Blonde Bird On A Bike

It’s nearly 2 months since I returned from Italy and I’d hoped to fill in some of the blanks on my trip long before now but life (mostly good stuff) has got in the way but here we go now.

I set off from my Aunt and Uncle’s house with some trepidation – both them and my parents were nervous about me cycling through the heart of London and that had rubbed onto me – after all I was planning on cycling through the biggest city in the UK. On the other hand though cities are trying to reduce the number of motor vehicles coming in and out – both for congestion and environmental reasons – and are making an attempt at making our streets more cycle friendly – we are still a long way short of countries like the Netherlands and the France but things are getting better.

So I set off from Sunninghill, approx 27 miles south west of the heart of London, having declined the offer of a lift part of the way from Uncle Pat and hoping not to use the back up plan of taking a train part of the way.

As it happens this turned out to my favourite city, to date, to cycle through – I can only speak for the route that I took but based on this I would have no hesitation in recommending cycling through London. In total I cycled about 50 miles that day, to Dartford where I was staying the night at a Warm Showers host.

I started on nice leafy back roads in Berkshire.

Eyed up the Ferraris at the Egham showroom – tried and failed to engage the fellow washing and polishing the cars, in conversation.

Loved the murals round about Staines, which is also where I crossed over The Thames (twice).

I followed some of South Perimeter Road Of Heathrow airport, which wasn’t pretty or attractive but there was a cycle path so no real trouble with traffic. Although there was a cycle path which followed the main road, it didn’t flow with the road – ie every time there was a junction I had to stop and check and make sure it was safe to continue and there was a lot of junctions leading up to the airport – this is often a problem with cycle paths in the UK and why some people don’t like using them.

Past the Gillette Corner – as in razors but now film studios.

Through beautiful tree lined Chiswick – the leafy trees kept the roasting sun off my head – lots of cafes and restaurants and at least 3 bicycle shops – except for the cost I could imagine living here – at a brief glance a 2 bedroom flat in Chiswick would be twice the price of my flat in Alloa – I was surprised it wasn’t much much more and then realised that this was for shared ownership and to get a flat similar in size to mine would actually be at least 3 times the value of mine – ouch.

And then past some of the main landmarks of London – I was so excited to arrive in London and see the sites but very frustrated that I could not get a photo of my favourite ones – the phone decided that it was too hot to to take a photo of Big Ben.

And then onto Southwark – which I’m still struggling to pronounce – the t, h and w all seem to be dropped. I wanted to see the Cathedral and the site of the Tabard Arms where the piligrims set off from on route to Canterbury Cathedral as told Geoffrey Chaucer – The Tabard Arms was was pulled down in 1873 and the only thing to indicate it was there is this blue sign.

And then another of my favourite sites – The Cutty Sark which proved tricky to get all of it in the photo at the one time.

I hadn’t planned the route around any of the sights other then Southward Cathedral and the site of the Tabard Inn – it was more very happy coincidence that I came past so many other famous locations

From here it was an easy pleasant but not particularly exciting bike ride to Dartford where I was spending the night.

Happy Cycling Folks.

As expected Rome was amazing. When I was booking accommodation in Rome and flights back home to Scotland it came down to 2 departure dates – either the 27th or the 30th of September based on approx £50 v £350 flight on the days in between – the 27th would only give me 3 full days in Rome which wasn’t much especially when some of that time would be spent organising getting Phil the bike clean and organising getting me and Phil to the airport – the 30th would give me 6 full days which seemed too much but very glad that’s what I opted for in the end.

I walked for miles – saw the Trevi Fountain, The Vatican, The Spanish Steps, The Colosseum, The Roman Forum, The Castel Sant Angelo and much more.

I had good food – at the recommendation of the hostel I was staying at I went to Ristorante Barbablu – lovely friendly little restaurant and had delicious seafood pasta.

It was so good I went back a 2nd night and had their traditional dish – Pasta Nelle Forme di Pecorino – pasta of your choice served in the rind of a sheeps cheese – loved it.

And then I had pudding – kind of the equivalent of my Mum dunking gingernut biscuits in her tea but Italian style – Ciambelline al Vino – biscuits that you dunk in wine and they were good and I had plans to come back for a 3rd night but…..

For ease one day but mostly so I could charge my phone up – taking too many pictures makes the battery run out quick – I had lunch in McDonalds next to the Vatican, and so did some of the Nuns.

I had a more relaxed day, although still a lot of walking, and had a wander round The Villa Borghese Gardens.

On the Saturday I walked the 5.5km out from the city to do the Roma Caffarella Parkrun – I could have got the metro to near the start but I was up with the birds and I got to see some more of Rome without the crowds, this way.

Not the most exciting or prettiest of Parkruns but nice and easy – a flat 2 laps of the park – but lots of friendly volunteers, the Run Director was good fun and made a good job of getting everyone organised and there was a huge number of foreign runners – from England, Australia, Poland, Norway and Denmark and I’m sure there was more besides this – I got chatting to 3 of the English Runners and one of the Australians – I didn’t find out until after that one of the English runners (that I didn’t get chatting to) is the boss of one of my good friends – another weird coincidence. I was the only one who had cycled from Scotland to Rome to do Parkrun.

I walked back to the city centre via Decathlon to buy a bicycle bag – failed on this and bought a waterproof bicycle cover instead and accidentally bought me a new jacket – well I needed something warm for coming back to Scotland – and then found a DIY shop to buy a roll of bubble wrap and a roll of gaffa tape – yip this is kind of typical cycle touring shopping if you are coming back by plane. I saw art of completely different nature on the shopping centre where Decathlon was – never figured out why snails was the theme but I loved it.

Back in the city it was time to pick up Phil and take him for a wash – I’d located a wee car wash in an area just behind The Vatican – an interesting wee bike ride trying to avoid tourists, nuns and priests while the sun was coming into my eyes. The car wash was in a basement parking area for some apartments – I was expecting to hand over some money and jet spray Phil myself but he was soaped and washed for me and they even gave him a rub down and polish afterwards and was he looking very shiny by the time they finished with him.

After I returned Phil I had a last minute visit to the Castel Sant Angelo – I’d already passed it a couple of times but hadn’t planned on going in but glad I did – Hadrian’s ashes are buried here – Hadrian of Hadrian’s wall that stretches across the north of England which I have visited sections of a number of times but I really do need to swat up on my Roman history. I timed it just right – getting in not long before last entrance and perfect timing for seeing the sun go down behind The Vatican.

The evening after I did Parkrun I started to feel as if I had a cold coming on. The following day I visited The Colosseum which was amazing and then after an early lunch, The Roman Forum – I worked out pretty quick that to see Rome at it’s best you had to get up really early – think I was up between 6 and 6.30am every morning except for my last day – and make use of lunch time when nearly everyone else is eating in the restaurants. The Roman Forum was fantastic – but I was definitely coming down with the the cold – loaded with the cold and overwhelmed with too much information but I just enjoyed wandering about seeing the architecture before heading back to the hostel for a sleepless night and feeling guilty that I might be sharing my bugs with my room mates in the hostel.

My last day before flying home I was going to take the train to Ostia on the coast to see the Roman Port and have some chill time at the beach, however full of the cold I decided to jump ship from the hostel and get a bedroom to myself near the airport. A shame not to go to Ostia but I was even more gutted not to go back to my favourite restaurant of the whole holiday but in hindsight having the cold did me a favour as I suspect I would have ended up rushing and panicking going to the airport if I had left it to the last day – I just need to come back to Rome another time!

I’d checked that it was possible to cycle to the airport and compared routes on Google and Komoot which both indicated a similar route from the hostel – it was just under 20km away and 2/3’s of that was on a poker straight road, which was a bit disconcerting – were they trying to put me a motorway?? I should have thought about this though – I was in Rome and who were the best road builders in the world – you got it – The Romans – I was following the Via Appia Antica (or Appian Way) – the first highway of the Roman Republic – almost flat and poker straight but not the easiest for cycling on at times so not the fastest and there was lots to see so I took my time, which I wouldn’t have been able to do if I’d left this until tomorrow morning – the only time there’s been a benefit to having the cold.

About a 5km walk to collect Phil from his parking spot – 5km cycle back to the hostel to collect my stuff and then 20km cycle to the hotel I was staying at for the night – I was gubbed. I should have got sorted for flying home the next day – most importantly I should have checked that I was able to remove the pedals from Phil in readiness for flying home the next day – in honesty I should have checked this before I ever left home but….

I was too tired and too full of the snotters and instead had a long shower and then forced myself to go out and get a takeaway pizza for my dinner.

Comfy room to myself and no noise once the airplanes stopped going overhead, I got a good nights sleep and I was definitely wasn’t as bunged up when I got up in the morning. The flight wasn’t until 1.30pm that afternoon but I was a little too relaxed about getting to the airport, bearing in mind I still had to pack up Phil and still hadn’t checked to see if could get the pedals off.

Finally got my panniers packed and down outside the hotel where I confirmed I could NOT take my pedals off – I only had Allen Keys and there was no hole for an Allen Key – I need a big spanner / wrench thingamabob – luckily there is a wee bike shop / cafe nearby and they take the pedals off for me – I should have just have them loosened so I could I still cycle the last couple of kilometres to the airport but my Italian didn’t stretch to that – in fact in didn’t stretch much beyond “si” and “grazie” – or if I thought about it I could have hand tightened them back on but my fuzzy I’ve got a cold brain head didn’t think of that and I pushed Phil to the airport.

Taking the front wheel off, letting the air out of the tires and taking the handlebars off was easy. Used the empty pizza box from last night along with the bubble wrap to protect Phil – I’ve always used an old bike box before but was going to try just having the bike cling wrapped at the airport – knowing that Ryanair are particularly fussy though I thought I’d better stick to their rules of bike bag or box. Not being able to buy a bike bag though I opted for bicycle waterproof cover and parcel tape – problem though – parcel tape does NOT stick to shiny nylon bicycle waterproof cover and I end up paying for Phil to be cling wrapped – maybe I should have saved my money and not bought the waterproof cover but that’s all hindsight.

I’m finally at the front of the queue for check in – they are happy with Phil – they are happy with the weight of my 2 panniers – they are NOT happy that the 2 panniers are not bagged together and are 2 items rather than one!!! The machine will ONLY print one ticket for the bike and one ticket for the panniers and I need to somehow attach the 2 panniers together. This is another I should have thought about this in hindsight moment but I’ve taken a number of flights now with bikes and panniers and this is the first time that this is happened. Stupid panic head kicked in and I make my way back to the cling wrap machine – spend another €15 to have both panniers wrapped together – completely forgetting that I have the remains of a roll of gaffa tape that I’m sure would have securely held my panniers together!

Finally I’m on the plane and get some sleep and we make it back to cold and driech Edinburgh – it’s good to be home but I’ve been so lucky with the weather and it it was particularly hot in Italy that I’m not adjusting to the chilly weather very well. Phil, apart from his mudgaurds, seems to survived his flight home and we are already planning our next trip but maybe a bit closer to home next time.

I hadn’t intended stopping at Rome – originally I’d planned to keep going south if I could, possibly going as far as Sicily but ……

When I planned my departure date it was taking into account trying to get the maximum 3 month stay in Europe – I’d already used up a week when skiing in France earlier in the year – so to get the full 3 months if I needed it, gave me a departure date of 7th of August.

This, I reckoned, would also give me the best weather as I’m travelling south and it has – despite a couple of soakings I’ve been very lucky weatherwise – and maybe just a little too good a couple of days ago.

What I stupidly didn’t take into account was the shorter days – but even if I had I don’t think I would have changed my dates.

I enjoy travelling by myself – I do like going on holiday with friends and family too – but travelling by myself I can pick and choose where and when I go, what distance I’ll cover (or not as the case may be), what I’m going to see, etc. When I’m at home I enjoy going out but also enjoy my own company, a set of knitting needles and a log fire.

The night before I set off for Lucca I pitched my tent at a campsite not far from the Med. It had been a good but long day and I didn’t have the tent up until 8pm – and it was dark. The campsite was barely a quarter full; I was the only tent – most folks were either in campervans or the wee holiday home and despite the nice warm evening they were all sitting indoors – it just felt a bit lonely a night or 2 like this would be fine but I didn’t fancy lots of nights sitting in the dark with my wee tent and decided that Rome seemed to be a good place to stop for this trip.

So 2 days ago I set off from the campsite for the last 26 miles or so for Rome. Initially coming down the left side of Laga Bracciano and stopping at the really pretty town of Anguillara Sabazia at the south end of the lake.

Stopped just outside of Rome near to the Tiver River just as the heavens opened, so take shelter in a wee cafe. €7 for a good plate of ravioli and when I asked for the bill it came with this –

There was a cycle path following the Tiver until I had to leave it to find my accomodation – traffic in Rome was chaotic, as expected, but seems to work and I got to my accommodation without too much difficulty. Unfortunately nowhere close by that I was comfortable leaving Phil the bike so he has been parked about 4km away at some bicycle parking.

Very sad but I got up early to retrieve Phil to take him on a photo shoot – I was hoping to beat the crowds at The Trevi Fountain but even before 8am it was busy and same at Saint Peter’s Bascillica.

Returned Phil to his parking spot – must be getting more used to Italian drivers and enjoyed the bike ride, with no incident which is just as well as realised that I hadn’t used my helmet and it was in the hostel.

So the tracker is switched off just now. I might take a wee bike ride to the coast before I come home but not decided yet as there is so much to do in Rome.

Over the next few day’s I’ll try and fill in the blanks, including London, cycling to Lucca and a wee trip to Pisa.

About 8 years ago Lyn called me “badass” – it was given as a compliment and I took it as a compliment, although I never felt I fitted the title.

Lyn was the amazing nurse I met in America when I had an accident and she let me stay with her and her fabby family – Lyn also translated my Scottish accent for the other nurses who couldn’t make me out at all – Lyn liked Scottish TV.

Badass – tough, uncompromising, or intimidating person.

Badass lady – confident, independent and strong.

Badass – can also be used to describe a bad or slightly frightening person.

I’m not sure I’m really any of the above but decided 2 days ago I was maybe a wee bit “badass”

On Sunday I was cycling from just north of a wee town called San Quirco d’Orcia to Laga di Bolsena. The Komoot route took me on route number 2 and a number of wee side roads – it was going to be another hot day – because of this I left early and as the roads had been quiet the last couple of days I decided to stick just to route 2 which would make it shorter and more importantly much less hilly – worse case scenario if the road was too busy and unpleasant I could pick up the side roads.

When I crawled out of the tent at 6am I wondered what the hell I was doing – it was still dark and the starry sky was beautiful. By the time I was finally packed up and ready to go at 7am the sun was up and it was a beautiful morning and hardly any traffic on the road.

All was going to plan and the cycling was fantastic (but still hot) until I came to the road closed sign – I was hoping to go straight and not take the windy hilly route.

The road wasn’t completely closed and the sign indicated that locals could pass through – I reckoned if locals were able to get through I’d be fine on my bike and carried on, on a completely traffic free road with no sign of roadworks until a more significant barrier……

There was still no evidence of roadworks or any noise. I googled “do roadworks take place on a Sunday?? in Italy ” Only in an emergency” according to google – that didn’t help. I’m never keen to go backwards and it was getting hot and I really didn’t want to do any more hills. I broke all construction site health and safety rules (Dad you’d had better stop reading) and snuck through a wee gap just big enough for the bike (once I’d moved a fallen post). I kept going, enjoying the scenery and having the road completely to myself but a bit apprehensive that at any moment I’m going to get a telling off and made to turn round. A good few kilometres on there were signs of works vehicles but still no construction noise and no signs of workmen and then just round the corner I came to the tunnel where the work was taking place BUT not on a Sunday thank goodness. The tunnel was well lit and looked as if it was going to be re-tarmacked but the surface was still good. A bit further on, it looked as if the tunnel was completely fenced off and my way was going to be barred – was this the point where I was going to have to admit defeat and turn round? Luckily not – there was a slightly raised walkway just wide enough for me to cycle on without having to take the panniers off, and I got a good view of the rather large hole that was being fixed.

Passed the hole and then after another kilometer or so back into daylight and a lovely gentle descent to my final barrier which was a bit harder to get round and I had to take everything off the bike, lift Phil over the barrier and put everything back on again and still not a person in sight – we had done it and as it was traffic free, the nicest tunnel I’d cycled through, knocked off a good few miles and about 1500 feet of climbing!

My footwear didn’t comply but I did have a helmet on. If this had been any other day of the week it wouldn’t have been badass at all – I would have been sent back with an embarrassing flea in my ear!

After my tunnel adventure the road started to overlap with the Via Francigena walkers route and I saw lots of walkers and gave them a wee ring of my bell and shouted hello on the way past. Further on I noticed a wee shack with walkers sitting outside in the shade of the trees and I pulled over – the wee shack was a tiny bar and made lovely fresh sandwiches. I got speaking to 3 of the walkers – a lady from Denmark who spoke very good English with an Australian accent; a lady from the north east of Italy – they were both in their late 60’s / early 70’s and a much younger Italian lady maybe in her late 20’s / early 30’s – they did not know each other from Adam when they started the walk but had formed a bond and were looking out for each other – and this was apparent with most of the walkers I got speaking to, especially the section of the route between Lucca & Rome.

They left just as a couple of cyclists heading north appeared. He was from Spain, she was from Austria and this was their 2nd big bike tour – their first trip was to link their home towns in Spain and Austria together. I got a tip of a good campsite to stay at the next again evening.

The only time I strayed off the route no 2 that day and take the Komoot route I regretted it – I was so close to the lake I was heading for I could almost touch it but the path just disappeared into a wall of cane and I had to turn round.

Finally made it to Camping Mario – and Mario made me think of a little scruffy Super Mario. The campsite facilities were a bit scruffy too but it was a lovely spot, everything worked and I got a delicious wee jug of red wine for €3 before heading to bed.

Next day I was heading for another lake and the campsite that had been recommended to me. Another good day on the bike but not as scenic and the road was busier – cycling along the west side of the lake was lovely though except for the 20° incline!

I did come through this lovely wee town though – the walking route goes through it – the cycling route skirts passed it and it becomes apparent why at the other end of the town where I had to zigzag down all the steps – if I wasn’t fully laden I think I would have had a go at cycling down them.

For the 2nd day in a row my end point was at a lake – Lago di Bracciano – and for the 2nd day on the trot I thought I was going to have to retreat and make a u-turn – the path narrowed to almost nothing and sloped down to a narrow but muddy burn – had to push Phil up the steep slope on the other side and then on to a steeper is-this-even-the-route section that I only just made up without having to take the panniers, etc off and found myself on the edge of an olive grove with no indication which way to go – finally joined a wee road to the chorus of barking dogs at their house – and then it was an uphill before a nice swoopy downhill to the lake and reccomended campsite……. which was closed! And so was the next one. It’s getting to the end of the holiday season – in my head it’s warm enough to camp you should be open but don’t suppose it works like that.

3rd campsite lucky at International Glamping – lovely location but wanted €34 for one night – my expression must have said it all when she asked if that was alright – eh no – I’d want of your pods at that price – I managed to talk them down or I would have found a wee wild camping spot.

And this sign made me giggle the next morning

The last 2 day’s cycling in Tuscany has been beautiful. Very little traffic accept round Siena where I camped last night. Only one nutty driver in a campervan with blacked out windows who seemed to have somewhere to get to urgently yesterday. Certain areas of Italy there have been sections that haven’t been pleasant to cycle on – other road users just not giving enough space – today and yesterday I feel as if I’m in a completely different country and really enjoying it. Having said that though it’s not all been easy – it is hot hot hot – earlier today it was 30° and hilly! Passing lots of towns and villages with place names beginning with “Monte” – not surprisingly this means mountain – really not mountainous at all but lots of little hills.

Views of San Miniato

Yesterday morning I left San Miniato, stopped at San Gimignano and then onto Siena where I had a wander round this morning. This afternoon I had a wee wander through the smaller town of Asciano – all hill fort towns. San Gimignano has huge towers and the black and white marble cathedral in Siena is stunning.

San Gimignano

Knowing it was going to be hot again today I hadn’t intended stopping at Siena – my plan was get some miles in before it got too hot but instead found myself cycling at the hotest part of the day.

Siena

Away from the towns lots of trees (including the tall slim distinct shaped cypress trees) and lots of vineyards but the further south I go the less trees there are and everything is looking dryer.

Cypress Trees & Vineyards

Cycling south from Lucca to San Miniato saw lots of walkers doing the Via Francigena and got speaking to some of them including 3 ladies from Australia – they were struggling with the heat – I thought if they are struggling there’s no help for me, forgetting that not all of Australia is toasty hot. The section from Lucca to Rome is one of the busiest sections of the pilgrimage and I should have thought of this when I was trying to get accommodation in San Miniato – no campsite near by, the hostel was full and so was the convent where the hostel said I should try. There is a website for convents that you can stay in and they are advertised as quiet peaceful places to stay which seems really appealing but as someone who doesn’t go to church I feel guilty about staying there and don’t feel that I should – on the other hand they are trying to make money like anyone else so maybe I should be brave and stay in one some time – as it happens I managed to get a room in a wee hotel.

The campsite in Sienna had a section for cyclists and backpackers and there were a lot of cyclists last night – a big Polish group arrived as it was getting dark. There wasn’t a lot of conversation though – I think everyone was too gubbed with the heat. I made use of the campsite restaurant and had a plate of “french fries” for my dinner which turned out to be really tasty chunky chips. The downside of the restaurant was it was really close to the cyclists bit of the campsite, open until 11pm and noisy (and maybe I’m just becoming a party pooper).

Going backwards after Dad left Lucca for home I stayed an extra night in Lucca and cycled to Pisa and back – I’ve seen the Leaning Tower before but never been up it and was keen to do that. It was very busy but loved it. It feels very odd going up the tower – spiral staircase but with a distinct slant and it does make you feel off kilter.

Not a very flattering picture of me holding the Leaning Tower of Pisa up

More pictures of Pisa

I’ll try and upload some pictures of Lucca and mine and Phil’s brief visit to the sea but right now heading to bed – going to try and set off early and beat tomorrow’s heat.