GASBAGS in Sicily, Italy, in May 2022

The renowned GASBAGS, now in its 32nd year, cycled around the south-east corner of Sicily, Italy, in May 2022, with the ride lasting for 6 days.In the 6 days our team of seven cycled about 180 miles. We flew into Catania Airport then transferred by coach to Palazzolo Acreide, one of 6 UNESCO World Heritage towns that we cycled through. This was Mike's day as Day Leader with each of us taking a turn to be Day Leader. We continued on through Ragusa, Modica, Scicli, Pozzalo, Marzamemi, Noto, Syracuse (Ortigia) and returning to Catania. We hired the bikes from 'Ciclofree', with the staff being very helpful and friendly. We were very pleased with the bikes. We had just had one puncture (Jeff's bike) which led to the gears jumping. Ciclofree exchanged the bike in a bike shop in Syracuse. We only had one day with some rain, on the way to Syracuse, with Jeff wearing bright yellow clothes. Our standard drink was house wine, with some of us drinking half a litre each evening. We had only major mishap. James proposed that we should stop in a nice cafe next to the sea at Brucoli on the way to Catania on our last cycling day. Mike modified the route but when tracking was turned on the route reverted to the original route. Thus the detour needed to be checked on the Outdooractive map on the mobile phones. One turn was missed just before everyone cycled up a steep hill. Mike saw a way back with a turn onto a track just 250m up a car-free one-way road. However, the track had overgrown so Mike missed the turn and continued onto a motorway - bikes are banned in Italy. He was rescued by a pleasant policeman then due to battery shortage continued to Catania. Meanwhile the rest continued to Brucoli, after almost cycling on the same motorway. The cafe was closed and the detour added an extra 11 miles. The cycling into Catania was along a busy straight road and was not pleasant. However, The whole trip was very enjoyable, and it was a very interesting experience. We must try to avoid large towns on future rides! The music is provided by 'Sky' from their album 'Best of Sky' with two tracks chosen, 'Westway' and 'Westwind'.