Bike riding the "heel of Italy"

Skirting olive groves, in and out of little villages, up and down rain soaked hills peddled 6 friends around the "heel of Italy" for a week in May. Our travels took us through Puglia, a region in southeastern Italy that includes the heel part of Italy’s boot. We began our trip in the town of Matera, where we enjoyed a tour of ancient rock-hewn churches and cave homes. It was here that Gibson's The Passion of Christ was filmed. From here we traveled to Alberobello, where we stayed the night in a trullo, a traditional Apulian dry stone hut with a conical roof. The third day led us to Ostuni with its white buildings, beaches, and olive groves. From Ostuni we rode a train, with our bikes on board, through beautiful countryside ending in Lecce, named the Florence of the South. We navigated down a tree-lined street, through much traffic and out into the countryside on our way to our next destination, which was Gallipoli, on the Ionian Sea. The following day's ride was breathtaking with cliffs and sparkling blue water! That night we spent in Santa Maria di Leuca on the tip of the heel of Italy. As morning broke we climbed on our bikes to travel up the coast of Italy along the Adriatic Sea to Otranto and finally ending out wonderful journey in Lecce. Our good-byes carried with them fond memories of quality time together spent eating delicious food, toasting glasses of robust wine, and bike riding the back countryside roads, as well as a few choice villages of southern Italy.