A
man from Qatar cycling in Italy ( by Kim Vandyke
)
Hi, it is two days ride before we arrive in Venice and it is time I contributed to the updates.
In summary - if you are considering participating on this tour but are unsure of your ability, don’t worry, just do it.
Bike Dreams offers a very practical approach to you achieving your cycle ambitions supported by a small enthusiastic staff – nothing is too much trouble at any time of the day or night, the organisation of the ride is precise and the catering excellent.
By way of background I am an Australian living in Qatar and a keen cyclist, my training for this ride was all done in Qatar (which is basically flat) so having a road that went up and then down and through a tunnel was rather novel. One afternoon I descended 900mtrs in thick fog and rain through multiple hairpin turns – just wonderful.
Starting in Palermo and observing the different regions as we headed north has been a real education. The ride route is primarily through small towns and villages providing great photo opportunities and some amazing riding through narrow streets. The roads are not always well signposted so this gives you a great opportunity to interact with the residents when you ask directions. On one occasion I asked an official looking man for directions, I was in a small town at an intersection, he stopped the traffic and asked all drivers present for their view of the route I should take – he was so enthusiastic I had trouble getting the map back.
Italy is a very cycle friendly place, one town we rode through as a Bike Dreams group caused people on the street to stop and spontaneously cheer – children waved – quite extraordinary. My experience has been that motorists respect cyclists and when overtaking, wait until it is safe to do so honking their horn politely to let you know they are passing.
Naturally one must stop for as many cappuccino’s and gelato’s as possible, shop keepers are not bothered by an unwashed cyclist entering the shop and my lack of Italian has not been a barrier.
On a closing note, the location of the campsites has been excellent e.g. we camped next to the Pompeii site and in Rome we were next to the Tiber with a short train ride to the old city.
En lille historie fra vores udslidte
medarbejder ( Joergen Nielsen ).
Vores kaere Tour Director, Wilbert Bonné, har bedt mig skrive lidt paa dansk til den mikroskopiske del af planetens befolkning, som forstaar dette besynderlige kaudervaelsk.
Vi har nu vaeret tre uger undervejs fra Palermo til Como. Vi har tilbagelagt ca. 2000 km. Vi har haft en bred vifte af vejrtyper fra solskin, lummerhede og mindst 35 grader til regn, blaest, taage og 10 graders varme.
Turen er doebt La Bella Italia, men naar sandheden skal frem, saa er ikke alt i Italien lige bella. F.eks. er vejene paa Sicilien og Syditalien mange steder i en katastrofal forfatning. Huller saa store, at et cykelhjul nemt kunne forsvinde og tage rytteren med sig, er ganske almindeligt forekommende. Profferne i Giroen strejkede i protest over de elendige veje. Og man forstaar dem.
Her nord for Rom er situationen betydeligt bedre. Her flyder gaderne ikke med affald som i Syden. Her er heller ikke alle de halvfaerdige bygninger, man finder overalt sydpaa. Men bortset fra det, saa er der meget smukt i Italien. Naar vi foerst er sluppet vaek fra den allertaetteste trafik, saa vi kan hoere, hvad vi selv taenker, saa er det rigtig dejligt at bevaege sig gennem det italienske landskab. Og skulle man vaere i tvivl om, hvor man er paa landkortet, saa er de indfoedte altid glade for at kunne hjaelpe med at finde den rette vej.
Jeg deltog i Paris – Dakar by Bike 2006. Ogsaa dengang var det Wilbert Bonné og Rob van der Geest, der stod for loejerne. Og ganske som dengang virker projektet velplanlagt. Kan varmt anbefales.
Vi er en broget skare af cyklister og crew fra Holland, England, Frankrig, Australien, Switzerland, Brasilien og saa mig fra Danmark, 17 i alt. Og jeg skulle hilse og sige, at vi har spist for meget, vi har drukket for meget, vi har cyklet for meget, og vi har grinet for meget. Og nu er alle de der drikker for meget lige om oererne paa mig, saa skaal og
tak for i dag.
Typically Dutch ( by Wilbert Bonné )
We left Florence three days ago in northern direction to Sasso Marconi. The first half of the 108 kilometers was climbing between vineyards and dark forests. After we reached the highest at about 900 meters we left the region of Tuscany and we dropped down into Emilia-Romagna. I was cycling the second part with Christian, Jorgen and Beat with high speeds because most of the route was going smoothly down. A new road around the campsite had been opened recently which was not on our map. We ended up at a highway and passed the campsite with high speed. We discovered the mistake soon, but others needed an extra hour to find the final
destination ( probably a few people were still out there without mobile
telephones ! ).
The next day
we had 170 kilometers on the program to Chioggia. The longest day of the tour, distance-wise, but in terms of climbing it was one of the easiest. Just a short hill in the beginning of the stage and the rest of the day we were cruising over the Po Plain. First we touched the busy outskirts of Bologna ( it was rush hour ) , which we did “en groupe”, before we entered the flats of the Po. The landscape was filled with agriculture, canals and small villages. Almost like the Netherlands. And indeed, the weather was also typically Dutch. It was a rainy day. Showers in the morning, a short period dry and as a “nice” surprise : heavy rainstorms at arrival in Chioggia. Just what we needed after 170 kilometers of cycling. Jaap
and Kirsten knew exactly what we needed after 170 kilometers : typically
Dutch hotchpotch ( mashed potatoes with rucala ) with an Italian tint (
Parmazan cheese ) and tiramisu as dessert. The rain was forgotten soon.
One day of cycling was left till our rest day in Venice; or more specific : 4 kilometers cycling, a ferry to the first island ( Pellestrina ), 10 kilometers cycling on the island, a second ferry to another island ( Lido di Venezia ), 11 kilometers cycling on the island, a third ferry to mainland of Punta Sabbioni and at last 700 meters cycling to the campsite. A relaxed day and a nice way to arrive in Venice ( when the sun is shining and the temperature is pleasant ). Once more the Italian weather gods were not on our side. The clouds were heavy and the rain hided the view over the lagoon around Venice. Fortunately the weather improved during the day and we could take a ferry to Venice and walk over the 400 little bridges with a bit of sun. One day of rest is waiting to explore the unique city and to prepare for the last tough week through the Dolomites and over the Passo dello Stelvio (
if the pass is open !! ).
I can tell you more ( if the pass was open ) when we have arrived in Como. The weather forecast is not very tempting for the next week. We will see...