Got Back On Monday from Rome.
Great trip close to 2500KM covered.
Got knocked off in Germany by a car pulling out of a drive, no damage to bike but a pulled calf muscel and some bruising to hands.
This slowed me down a bit but still managed to get my daily milage in (bit slower then planed)
Holland and Germany are a dream to cycle in apart from being taken into towns by cycle paths when you don’t want to (slows you down quite a lot going through towns and villages) and you can see why so many people cycle in these countries even 80 y/o grandmothers.
Only issue i had was the Rhine route cycle signs (WHICH I WAS RELYING ON INSTED OF A GOOD MAP DOH!) they would detour from the river a lot and then disappear in the middle of a village or town, usually not a big issue but annoying sometimes. Some of the cycle paths i ended up on were little more then dirt tracks (which with a painful leg were un welcome)
Rested up in Switzerland (Zurich) for a day Iron man race was on (now those guys are hard core) Set off for Andermatt after a days rest hoping that leg would now be ok as the climb was 9000 ft for that day (i did not know that until i checked it on bike route toaster) should have broken that up as i over did it and was exhausted by days end.
In the morning i warmed up and set off for the last 2000ft climb to the top of the Gotthard pass but in the end cheated and took the bus!! legs (well knee was having none of it) i made to the next village and was thinking of returning to Andermatt and resting for the day when i spotted an bunch of cyclists waiting at the bus stop, decided to cheat (that said i had planned to skip the bit from Zurich to Belizonia in my original plan as i knee i had an history of knee issues and thought it prudent not to do this stretch) Glad i did really after seeing the struggle those riders on unloaded bike.
The ride down was amazing nearly 40KM without having to peddle but cheapened in my mind a bit.
That day I was made to pay for cheating by the fact that every body in Italy was Holidaying in Belizonia, Lucano and Lugano... I could not find a campsite with room (unheard off) a hotel or a B&B and ended up cycling to Como in the dark (seeking a stealth camp Hard when they seem to have built on every inch of land) ended up sleeping in a church yard on a bench for about four hours 200km cycled that day (thank god for the 40km down hill section)
Rested up a day in Como and felt like a knew man, no pain in the knees, calf bruising on my hands had all but gone (though they were still worryingly numb, I adjusted seating position and handle bars as i realised this was possibly more to do with riding position then the accident)
Cycling in Italy is well shoot your pants scary, there is no cycle lanes on th roads and in most cases no footpaths unless your in a town. Country lanes were ok as the traffic was light but as i had to use the main roads to get anywhere and the 6-10 inches at the edge of the road where i was able to cycle. so it was no surprise to realise i hardly spotted any cyclists at all,a few hard core Club riders was all i saw except in towns where a few brave souls used the pavements.
Nice and Flat in the north but once i crossed into Tuscany it got very hilly (surprise surprise) made it to Rome with a few detours to avoid the busy main roads (NOTE IF YOUR GOING TO ROME AND INTEND TO CAMP, THERE IS NO CAMPSITE NEAR THE RIVER AT THE END OF THE SS2 EVEN IF IT IS SHOWN ON THE MAP BOOKS use the flaminia site and don’t waste your time searching for the other (unlike me!!!)
I am doing full day by day write up on crazy guy on a bike if anyone is remotely interested in a bit more info.
Sparkyman
<br style=""> <br style="">
Great trip close to 2500KM covered.
Got knocked off in Germany by a car pulling out of a drive, no damage to bike but a pulled calf muscel and some bruising to hands.
This slowed me down a bit but still managed to get my daily milage in (bit slower then planed)
Holland and Germany are a dream to cycle in apart from being taken into towns by cycle paths when you don’t want to (slows you down quite a lot going through towns and villages) and you can see why so many people cycle in these countries even 80 y/o grandmothers.
Only issue i had was the Rhine route cycle signs (WHICH I WAS RELYING ON INSTED OF A GOOD MAP DOH!) they would detour from the river a lot and then disappear in the middle of a village or town, usually not a big issue but annoying sometimes. Some of the cycle paths i ended up on were little more then dirt tracks (which with a painful leg were un welcome)
Rested up in Switzerland (Zurich) for a day Iron man race was on (now those guys are hard core) Set off for Andermatt after a days rest hoping that leg would now be ok as the climb was 9000 ft for that day (i did not know that until i checked it on bike route toaster) should have broken that up as i over did it and was exhausted by days end.
In the morning i warmed up and set off for the last 2000ft climb to the top of the Gotthard pass but in the end cheated and took the bus!! legs (well knee was having none of it) i made to the next village and was thinking of returning to Andermatt and resting for the day when i spotted an bunch of cyclists waiting at the bus stop, decided to cheat (that said i had planned to skip the bit from Zurich to Belizonia in my original plan as i knee i had an history of knee issues and thought it prudent not to do this stretch) Glad i did really after seeing the struggle those riders on unloaded bike.
The ride down was amazing nearly 40KM without having to peddle but cheapened in my mind a bit.
That day I was made to pay for cheating by the fact that every body in Italy was Holidaying in Belizonia, Lucano and Lugano... I could not find a campsite with room (unheard off) a hotel or a B&B and ended up cycling to Como in the dark (seeking a stealth camp Hard when they seem to have built on every inch of land) ended up sleeping in a church yard on a bench for about four hours 200km cycled that day (thank god for the 40km down hill section)
Rested up a day in Como and felt like a knew man, no pain in the knees, calf bruising on my hands had all but gone (though they were still worryingly numb, I adjusted seating position and handle bars as i realised this was possibly more to do with riding position then the accident)
Cycling in Italy is well shoot your pants scary, there is no cycle lanes on th roads and in most cases no footpaths unless your in a town. Country lanes were ok as the traffic was light but as i had to use the main roads to get anywhere and the 6-10 inches at the edge of the road where i was able to cycle. so it was no surprise to realise i hardly spotted any cyclists at all,a few hard core Club riders was all i saw except in towns where a few brave souls used the pavements.
Nice and Flat in the north but once i crossed into Tuscany it got very hilly (surprise surprise) made it to Rome with a few detours to avoid the busy main roads (NOTE IF YOUR GOING TO ROME AND INTEND TO CAMP, THERE IS NO CAMPSITE NEAR THE RIVER AT THE END OF THE SS2 EVEN IF IT IS SHOWN ON THE MAP BOOKS use the flaminia site and don’t waste your time searching for the other (unlike me!!!)
I am doing full day by day write up on crazy guy on a bike if anyone is remotely interested in a bit more info.
Sparkyman
<br style=""> <br style="">
