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THE TOUR OF SICILY
2-13 May 2006
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Stage Two: Capo
D'Orlando - Palermo:
(160km)
We set off in brilliant
sunshine, however after about two hours, the weather turned cloudy and
threatened rain. Fortunately this was short lived and to our great
relief, the sunshine returned. We struck a few climbs before reaching
the halfway mark at the picturesque seaside resort town of Cefalu.
Rocky insisted on visiting the ancient Cathedral in the town centre,
using the excuse that it was an opportunity to secure some good
photographs. We strongly suspected the real reason was so that he could
attend a private prayer session having seen the climb that awaited us on
the road out of town. We survived that climb and regrettably his
prayers remained unanswered for the remainder of the stage. With about
50 kilometres left to travel, we entered the ancient walled town of
Termini Imerese where we decided to check our bearings. When Dominic,
our fearless leader, asked a group of locals for directions, they smiled
amongst themselves as they gestured towards a road that climbed almost
vertically to the town centre. At the top was a set of stone stairs
that almost certainly provided inspiration for the classic song
"Stairway to Heaven". We mumbled something about Rocky and his lack of
influence back at the Cathedral, thanked the locals who were by now
openly laughing, and pressed onward and upward. Having negotiated the
initial climb, we were relieved that we didn't have to actually ride up
the stairs but were able to take a side road that proved to be almost as
steep. We somehow managed to summit in the town centre without
wrenching the handlebars from our bikes. Eventually, with 160
kilometres in our legs, we reached our destination of Palermo just in
time to experience the afternoon peak hour traffic - Italian style.
This was not an exercise for the faint hearted, however we employed our
newly developed traffic skills and somehow reached our hotel without
taking any casualties.
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Everyone was in high
spirits as we left Hotel Il Mulino Capo D'Orlando for a 160km
stage. |
Halfway at Cefalu
with its bustling narrow streets. |
Watch out of the
way, here come the Aussies !! |
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And
now for some more cobble stone roads. |
We
reach the half way mark at Cefalu town centre. |
Time
for lunch and a bit of "Carbo-loading" for the next 80km.
Dale and John enjoy lunch. |
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The Cefalu town centre with the
Cefalu Cathedral in the background.
The cathedral
built by the Normans in 1311 is considered as one of the great
churches of southern Europe. |
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It
wasn't long till we were on the coast road again with yet more
ancient fortifications perched over the Mediterranean |
John
takes a break |
Our
trusty support vehicle with
Giuseppe at the wheel, Sue as English
translator and Vincenzo Caravello (Tour Mechanic) |
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Wasn't long before
the race course like bitumen and the sweeping coast corners
got the better of Dave Crampton and he did yet another of his
attacks. Again doomed to failure as we chased him down,
however in doing so, we split the bunch. After about 15k's
of hard riding, we stopped to wait for the others.
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The rest of the
bunch were held up at a railway crossing. |
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| Finally after
160kms of riding we reached Palermo |
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