We experienced three things consistently during each of our 8 days of riding – olive groves, fountains with potable water, and roadside fig trees. The first is self-explanatory (although one of the very cool things in Puglia is the preponderance of groves of massive olive trees that are hundreds and hundreds of years old). The second is likely relevant only to bikers in the area – there are public fountains with potable water both in towns and in some of the most unlikely places in the middle of nowhere, much to our relief during our loop ride from Ostuni.
Finally, the fig trees. I was completely oblivious to these, but Lisa turned out to be particularly attuned to the little snack machines. At some point during most of our rides, I’d look back, and she’d be gone. A few minutes later, she’d ride up, grinning, with a handful of ripe figs that she spotted. They were great to have on the ride, particularly since they were plucked fresh off a tree. (This also worked for almonds in one instance, which was great.)
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