We knew we had another 100+km day ahead…so got away relatively early….!
Lovely early morning ride…….
…..before breakfast at the 26km mark.
Always interesting to see the Autostrada running paralell (but usually much higher)…with classic Italian bridge/tunnel/bridge/ tunnel construction!
And it was bit of a repeat of yesterday really! Lovely riding…..up and down (no big hills at all today!)…on largely empty roads…
…until one got near a big town…whereupon the roads filled up with impatient idiots!!
Indeed…I had my biggest “argument” with a driver today. Probably the wrong word. Certainly my closest shave…with a moron!
Picture the scene. Traffic moving slowly through a nameless town. And when I can keep up with the traffic…I stay bang in the middle of the lane…to stop morons from trying to overtake when there is absolutely no benefit (to them!) from so doing.
Me…about two metres from the car in front. Moron…about one metre behind me.
Honking! …as in “get out of the way”!
I stayed where I was! (I could have been travelling probably 10km/hr faster but for the car in front!).
So this guy…pulled alongside me…and pulled to the right! If I had not braked….I would have been custard!
I swore! (…perfectly reasonably!)…haha….and I swore at him again (in perfect English!!) when he had to stop…for the car on front of him was going nowhere!
I was now ahead again!
He then pulled alongside again…..swore (in perfect Italian!)…and pulled to the right…again!!
FFS…he really was some form of bicycle-hating psychopath!!
I had no choice but to let him past. (..now this was a busy urban environment…lots of folk about!).
I was following him! And then….he SLAMMED on his brakes…hoping I might crash into the back of him!
I glided past.
He pulled over.
Never saw him again!
What a fuckwit!!!
The worst car/bicycle behaviour I have ever experienced!! On this trip…..and indeed forever! Thankfully it was in an urban and slow-speed environment.
I was a bit shaken up! Hopefully he felt like the idiot he was….and others had acknowledged…….with their waves and shocked faces.
Thereafter….only fifteen km to go to Cefalu. Phew!!
Incident aside…a very nice ride today….and we pulled into Cefalu bang on time at 2pm, welcomed by a delightful couple into our wee apartment bang in the middle of the old town.
So plenty of time for a swim…..and a chill before too many beers to celebrate our rest day tomorrow!!
My second visit to this wee gem…and it did not disappoint.
Three days in for Alan……298km and over 3,000m of climbing. Not bad for an old fart!
Be careful who you swear at in Sicily!