76km Albe to Capestrano
Sirente-Velino Regional Park, Ovindoli.
Day 4
Ride overview
This is another wild and tough mountain day, where nature rather than man, is the star of the show.
Before setting off for the 3km back onto the official route, it’s worth visiting Alba Fucens, one of the most important and best preserved of all the Central Italian Roman towns. It was built after a 250 year campaign to subdue to local Marsi tribe and became a gulag town, where prisoners of the Empire were kept. You get a feel of why it was chosen, as standing in the well-preserved Amphitheatre the sense of isolation away from other humanity is profound; just ridge after ridge of mountains set amidst a backdrop of high snow-covered mountain. Back on the official route, which is an unrideable mule track, you arrive after much pushing on another high Apennine plain. The hike-a-bike does of course allow you to wallow in the views. As you arrive on the plain, there are two small lakes, which are thought to have been created by meteorites falling in the Roman era. The area is well-known for its wild flower meadows, which in spring are a blaze of colour. At Terranera, you take another mule track - which is rideable this time - on a long winding descent towards the village of Fontecchio. Another climb takes you to the Shepherd’s church of Bominaco, where a stop is compulsory at the two UNESCO World Heritage churches. Even if you have no Christian faith, the stone work in one and the fresh as-if-they-were-painted-yesterdays frescos are frankly jaw-dropping. From Bominaco, there is another glorious descent to the plain of Navelli, which is famed for its saffron and is said to be the best in the world. The village of Navelli is a classic of its type - perched on a cone of rock, narrow stepped streets with some buildings renovated and others crumbling due to the effects of recent earthquakes. The day ends after more sinuous and perfectly rideable rough-track riding through the wild mountains where people are rare. At Capestrano, another small Apennine village, (where accommodation is very limited), you are as much of a curiosity as the old men sitting around the main square are to you.
Ride Practicalities
START/FINISH: Albe/Capestrano. DISTANCE: 76km. TOTAL ASCENT: 1850m TERRAIN AND SURFACES: Mountainous. 18km on off-road tracks some of which are tough and unrideable on a standard adventure bike. Good fitness and a good MTB would make better work of them. Otherwise it is very quiet country roads. CST signage is all but non-existent. FOOD/STAY: There is very little option over the whole of the day’s route. Fontecchio: Ristorante Del Rio (irregular opening), Vallecupa: I Sapori della Valle, (2023 - threatening to close due to recent escalation of running costs) Navelli; Cantinarte (Restaurant with rooms), Ristorante Antica Taverna di Navelli, Capestrano; Ristorante Il Castello (well-known for its fresh-water crayfish pasta). I stayed in Navelli: La Loggia di Federico, in a simple apartment as there was no-out-of season option in Capestrano.