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Published: September 20th 2017
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Everything you need to know about the Val di Cornia: the old power plant, solar panels, and migrant workersIt was decidedly cool this morning so I delayed my start until the sun had warmed things up a bit. In poking around while I waited, I figured out why we had two remotes for the TV and discovered a whole new set of channels available to us, including several news channels in English. It was thus that an American and a Canadian in Italy watching French television news in English discovered that there would be an interesting Spanish soccer league (La Liga) match tonight, which Bob and I both were interested in watching. I resolved that one way or another beer would be involved.
My plan for the day had been to visit Piombino before heading north along the coast, but inasmuch as my map didn't extend that far west, and trying to piece together a route from what I could see online (and consulting with Marta from the hotel) looked to be a nightmare, I decided to just wing it and let the day unfold as it would.
Things started off well enough: rather than head back out the long, bumpy driveway to the road, I followed the farm track through the fields and was soon back
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The path that I thought might work. on the road behind the ranch that we had learned the other day crossed the highway. Navigating on instinct and keeping Marta's advice to aim for the power plant smokestacks and then head right, I felt pretty good when I emerged a short while later on SP40, but looking for what turned out to be a nonexistent coastal road then proved my undoing. I initially turned right (west) but when there didn't appear to be road heading closer to the sea, I looked back and saw some cyclists emerging from somewhere to the left, so I reversed course and headed down the road I found, which did indeed eventually lead to the dog beach, but that was it. At that point I didn't want to ride back out to the highway, and I was close enough to the old power plant (where I assumed I would find a road) that I decided to follow the path next to the beach. Said path soon proved unridable as the surface turned to sand, but I pressed on by walking and was eventually able to remount, only to have the path soon peter out entirely, at which point I resorted to walking along
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The beach I ended up walking the beach. It was actually very relaxing with the surf gently rolling in while the sun shone brightly. Eventually, though, just as I reached the power plant I hit a breakwater composed of impassible boulders that stopped my seaside progress; there was also a barrier between me and the plant. I left the beach and headed inland, hoping to find a way to the power plant, or at least an old road that I could ride on, if only back out to the highway. There were several dirt roads to choose from, and I ended up trying them all in hopes of avoiding having to retrace my steps. One got me tantalizingly close to exiting my dilemma - I could see a parking lot with cars just the other side of the fence, but the gate at the end of the road I was on was chained shut. I briefly entertained the notion of climbing it but the logistics of hauling my bike over the top seemed too formidable to risk it, so I ended up following some overgrown pavement that led to a transmission tower. This too had a gate around it, albeit one that was merely tied shut,
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One of the many roads to nowhere but I could see that opening it would prove fruitless as it was merely part of an enclosure that surrounded said tower, and after passing through it I would only reach another fence. But I could also see that at that point I was rather close to the end of the road that I had taken to the beach, so rather than retrace all my steps I pressed forward, squeezing between the tower enclosure and a waterway that ran beside it. Once past the tower I had more room to move and thought I had done really well until I came to the realization that what I was walking on did not connect to the road at all but was essentially a peninsula, protruding into the large waterway to my left and a smaller one to my right. The latter was narrow enough at one point that I managed to cross it (although not before having one foot test its depth when the branch I was standing on broke), and I was finally able to connect with the beach path upon which I had started this whole venture.
It took a while for me to pick off all the
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I walked along this fence brambles I had accumulated in the process, but eventually I managed to backtrack to SP40 and continue on my way; ironically it was only a short distance past the point where I had turned around earlier that I saw the road leading to the power plant (it even had a sign announcing it!) but it didn't really matter, as it turned out there was no other road beside SP40 that would take me to Piombino.
And so I dutifully continued. I hadn't checked but assumed I'd lost a lot of time in my coastal wanderings; still I thought I might complete at least the first part of what I had planned to do today. As I got closer to Piombino, however, traffic steadily intensified, and it was just past Fiorentina with SP40 now carrying two full lanes in each direction and the signs ahead indicating more mayhem to come that I decided I wasn't having fun. So I turned around and went back to the junction I had just passed, and got on the road headed north towards Baratti, which was muuuch more peaceful. It got even more tranquil as I headed up the hill from Baratti to Populonia
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And this is how I emerged and the acropolis - a climb that was quite demanding, but which afforded great views from the top.
Then it was back down the hill to the highway and eventually the bike lane back to San Vincenzo, where once again my quest for a decent map was stymied by the tourist office not being open, although this time it was just a time-of-day issue rather than a full closure. So I poked around town a bit, found a quiet park on a side street to have lunch in, then set off to climb up to Campiglia Marittima the way I had descended the other day. Surprisingly, it turned out to be wonderful ride: protected from the sun's rays by the treed hillside, I was able to climb comfortably and thoroughly enjoyed the 6km of what turned out to be quite a gentle grade. Just to do something different, once I reached C.M. I took the road down to Venturina this time, and from there completed the triangle by riding back to Cafaggio. My intention had been to buy a beer there and avoid travelling the main road with my purchase, but the store in Cafaggio where Bob had bought
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Looking up at the acropolis sunscreen the other day was closed so I just headed back towards the ranch. It was still early when I reached the main road, and I wanted to put in more miles, so at Banditelle I turned right instead of left and headed back to Venturina, confident I would be able to buy a beer in a town that size.
It was a bit of a struggle into the wind on a rough road, but before too long I rolled into town and started checking out the stores I would otherwise have just ridden by. There seemed to be a paucity of food shops, but eventually I saw a sign indicating the road to the coop and turned there; in short order, a massive supermarket appeared, and after a brief negotiation about leaving my bike inside, I was able to purchase a real Italian coop beer. I mean that literally - I bought the coop's own brand. And with the wind now at my back and the road somewhat smoother headed south, it wasn't long at all before I rolled up to our door.
As it happened, we weren't able to watch the soccer match we had intended
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The same shot but taken the other way because our TV didn't receive the channel it was on. But I managed to find a Serie C game to watch - Sambenedettese vs. Fermana - which was possibly even more fun. We even managed to drink the beer: when I couldn't find a bottle opener I put my university education to good use and successfully removed the cap using a technique I learned in 1st year. The contents proved a fitting accompaniment to the level of play - they both sucked.
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