact that we’d be staying just 1000m along the path. The building we were staying in belongs to LIPU, the Italian league for bird protection, and was operated by the aforementioned EV5 hub.

There was no one there to greet us and we took part in a little hunt for the three keys needed to gain access. It was a perfectly comfortable place to stay, colder inside than outside, but with a little gas heater, a stove and a toilet with running water. At first we were expecting the guy running the place to turn up, but he later messaged to said he was away and we wouldn’t see him after all. We weren’t against the solitude. The gas heater was fiddly, and we had to lay a weight on top of the knob to keep the gas coming out as well as manually lighting it. 

We ate our bread and managed to fry the tofu as well as heat the left over passata from the night before. We watched some of the British version of Accused on the laptop. We got a little warmer after a while, and then brought the bikes in to keep them safe for the night.

The walls were covered with excellent pictures of the different birds you could see in the nature reserve, mostly taken by the guy we’d had contact with. We pumped up our mats, climbed into our sleeping bags, and went to sleep on the floor.