I start the day on roads that are so badly maintained that they are more gravel than tarmac. It’s fine for me and so I enjoy a few nice downhill sections until I reach Castelpagano, a small village that has beautifully clean and renewed facades everywhere. I take my lunch break here and shortly after I continue I get my first flat. A bit of a mystery why here and now, on asphalt, after all the stonea and thorns I’e been through already. But the small thorn is found and the puncture fixed quickly.
Next I cross into the Molise region and visit Altilia, a large and quite well preserved roman excavation with a wonderful wall pattern that I’ve never seen like that before.
After this cultural interlude I ride up into the mountains again, on a beautiful small road and past a few lakes.
130 km, 3000 m elebation
Also: half-time and pretty much half distance.