PiccolinaAdventures's Trips

• Mountain Biking Sicily

This trip was in PREPARATION for September's Mountain Biking Trip in Sicily. We did a lot of exploration, and are putting on an EPIC ADVENTURE September 6th. You're invited.

Photo Blog.

With my laptop balanced on my lap, I'm writing to you from the narrow blue seat of the Boeing 747 that's flying me to back to the US. The last three weeks were busy- by bicycle, scooter, car, bus, train and airplane, this year's guides and I checked routes & places for the Sicily Mountain Biking and Road Biking Trips this fall.



Riding in Marsala with Carlo, Mas and Adriana

Sicily always amazes me. It's a tough land that sculpted a tough but generous people. Arid mountains linked by Roman acqueducts, ancient temples, Medieval cities, and inviting sandy beaches and turquoise water that reminded me of the Bahamas- though with artisan pastry shops, gelato and great espresso on every corner.


  

  
The grassy slopes of the Madonie Mountains


Carlo buying his favorite pastries after a ride up Mount Erice


But what impresses me the most are the people. I'm continuously astounded by the warm and unassuming welcomes. In Sicily they say that the guest is sacred and offering good hospitality is of utmost importance. I found that wherever I went, no matter how well or ill-prepared, we always found helping hands, ready advice and often offers of lunch.

 



 

One day we woke particularly early and, after a Sicilian breakfast of espresso and cakes, we got on our bikes, rode out under the Roman arc marking the end of town, and began the long climb toward the Madonie summit. There are few trees on the slopes, so the mountains offer an unusually vast view of miles and miles of golden grassy hills that slowly fade into the a sandy cloud far in the distance. The cloud comes from the scirocco, a hot wind that blows in from Africa carrying sand & heat from the Sahara desert.


 

 
Francesca was really excited to show us around her mountains


The view not far from her house

But that morning was blissfully clear. We climbed until we found a tiny dirt path that snaked down one side of the slope. We followed Francesca round the rocks till we rounded the curve and found a ramshackle wooden hut with rounds of white ricotta on wooden slats outside. Three mountain men stirred a cauldron of hot milk over a wood fire. They took turns skimming foam off the top with an old sieve fixed to a gnarled branch. They greeted us warmly and we got off our bikes to chat. No more than five minutes go by before one man goes into the dark hut and emerges with a huge plate of fresh cheese, the likes of which I've never tasted in my life.



She wanted to stir the ricotta too!
 

Then the second man runs into the shed, emerging with a huge loaf of fresh bread. The fresh ricotta, salty, filling and still warm, tastes like earth and mountain and sheep. We sat on rocks in the shade of a tree to eat and chat about cheese, sheep and the life of a shepherd, until the third man, the grizzled artisan himself, decides something's missing. "Vino!" he yells to the one stirring the pot, who goes into the shed and comes out with a plastic water bottle filled with homemade red wine. The perfect complement to a perfect meal. We ate, drank and chatted for over an hour and determined that we'd all meet again, with mountain biking group, at his farm by the sea this fall.


Nino and Adri hit it off



We had a lot of other adventures visiting the towns, cities and beaches of the island. Marsala, Palermo, Volcano Etna. A fuller set of pictures (and stories) is on facebook at:
http://www.facebook.com/album.<wbr>php</wbr>?aid=187500&id=10482386764

For anyone interested in joining us on September's Trip, we'll be visiting Nino the shepherd, the vineyards around Etna, and staying in Francesca's hometown where her mother makes incredible cannoli. There is still time to sign up, but I need a headcount by July 16th, 2010. Email, Facebook, Call.
 



Miles and miles of vineyards

Have a wonderful week!
Laura




--- 

Laura Frew

Piccolina Adventures

Bikes. Wine. Friends.
Oregon House, California
800 466 5884 (USA)
328 914 3780 (Italy) 

PiccolinaAdventures.com

Afoot and light-hearted, 

I take to the open road,
Healthy, free, the world before me,
The long brown path before me, 
leading wherever I choose.
         - Walt Whitman