Let it snow

I departed Scalea under threatening skies with views of now snow capped hills ahead. I needed to make it back to Rome today to return the bike on time. However it was still a ways away since I lost a lot of time yesterday. Within minutes the skies stopped threatening and started dumping, and I could tell this was going to be another long day. As planned I was trying to stay on the coastal road to avoid the snow in the mountains, but after just a few miles I came to the part of the road that had been closed on the way down, forcing me to take a detour inland into the mountains. The rain continued to fall as I made my way up a small mountain road, then I hit the main highway for a few miles before I could take another road over a small pass and back down to the sea near Maratea. Although it was colder, so far there was only rain. Until it started hailing that is. For those of you who have never riden a motorcycle in the hail, it’s kind of like being in a meteor shower, getting pelted with hundreds of small stones, and amplified by the speed you are moving, which for me was now down to about 20mph. I was still going uphill, and the hail was coming down really hard and was starting to cover the road, so I decided to stop fow a few minutes and wait for it to pass, hoping it wouldn’t take too long. Unfortunately it lasted about another 15 minutes until the road was completely covered in ice.

I made one attempt to get the bike to go up the small incline but it was sliding all over and wouldn‘t go. If I had dropped the bike there it would have been impossible to pick it back up with the ice all over, so I decided to go back down the hill, with my feet out like skiis moving very slow and just trying to stay upright. I made it back to the highway in one piece and headed a few miles down the road until I found another overpass. Now it was just raining, but after about 15 minutes it started to snow! Now if I wanted to ride in the snow I could have stayed in Susanville, but here I was wiping snow off my fancy new Italian helmet somewhere in Italy. Fortunately the snow was not sticking on the road so I was able to keep going and eventually made it down the mountain to the small seaside town of Sapri. I was soaked and frozen after taking the entire morning to get only about 20 miles closer to my destination. I stopped at a restaurant and defrosted with some hot food for a while before getting back on the bike. Once again it wouldn’t start, but now I knew what to do so I was off in no time. I rode a few more miles before getting thouroughly confused by a road sign and deciding I just couldn’t take anymore today. There was now way I was going to make it to Rome and I was just too cold and mentally exhausted to go on. I found a small hotel/restaurant and stayed the night there.

The next day the weather was a bit better and I got back on the road in the morning. I made it to the highway and put my head down to make some time. On the way I stopped to get gas and met an American couple also on a rented motorcycle. They had a beautiful new BMW with big cushy seats, a large windscreen and heated handgrips. Yes I like my Ducati, but that would have been a nice bike to have on this trip. They told me they rode the Amalfi coast and stayed there for a week, and they said the weather was bad there too. We were both headed to Rome so I rode behind them for a while. Then I decided they were riding like good Americans, which to me means “too slow”, so I waved goodbye and leaned on the little Duc until I made it home. Finalmente.