This is me, assembling the bikes upon arrival, in a stone cooled garage.

Everyone took a quick test ride to ensure the bikes were set up appropriately.

One of the numerous, beautiful ancient churches we’d see, complete with a stunning blue sky.

From Gioia del Colle to Conversano it rained, but the sun came out for our first espresso stop.  Kristin and Gina ride up the slick stones enroute to the first castle of the day.

The back side of the Castello di Conversano was littered with coffee shops.

This friendly local advised us of the very best gelateria in Monopoli, we took him at his word.  Notice the fresh figs on the table, another local walked by and gave us a handful, figs were all over the region and a theme to our trip.

Kristin leads the way.

The descent into Monopoli

We found the recommended gelateria with ease, and were blown away.  This was our first of roughly thirteen gelato stops over the course of the week and this one ranked with the very best.

The Adriatic as seen from Monopoli.

We were the least stylish cyclists in the region, as this guy clearly proved.

We ended the first ride with a cool dip in the Adriatic.  Day one was cold and wet, the very last of it’s kind as the sun would come out on day 2, and stayed with us throughout.