Anyone cycled in southern Italy?

[andym]

I don't use airbnb so all I can say is compare what's on offer on the two sites. I tend to book at least the night before - so I then have a definite end point for the day and I can just get on and ride, but booking.com will also do a search for places around you.

 

[swee'pea99]

I don't use airbnb so all I can say is compare what's on offer on the two sites. I tend to book at least the night before - so I then have a definite end point for the day and I can just get on and ride, but booking.com will also do a search for places around you.

Thanks. Good point about having an end point for the day. Dare I ask what sort of daily distances you might expect to cover somewhere like Puglia? We're different riders, so I'll bear that in mind, but I'd find it helpful to have some kind of benchmark. I haven't cycled in Med-type conditions for over 30 years...

 

[Ian H]

I recall the water in my bidon tasting like warm bath-water, and having to wear arm-warmers to avoid sun-burn. But accommodation was easy to find (I didn't book anything), food was excellent, and the locals friendly and helpful.
It's worth planning routes to avoid major routes. Italians don't tend to be aggressive drivers, but they do like speed.

 

[andym]

Thanks. Good point about having an end point for the day. Dare I ask what sort of daily distances you might expect to cover somewhere like Puglia? We're different riders, so I'll bear that in mind, but I'd find it helpful to have some kind of benchmark. I haven't cycled in Med-type conditions for over 30 years...

I just Googled 'temperatures in Puglia in September' and according to holiday weather.com the average high temperature towards the end of September is 24 degrees. So really we're talking pretty comparable with the weather here in July/August. So your daily mileage would probably be fairly comparable to what you would do in the UK/northern Europe.

I recall the water in my bidon tasting like warm bath-water

Get a vacuum flask. I have a couple of these (500ml size) and they work brilliantly. Apologies for the unnecessarily big picture.