All in all, 411.92km (255 miles) on a 29.25kg (64.5 pound) bike, three regioni, 3 rivers, a couple lakes, some illegal camping, a hostel, a swim that left me sore, poetry in the ride journal, at least 13 espressos and as many pastries, and almost as many photos (422) as epiphanies...TOO MANY to post them all.
Here they are, with a couple quotes from the ride journal...enjoy.
all you need...and probably too much.
the drive...
waiting at the train station for Robert, the German Tour Guide, he trained down to pick up the van which is how this amazing opp came about in the first place, a ride I had been thinking about since seeing the guide book last year.
lets start with a self portrait shall we...
Germans drinking beer at noon is a great way to start a big ride!
The town of Rovereto would be my first stop...
The Hostel was nice but I'm camping next time
I skipped the itenerary and headed on a new agenda, in the long run adding an extra 100km, but adding all this too...
First view of Lago Di Garda
"In front of me a castle along a dirt river path, a glance over shoulder reveals the mouth of the great canyon of Riva Del Garda, a spectacular 3 days aboard a bicycle."
"Loni and I are posted up in the shade in a park in the harbour of Garda. Beautiful! Ducks bark, the cicadia song almost louder than the whirly-click of passing freehubs, and waves lazy-lapping lake waves gently kiss the break water shoreline. An occasional car starts up and it's diesel burp putters uphill or a scooter whines down from the steeps above. Families chitter, kids laugh and I doze off beneath the poplar trees."
"The best way to dry your stretchy-pants overnight on a bike ride through Italy in the summer, is to wrap them up in an envelope, affix the proper postage and mail them to the fucking Gobi Desert! Seriously its humid here, bring two..."
Dinner of Romagna tough guys, Melon Proscuitto, and beer
Into Mantova past the lily ponds.
And joining up with the Po River
the tiny town of Sermide would be my home for the night, bum camping next to a dirty mosquito infested river bank. Not before a couple beers and the free spread of food for aperativo. I was definitely the greaziest dude at this aperativo...
sunset and sunrise on Il Fiume Po
Did you know as a kid I had such a boner for the medieval period I would wear a robin hood costume around the house...I still get a chubby when I see castles up this close.
yeah..."all you need is LONI!"
"monuments of doubt crumble against the subductive plates of my own cowardice and inexperience, the resulting quake shivers through my very core forever altering the landscape and skyline of my soul."
That's the self portrait AFTER!
Hey Jesus, how big was that ride anyhow...
this big...
and thats pretty big...
S.
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