January 9th 2024

I was particularly looking forward to part of today's route, which took in an old disused railroad line between San Carlo and Sambuca di Sicilia, where I booked my B&B for the night. Railroad tracks mean gentle slopes, narrow tunnels and, above all, no traffic. The first part is tarmac and pleasant, although shared with the rest of the traffic. Well, I pass 1 car... After a few kilometers, the road forks onto a stretch of unpaved country road, with big curves to suit the ascending terrain.

I set off, all motivated and feeling like I'm all alone in the world. It's been raining for the last two days, so the ground is damp. I can feel it right away, as if my wheels were sticking to the ground. I notice mud clinging to my tires, and soon I hear the sound of rubbing and gravel clinking against metal. And after 150 meters, I'm completely stuck. My bike can't go any further and I'm pedaling in mud... And that mud is very sticky to say the least, mixed with dry grass and twigs, and completely blocks the wheels against the mudguards. I swear as I backtrack to the asphalt section, where it takes me a good 30 minutes just to get through the sticky mess before I can set off again. Voilà for my "railroad track delirium", it is just an utter and epic fail !!! Actually not a completely :-) A few kilometers before Sambuca di Sicilia, I can join teh track in a section that has been completely covered with solid gravel, dyed red. There's even a mini-tunnel and a passage dug into the rock. It's better than nothing, no ?

My bike and panniers are just a mess. I don't even dare go through the B&B door with it, it's such a disaster. So I set off in search of an auto lavaggio to pressure clean it as it would be an horror do to it by hand. It finally came out almost as good as new, and my wallet was lightened by far too much. Ahhhh garage owners, they're all the same ;-)

Adrano to Trapani