Parts Unknown - Abruzzo

On my way to Abruzzo the words "Parts Unknown" were ringing through my head. I really didn't want to do this trip alone. I was reasonably sick of spending all my travels alone and this time I was even more apprehensive than normal for personal reasons. My previous long road trip didn't end well. At the same time I realised how lucky I am to own a car and have plenty of money for diesel and all the food I want to order at any restaurant along the way. Anthony Bourdain was even more fortunate, yet five days after photos of his love of his life hugging another man in the streets of Rome were published, he committed suicide. Bourdain was the presenter of the long running (11 seasons) travel and food series Parts Unknown. I kinda get the loneliness he must have felt. Just kinda. I do not want to pretend to understand the depressions he was suffering. My journey to Italy was marred by an intense feeling of loneliness.

Empty glass, yet "un quarto di litro di vino rosso".

I planned to cycle a 388 kilometer loop through Gran Sasso National Park, Abruzzo National Park and Sirente Velino Regional Park. The loop was envisioned by Giorgio Frattale and Francesco D’Alessio who cycled this trip in 5 days. On day one I loaded my bike with my tent and plenty of food and water. The sky was partially cloudy and my bike felt heavy. After half a day I calculated my progress in distance and it became quickly clear I would never finish the loop in 5 days. My plan had quickly crumbled to pieces. Time for plan B. There's always a plan B.

I decided to spent the first night camping in the mountains. I choose a spot between Santo Stefano di Sessanio and Calascio with a beautiful valley view. I pitched my Tarptent Double Rainbow at dusk and waited for the night to fall. Soon I could hear animals trampling the grass around my tent. I assume the Apennine wolf keeps his distance from the lower valleys, so it must have been - well, god knows what.

Serene early morning in the mountains. Absolute silence.

A much lighter bike for day trips. Plan B wasn't so bad after all.

Final few kilometres of my holiday, just before the brake pads of my disc brakes were completely worn out and my braking power was reduced to almost nothing.