Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Breaking Away

Yet another dream come true as we’ve been cycling through Italy for about a week. It’s even more of a “biking culture” than I expected, and I had to swallow my urge to say “ciao bella!” to every bike rider who passed by – like the guy in that 70’s movie Breaking Away. Yes, I dreamed I saw Team Cinzano in every group we passed – apologies to anyone who doesn’t get that movie reference. But the good news is that the bike routes are great, and (contrary to what I expected), the Italians (at least the Northern Italians) seem to be very careful and courteous drivers. We had a bit of trouble finding our way as we left the campsite in Venice – and for the whole first day for that matter – but got on the right track after a while. We passed Treviso without going into the old town for a peek (too stressed and tired) and spent the night in a nice little hotel (no campsites in the area) in a small town. The next day, the ride was much more straightforward, and more beautiful, although the route did follow a fairly busy road. We stopped in Feltre- a beautiful old city - and looked for a place to stay, but finding nothing that lived up to my standards (and limited budget) we carried on to Fonsazo, which was a smaller, cuter town, with a decently priced (50 Euro) and charming hotel.


The next day, the ride got immeasurably more beautiful and peaceful. We rode along bike paths and quite country roads, through narrow valleys and along a rushing river (the River Sugana Valley). Hopefully, the pictures – YES, THERE IS A LINK TO THE LEFT! – will do it justice. We were exhilarated and exhausted as we arrived in Lago Caldonazzo and found our campsite. I’d like to say that I was so tired that I didn’t notice that it was SO COLD AT NIGHT, and particularly in the morning. But obviously we survived.

The next day we set off for Trento, and my map was less clear about how to get there. Apparently, a new bike route is planned, but in the meantime, there is a hilly, not-so-clear route from Pergine to Trento. But at least it was much hillier (uphill, that is) going the other way, although it nearly did us in. We found our “campsite” outside of Trento, which turned out to be a one-star hotel that had a back yard…right up against the train tracks. At least there weren’t too many trains during the night, and we did have our privacy, if we lacked hot water. And, the Albergo (hotel) had a nice little bar where we had a couple of glasses of red wine. Nice.

For a complete change, we rode along a flat bike path that followed a river to Bozen (Bolzano) in South Tirol – the German-speaking part of Northern Italy. We found our campsite and WOW, what a difference. They actually have four-star campsites – with soft music playing in the sparkling clean bathrooms! And you pay….20 Euros for the two of us. And somehow, the ground is just as hard as it was in the last campsite. Anyway, we stayed there, in Bozen, for two days while we decided whether to ride our bikes up over the alps or take the train (this was the last junction) over the two mountain passes. Given the state of our bikes (my brakes, Matthias’ gears) and the load we were carrying, we decided to take the train. First, though, we took a side trip to Meran (Merano), a lovely spa town where we got new brakes and gear adjustments

Which brings us to today, when we took a series of trains to Austria, over the Brenner pass, through Innsbruck (and part of Germany) to a small Alpine town called Bichlbach (in Austria) where we found a great room for 30 Euros. And I mean a GREAT room – I’ve been looking at the Alps through my window all evening. Also, I recommend the train ride for anyone who’d like to see the area without driving – it’s absolutely spectacular! So anyway, we’re at about 900 meters high, and although the rest of the ride is technically “downhill”, we’ve still got some climbing to do to get out of here.

Again, I hope the pictures do the ride justice. There is a link to the left. Ciao!

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Due Vino Rossi

Woo hoo – our ferry docked in Venice and we realized we were nuts not to stop here. Luckily, we found a campsite outside of town (27 Euro per night!! and I mean that’s expensive for a tent!) with a good bus connection into town. I’m writing this now from a bridge over one of the many canals here. It’s quite a magical town.

Our ferry arrived at 9AM this morning (our sleeping area was dry and fairly comfortable) and after trying to get some tourist information etc, we rode out of town and found a campsite on our own. Then, we took the bus back into Venice and started to enjoy the beautiful day. Decided to splurge on lunch and had good seafood near the seafood market (near the Rialto Bridge, for those in the know.) I had some nice squid in ink with polenta and Matthias had the ‘menu’ of seafood. It was good. Then we took the obligatory walk over the Rialto Bridge to San Marco Square – all flooded with tourists. We continued on over the bridge to Acadamia and through the less-crowded streets toward the bus station. (Stu, Ed and Cathy – I’m thinking of you and remembering our last time here!!!) So….as it was nearing cocktail hour, we decided to stop somewhere for a glass of wine. We found a nice bar, drank our glasses and held our breath for the check….it was…2 Euros (total!) Of course, as we left, I took a picture of the place in case we’re ever here again!

Just finished eating again – a couple of pizza slices, which were quite good. Now we’ve got to get the bus back to the campsite. We’ll start riding tomorrow toward the Alps. Great pictures to come soon!

On the Road Again



Yes, I now have something to write about that might be of interest to those other than relatives and my good friend Mark S. (thanks for reading!) We left Pitsidia on Wednesday, 08 April and got a much-appreciated ride over the mountain to Heraklion from our good friends Hans and Isabella. It wasn’t just that I was being lazy (though I am prone), but the road that goes over the 620 Meter high pass is narrow, curvy, and busy with buses and trucks. Anyway, we arrived safely in Heraklion and took the ferry that night to Pireaus (Athens) where we boarded a train for Corinth – once again, I wasn’t up to the challenge of riding around busy Athens.

And yes, we did eventually start riding, from Corinth to Patras, where we caught the ferry (which we are aboard right now) to Venice. After spending the night in a campsite outside Corinth, we set off along the north coast of the Peloponnese peninsula. We cycled about 60 km the first day to a campsite at Akara Beach. The scenery was lovely – we rode along the sea (or was it a bay?) with a view of the mainland and snow-capped mountains all around. And, despite the forecasts, the weather (during the day) was quite good. On the second day, we rode only about 40 km to a campsite we knew was between Akara Beach and Patras, where we would catch the ferry the next day. The site was gorgeous, but not quite “open” and ready for the season. So, as I lay in the tent listening to the waves, praying for dry weather, and trying to keep warm – I nearly enjoyed myself. When we woke up in the morning, to a bit of sunshine, I started to feel better. The secret is to keep reminding myself….I’m riding my bike through GREECE! AND I’M GOING TO BE IN ITALY IN COUPLE OF DAYS. What could I possibly have to complain about?! Well, I always find something.

The next day’s ride to Patras (only 30 km) was pretty easy, thanks to a strong tailwind. Our ferry to Venice didn’t leave until midnight so we had plenty of time eat, find an internet café, and get on each other’s nerves. The ferry, we thought, was a bargain. Only 49 Euros each for the two-night journey to Venice. Sure, we have to sleep on the floor, but we do that in the tent anyway. But then, after we awoke from a nice toasty-warm night’s sleep, we were flooded out of our sleeping area (Matthias noticed it nearly on time – his sleeping bag only got a little wet.) So, after three nights of worrying about keeping dry in our tent, we ended up with wet stuff from the ferry. Oh well…as they say (quite often) in Greece….Teenakanama (what can you do.) And I’m still in denial that our plan involves riding our bikes OVER THE ALPS to Germany. I’m just holding on to the excitement of riding through northern Italy – the rest will take care of itself (I hope.) Life is good.


Monday, April 06, 2009

Adio....Timbaki, Souvlaki, and Raki

Okay - I said goodbye to Raki a few months ago (couldn't take the hangover.) But I'll sure miss the Souvlaki we have each week at the Timbaki market (photo.) It's with bittersweet feelings that we're leaving Pitsidia in a few days. We've met some wonderful friends here - we'll miss them but look forward to seeing them again - and we feel like we've become part of the community. Yesterday, I guy I hardly know (but helped move) said to me "I heard you're leaving Monday." Matthias said: "no, on Wednesday" but all I could think of was this that guy heard something about ME??! Cool!

The weather is getting warmer and more people are starting to fill the village. Actually, another room in our "apartment building" (actually, an efficiency in a building with about eight guest rooms) is currently occupied. I guess we were quite spoiled having the whole place to ourselves all winter, I think now each time I hear the upstairs toilet flush.

We've taken a stab at packing the bike bags today, and wondering how our 3-year-old bikes with umpteen KMs behind them are going to manage. Not to mention the 40 (or so) year olds riding them! But a new adventure awaits.

(no, I didn't dye my hair blonde - that's Matthias and Izabelle in our favorite Pitsidia pub.)