RECIPE: TIEVOLINESE (BOLOGNESE)

I have tried many different recipes for Bolognese over the years, as have we all. But none have come close to making my taste buds burst as much as this following recipe.

If you like rich, strong and intense flavours......... This is for you!

Serves 4:

Ingredients:

• 400 gm extra lean beef mince (Marks and Spencers does the job)
• 2 large garlic cloves (roughly chopped)
• a few sprigs of fresh thyme
• large onion (finely chopped)
• mushrooms (as many as you like. I like LOTS)
• 2 x Tbsp olive oil (I use Porcini mushroom infused rapeseed oil. Mmmm!)
• 250 gm roughly chopped chorizo
• 10 large vine ripened tomatoes (quartered)
• level Tbsp of sea salt
• level tsp of ground black pepper
• 100 ml of red wine (any will do)
• heaped tsp of dried oregano

Directions:

1. Prepare an oven at 200c. Add the tomatoes, thyme, one of the Tbsp of olive oil, garlic and sea salt to an oven proof dish or deep baking tray. Mix together well with your hands and place in the oven for around 20 minutes, or until the skin starts to go dark/black. (This is fine, the blackening adds to the overall flavour)
2. Meanwhile, heat the remaining Tbsp of olive oil in a large saucepan or wok and cook the onions for around 3 minutes. Add the chorizo and stir well for around a further 3 minutes. Take off the heat.
3. Add the mince and stir WELL for around 3 or 4 minutes. You want the meat to absorb the flavour of the chorizo without completely cooking through and you want to mince to break down. The less lumpy the mince is, the better!
4. Remove tomatoes from oven and scoop only the individual tomatoes themselves and small bits of garlic into the saucepan with the mince.  Leave behind any thyme, salt and oil. 
5. Cook together in the saucepan on a low heat for around 5 minutes, stirring regularly.
6. Add the mushrooms, oregano and red wine and continue to cook for around 10 minutes. The longer you let the mixture cook, the further the liquid will reduce, increasing its rich and intense flavours. Don't be afraid to remove from the heat once you find your desired flavour.
7. Prepare your linguine in a large saucepan according to packet instructions. If you wish to make you own pasta, follow my pasta recipe here. (Make sure you rinse the cooked pasta under a hot tap to remove any stickiness it may have after boiling)
8. Re-heat the mince and place a good "dollop" on top of the pasta. Use a fork to stir the pasta and mince together before serving.
9. Finally, grate a generous amount of fresh Parmesan over the top to finish things offs.

Worth noting: I designed this recipe to be less wet and runny like I find a lot of homemade Bologneses. This is meant to be a more compact and less watery version of this famous Italian dish. But feel free to play with a consistency that fits your taste buds better.

RECIPE: JERK CHICKEN (THE BEST RECIPE EVER)

This recipe makes enough sauce/marinade to made a lot of chicken yum. I always make it to the following specifications and is enough to do 6 chicken legs, 12 drumsticks and 8 thighs.

Ingredients:

Chicken legs, drumsticks and/or thighs
 6 sliced scotch bonnet peppers
 2 Tbsp. thyme
1 Tbsp. fresh thyme
 8 Cloves garlic, finely chopped
 3 Medium onions, finely chopped
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. salt
1 Tbsp. ground black pepper
1 Tsp. ground cinnamon
1 Tsp. nutmeg
1 Tsp. ginger
120 ml olive oil
120 ml soy sauce
Juice of one lime
240 ml orange juice
240 ml white vinegar


Directions:

1. Chop the onions, scotch bonnets and garlic and place in a large mixing bowl.
2. Now blend all the remaining ingredients together, adding the onions, scotch bonnets and garlic whilst doing so.
3. If you do not have a large enough blender/liquidiser then do it in two parts and combine in the mixing bowl. 
4. Place chicken in an ovenproof dish and coat with the jerk sauce. Allow to marinade overnight for best results.
5. Once chicken has been allowed to rest in the sauce, place in an oven at 100 oC for half an hour. Turn chicken and place back in oven for a further 30 minutes. Cooking on a low temperature to begin with helps the sauce penetrate the chicken better and keeps the meat succulent.
6. Now turn the heat up to 180 and cook for 15 minutes, turning chicken for the final 15 minutes.
7. Take chicken out of the sauce and allow to rest on a plate.

To serve, I recommend serving with rice which has had a good helping of left over sauce stirred through it. Place chicken on top. 

This is one hell of a spicy dish, but nothing tastes better.

Enjoy!

RECIPE: THAI MANGO CHICKEN

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 2-3 chicken breasts, chopped
• 1 sweet red pepper
• Tbsp olive oil (for frying)
• Good handful of fresh coriander
• 3-4 Tbsp. coconut milk

MANGO SAUCE:

• 2 fresh ripe mangos (Skinned and stoned)
• 1 red chili OR 1/2 tsp. dried crushed chili flakes
• 1 Tbsp. white vinegar
• 1+1/2 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp. fish stock
• juice of 1/2 lime
• 1 Tbsp. brown/white sugar
• 1 thumb-size piece ginger, sliced or a tsp of ground ginger
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/4 tsp. turmeric
• zest of 1 lime

Directions:

1. Place all 'Mango Sauce' ingredients in a food processor or blender. Process well, until more or less smooth.
2. Taste-test the sauce. Adjust where necessary
3. Heat a wok or frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the oil, then begin frying the chicken pieces. Fry 3-5 minutes per side, or until light golden brown and cooked through.
4. Add the sweet pepper and continue to cook for 3 or 4 minutes 
5. Add 3-4 Tbsp. coconut milk. Simmer 3-4 minutes
6. Add the sauce and allow to simmer for 10 minutes
7. Serve with fresh coriander and rice (stir some fresh lemon juice through the rice to help it from sticking.

disclaimer: The above recipe is a stripped down version, and my twist on a recipe I found on this website. I have made the measurements more suited for UK cooking and have first hand experience of what the above recipe tastes like. 
Bloody lovely, actually!

RECIPE: MEATY BEEF BALLS AND TAGLIATELLE

Matt’s Meaty Beef Balls and tagliatelle

Ingredients:

Pasta for Tagliatelle
280g grade “00” pasta flour

2 medium eggs
1 medium egg yolk
Flour for dusting and rolling

Meatballs
500g lean beef mince
1 medium egg
1 level tbsp dried oregano
20-30 fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
1 tsp virgin olive oil
Sea salt
Ground black pepper
1 large garlic clove

Tomato sauce
1 small onion, finely chopped
25g butter
2 tins of chopped tomatoes (drained)
1 small glass of red wine (any will do)
2 tsp of oregano
2 tbsp of finely chopped fresh basil
1 thumb sized piece of fresh ginger, grated.(level tsp of ground ginger would suffice)
12 chestnut mushrooms, finely shopped (Chestnut mushrooms have a greater flavour)
1 garlic clove finely chopped
Salt and pepper

Directions:

To make the pasta: Begin by mixing the eggs and yolk with the flour in a large
mixing bowl. Use a strong wooden spoon to mix into a fine dough. Additional flour
may be needed if consistency is too sticky, likewise, a little olive oil with help a
dough that’s too dry. Once both ingredients appear well mixed, turn out onto a lightly
floured surface and continue kneading until a good, soft and smooth dough is formed.
Continue to knead for around 10 minutes. Wrap in cling film and refrigerate.

To make the meatballs: Place the mince in a large enough mixing bowl and loosen
the meat up. Add a good helping of sea salt and a generous pinch of ground pepper.
(Do not be afraid to add too much seasoning. Too little will leave the meat lacking
and bland)
Mix well with your hands.
Add the oregano and again, mix well with your hands.
Add the fresh basil and mix well.
Now add the garlic and olive oil and give one final good mix with your hands.
Cover and refrigerate. Ideally over night, but if in a rush, 30 minutes will suffice)

Please note: It’s important to mix after the addition of each individual ingredient as
this ensures the ingredients are well and fairly mixed. Do not throw it all in at once
and mix as this can cause uneven flavouring.

To make the sauce: Fry the onions off in the butter for around 4 minutes or until soft.
Add the garlic and ginger and continue to cook over a medium heat for one minute.
Add the mushrooms and stir until the they are well mixed with the other ingredients.
Add the herbs and season well. Continue to mix for around 30 seconds, then add the
tomatoes and cook for no more than 2 more minutes, stirring continuously. Take off
the heat.

Remove the mince mixture from the fridge and tip in your eggs and yolk. Mix well
using a spoon, or spatula making sure the mixture is well combined together. Once
mixed, use your hands to start making the balls, by rolling a small amount of mixture
in the palms of your hands. The size of each ball is up to you, but remember how
many of you there are, so make sure there’s plenty to go round. I prefer to keep them
on the slightly smaller side as you can just eat them whole like a greedy little bastard.
Once spherical, roll in flour and place on a dinner plate while you finish off making
every meatball.

Heat a tbsp of pure olive oil in a large enough frying pan and gently place all your
meatballs inside it. Gently brown for around 5 or 6 minutes until all sides of your
balls are roughly cooked.

Place your sauce back on a low heat and gently put your meatballs comfortable inside.
Cover and cook for around 20 minutes, or until meatballs cooked throughout. Do not
let burn, so make sure you remove the lid and stir occasionally.

While the balls are cooking, remove the pasta ball from the fridge and cut into 4
equally sized pieces. Roll out each section on a lightly floured surface and feed
through your pasta machine, going down through the settings from large to small.
Then feed through the tagliatelle looking cutter and place onto a plate.

Bring a large saucepan (I find using a large wok works) of lightly salted water to the
boil. Place all the tagliatelle into the water and cook for 4 minutes, or until cooked.
Taste a bit to test if done. Drain in a colander and rinse with hot water to remove the
stickiness (starch).

To serve:

Evenly distribute the pasta among your 4 warmed plates. Drizzle each plate with
sauce first to ensure pasta is coated, then place an even amount of balls and sauce
mixture over the top.

Grate generously with fresh Parmesan and serve.

Open a bottle of wine, or three….. and enjoy!

The fresh tagliatelle

Great for lunch and for dinner

The BALLS!!!

RECIPE: TIEVOLIZONE

Tievolizone®

Ingredients:

The dough:
Wrights Parmesan and sun dried tomato bread mix 500g*
(Follow the instructions, but add 20ml less water and add a tbsp of olive oil to the mixture. This
will make it stretchier and more like pizza dough)

*This may seem like cheating, but it’s quick. If you have time, make your own dough. Dough is
basic ingredients but can take a long time to prepare. If you’re restricted with time, go with the
bread mix. You need only add water and a little olive oil.

The filling:
Mozzarella (large bag - pre grated)
500g chestnut mushrooms (Thinly sliced)
2 large chicken breasts (Sliced into 1cm thick slices)
1 Tbsp Porcini mushroom rape seed oil (Olive oil will suffice)
10+ slices (2 per Tievolizone) of pancetta or rindless streaky bacon (smoked or not)

The sauce:
Lrg tsp of dried oregano
10 fresh basil leaves (torn up into small pieces)
1 tin of quality chopped tomatoes
Knorr aromatic savoury seasoning
1 lrg garlic clove finely chopped
Salt
Pepper

The glaze:
1 egg beaten
A pinch of dried oregano

Directions:

To make the dough: Follow the instructions on the back of the packet. I have done this too
many times to remember. My own tip is to add 20ml less of the water and add 1 tbsp of olive oil.

Once dough is well mixed, kneed for 10 to 15 minutes. This will ensure you have the best dough
possible. Don’t get lazy and stop half way through. Cover all sides of the dough in flour and put
into a mixing bowl or sauce pan with a cling film lid.
Leave in a warm place while preparing the rest of the Tievolizone ™

To make the sauce: Add all the ingredients to a suitably sized saucepan and put on a medium
heat until it boils. Allow to simmer for 1 minute stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

To make the filling: Heat the Porcini mushroom olive oil. Add the mushrooms until cooked
through. Do not over cook as they will continue to cook when in the oven. Remove from pan
with slotted spoon leaving as much olive oil and juices in the pan as possible.

Add the sliced chicken breast into the same pan and cook on a gentle heat (Add more olive oil if
necessary). Season well with both salt and pepper. Do not over cook. Chicken is best when juicy
so overcooking can ruin this. Under-cook it, and well…..You could die! Be careful!

When chicken is pretty much done, lay the pancetta/bacon on top and cover saucepan with lid.
Continue to cook for 2 or 3 minutes. Take off heat and set aside.

Prepare the dough: Preheat oven to (200 oC Fan assisted) (220 oC conventional) Make sure
the dough has increased in size to at least one and half times its original size (Usually about 30
minutes).
Put the dough onto a lightly floured surface and roll into a sausage size shape about 12 inches
long. With a sharp knife cut into 4 or 5 equal pieces. Re-flour to avoid drying out and put onto a
plate and move to one side.

Before rolling out dough to form the base for the Tievolizone, make sure that everything is ready
to go onto the dough. The key here is speed. The longer you take to fill the calzone, the more
likely it will become soggy and tear leaving you with a mess coming out of the oven, if even it
gets that far.

Follow these steps:
1: Prepare all the filling ingredients and make sure they’re ready. Put them in a small bowls if
needs be. Believe me, preparation is KING!
2: flour the pizza tray before you place your Tievolizone on it.
3: Have the egg glaze ready with a pastry brush to hand.
4: Make sure oven is ready and hot.

Continue by taking one of the 4 or 5 pieces of dough and place on lightly floured surface.
Using a flour dusted rolling pin, roll the dough into a circle. Make it as big as you can until the
thickness is not much thicker than a stick of chewing gum. Don’t make it too thin as it will tear.
Experience and practice makes this bit easier overtime.
The size of the circle should be large enough to allow a normal dinner sized plate to be placed
over the top. Now cut round the plate and discard of the trimmings.

Place the cut out dough onto the pre-floured pizza tray.
Instantly use the pastry brush and coat the circumference/edge of the circle (about and inch wide)
with the egg.
Put a large handful of the mozzarella in the center of the dough.
Place two or three soup spoon size portions of the sauce on top of the mozzarella, avoiding as
much liquid as possible.

Put a good helping of the mushrooms over the top
Now add the chicken and bacon
Finally, add a small handful of the cheese and sprinkle over the top.

Now fold the circle in half, making sure the edges fit to the opposite side and do not allow the
dough to tear. Be gentle!

Once you have the dough folded, use a fork to press the edges firmly together. This will ensure
the seal does not come undone in the oven.

Brush the Tievolizone™ all over with the egg mixture and finish off with two slits on the roof of
the dough to allow it to breathe while cooking.
Before placing in oven, sprinkle with dried oregano.

Place in the center or top of the oven for around 15 to 20 minutes, or until the skin of the
Tievolizone looks golden brown and crisp.

Take out of the oven and leave to cool for 10 minutes before serving. The dough will soften up
again.

If of course you are making more than one of these, cover each finished Tievolizone™ with a
small sheet of foil to retain its heat and put to one side while making more.

Once they are made, serve.

You can cook more than one at a time, but rotate their positions in the oven.

To serve:


Put on a plate and eat.
Another more traditional way to serve is to pour a small serving of finely blended beef
Bolognese over the top. Its works very well.

Final Tip: You may need to clean the pizza tray after each use if the skin breaks and liquid
escapes. Be patient!

The Tievolizone

Mini Tievolizone (great for parties)

Tievolizone with the Bolognese topping

IL LONG WAY DOWN: CAPTAINS LOG - Rome to "not sure where"

Keeping this one short.

Another long day. Another hard day.

Took detour to Vatican City as its worth seeing. Magnificent. Amazing.

Journeyed our way to campsite, bit by bit. Did about 80 miles.
The weather has been sooo consistent here. Well over 30 EVERY day and it makes it soooo much harder.

I can't remember the views, but we arrived at camp around 7.

We washed, then headed to restaurant for 3 course meal that cost around £50. Spot on!

The campsite we're at had armed guards. What?

They were everywhere. Most of the tenants at the campsite were permanent, and loads of kids.

When we got back from restaurant around 11:30pm, we heard music, so me and Robs dad headed over to check it out.

Butlins. That's the best way to describe our campsite.

Great atmosphere, brilliant set up. Looked like a mini Colosseum, but it wasn't for folk of our age group.

This place was Massive.

We had a drink and went to bed.

Most surreal place we have ever been. Couldn't park our car near tent, had to be parked about half a mile away. Thanks for that!
Everything seemed monitored. The food had to be £30 eat all you can buffet, and despite the cycling, we declined.

Had a good nights sleep and left on time.

Sorry for un-descriptive post!

Ciao!

IL LONG WAY DOWN: CAPTAINS LOG - Rest day in Rome

Waking up with a sore head is not that alien to us, but when at 9 the suns already generating temperatures of over 20c, it's not good. Dehydration has lived with me since I got here on the 16th June, and copious amounts of booze the night before, doesn't help matters.
We made it to the pool for a swim before buying our bus and train tickets from reception and heading off into one of the most historical, ancient cities on our planet.
€1.5 for 2hrs travel. Amazing. Enough to get us to the city centre which was around 3 miles from camp.
We walked from central Rome, west towards an address I had in my phone where I was to get my tattoo. I wanted to get a tattoo to mark the very trip that brought me there in the first place.
The number of ruins and ancient historical monuments fill Rome wherever you look. Very busy, very big.
We didn't go in any shops as such, just observed as we walked the historic streets towards the tattoo shop.
I brought my Garmin with me which can be altered to navigate you on foot. We found the place, but a sign in Italian, on the shop fronts window suggested they'd be back soon. In feed they were.

The idea behind the tattoo was the bike ride. I wanted ILWD, for Il long way down, and 2012 in Roman numerals to represent the year I did it.
After twenty minutes, the piece was done, but they didn't take card, so a short walk to the cashpoint ensued. As we got there, I began looking at my partially bandaged artwork and made a comment about the number of X's in it. I showed Rob, and he creased up. It said 2022, not 2012. Idiots.
We'd double checked the correct letters on Google both in the shop, and on my phone, but at some point in between then and when the job was done, it was too late.

I decided the best thing to do was to wait til I got back to the Uk to figure out and solution. We joked I could return in 10 years and do the ride again, by which point, there'd be no mistake. I could just leave it and laugh about it, or get it lazered.
Funnily enough, I didn't have to pay them, and we walked to the Colosseum.
Rome is just beautiful with so many things to see and do. I could write page upon page of anecdotes but I haven't got time.
The journey back to camp took forever, but a few beers later we were all ready for bed. A long 80 mile day was due, so sleep took priority that night.

Will definitely go back.

No tattoos though ;-)

IL LONG WAY DOWN: CAPTAINS LOG - Bolsena to Rome

Today was strange. I typed in the destination into my Garmin and it said 117 miles. Sod that! I looked at the route it wanted to take us on and it resembled a garden hose that had been thrown on the ground in a heaped mess.
It wasn't the shortest available route to Rome. So I opted for navigating to towns closer by to try and confuse the Garmin, and it worked. Total distance for the day was just over 70 miles.

We left the campsite late again as Robs bike had another puncture which must have occurred overnight and the cashpoint wasn't working so we had to wait for Robs dad to drive further afield to find one that accepted Robs card.

The ride was flat for around 3 miles, and then the climbing started. And it seemed harder than any other day. Fatigue? Tiredness? Who knows! It just hurt.
To our surprise, about 10 miles into our ride, we saw two cyclists ahead who'd stopped just beside the road before another climb. When we approached we noticed it was the two Austrian ladies from two days previous. I know we had a day off, but we'd covered 100 miles since our last encounter. These ladies are awesome. In their fifties and in front of us two! We stopped and had a quick chat, and carried on.

We decided to continue the new 20 mile batch cycling, but nothing seemed to go in our favour. We couldn't find many places open and when we did there was no shade to hide in. We were sweaty, dusty, dirty and constantly thirsty despite the gallons of fluid we'd shove down our necks.
I think we climbed the most this stage. We hit 3,000 feet in altitude about half way into the day and once we'd descended, the climbing started again.

About 20 miles from the end, we realised why the Garmin had been trying to send us in a zig zag to Rome. Fast motorways. They may not have been actual motorways, but the speed limit was 90 and no cycling lane. Not fun. We were on it for the best part of 10 or 15 miles. Didn't feel comfortable at all. But, it knocked 50 miles off our day, so potentially worth the risk. Or not? Who cares, we're here and not in a wooden box.
The stops increased and the fatigue went up too. Neither one of us were enjoying any of the cycling. It was hard work. A struggle. Imagine having to walk 15 miles uphill to get something important, only to realise you walked 15 miles in the wrong direction. Then having to turn around and walk back 15 miles, plus the 15 miles you should have walked. All the while the sun's breathing down your neck and your hands and feet hurt. And you're thirsty. And you're tired. But you HAVE to keep going. You have no choice. You can feel yourself losing patience. It's actually tortuous sometimes, but you got to keep mentally tough and bite the bullet and carry on. Failure is not an option.

We eventually rocked up at the campsite about 7:30pm and immediately had a beer. We washed, ate and headed to the bar where they were playing the football.
The campsite is definitely a travellers campsite. Ozzies. Kiwis. Canadians. English. Scots. Welsh..... And Italians.

The atmosphere was buzzing during the game. More supporters of England than Italy, which was quite funny. But no animosity. The game was being shown outside on a big screen near the swimming pools and next to the bar.
We met a few people and stayed with them the rest of the night. The people we met just bought an open coach ticket which allows you to travel all over Europe, hopping on and off where you chose. It's amazing what is at your disposal if you have a sense for fun.
What we're doing now is exactly the same. Just "point and squirt". Aim for somewhere, and go. No time limits. No trains to catch. No one to answer to. Just exploring and exploring. It's amazing.

After the match, which England predictably lost due to penalties, we headed straight to the night club just the other side of the campsite. Pretty much everyone remained outside all night as it never gets cold here. Just hot 24/7.

Most of the night I remember, but how it ended I'll never be quite sure. All I know is I woke up in the back of Robs Dads car after they woke me up at about 3am having passed out in one of the chairs in my drunken stupor.
Great night. Fantastic night. And we needed it. Felt like a holiday for the dirt time since we hit Italy over a week ago.
So much to keep talking about but I haven't got the patience to keep writing. Hopefully the video footage from throughout the day will go someway to helping illustrate all the truly amazing things we're getting to see and find.

Until next time....

Ciao!

IL LONG WAY DOWN: CAPTAINS LOG - Siena to Bolsena

Yesterday we cycled from Siena to Bolsena, 87 miles, 6,000 feet of climbing, 6.5hrs in the saddle.

This is hard.

Tactics changed slightly for the day as there was so much ascending to start that we were going nowhere fast. Our previous tactics was to stop ever hour to refill water bottles etc, but we hadn't gone far enough in first hour so decided to opt to cycling in 20 mile blocks.
The first hour yesterday I felt was hard. Very hard. Up mountains most of the way, very hot and my legs ached severely all over. After 1hr 45 we found a random hotel/restaurant in the middle of nowhere. I felt spent. Awful. And we'd been on the bikes for less than 2 hours. Things were not looking good.
Then we ate. It was 2pm about this time. I had asparagus risotto, Rob had tortellini. We also consumed 4 litres of water in 40 minutes as well, incredible how much water we need.

After we'd paid, we left. And I don't know what happened but for the next 67 miles I felt fantastic. Never better.
I don't know what they put in that rice but it sure perked me up! I had eaten very well in the morning and was not under fuelled.
I honestly felt I was done for that day, but as it turns out, I wasn't.

The views today I felt were better than any other day. I can't put my finger on why but it was that little bit more special to look at.
We are so lucky to be seeing all these places that not many other people would themselves. Even the Italians.
Everybody goes to Rome, to Siena, to Modena, to Como. But how do they get there? Fly! We see every stunning road, view, mountain range, hills, trees, people, animals etc. You simply can't see the real Italy, and all of it, by going to one place, and staying there. Don't get me wrong I'm not saying don't fly to Rome, I'm just highlighting the advantages to cycling all way down it, you see more! So, who's coming with me next year?

We arrived in Bolsena about 8:30pm. The road before Bolsena looked as though a downhill was coming up and you I knew if I was lucky that as I approached the blind summit I'd be able to see the massive lake (about 10 wide). And I did. Wow. We saw it from around 3 miles away and several hundred feet up. The water looked so blue, even that late at night.

As soon as we found the campsite. We had a beer. Robs dad went off Into town to buy Calzones for us all, an we watched the rest of the France vs Spain football match.

The tent is literally just a few metres from the edge of the lake. And it's stunning. We would like to have had time to have a swim but we want to be in Rome as early as possible.

It's just amazing how after 400 miles are yet to find a part of Italy that's isn't out of this world beautiful.

Today should be shorter, but I've learnt not to count my chickens......

See you in Rome

Ciao!

IL LONG WAY DOWN: CAPTAINS LOG - Day off in Siena

I'm writing this on my iPhone so not that easy.
Right, we had a hard day the day before so we decided a day off was in order. Plus, we now get to spend Monday in Rome, and not Sunday, which means we'll have more money. Also watching England game in Rome, awesome.
To sum up the rest day, we did bugger all. Sort of. Rob and I drove to Siena and walked around the town. Amazing. Big place. Up and down the streets went, lots of gift shops, ice cream, wine, cafes, clothes shops etc. we also saw a part of Siena used in Quantum of Solace, which was cool. We ate ice cream and headed to the supermarket to buy mince so I could make burgers. Mmmmm!
The produce departments in Italy are far bigger than any other part of the shops in Italy. In the UK it's the ready meal isle. That's why everyone in Italy looks so healthy and slim. EVERYONE!

Take note Britain!

We had a swim or two during the day. We had to buy these stupid hats or we weren't allowed in the pool. Again, you can smoke at petrol stations, but you have to cover your head when you swim! Go figure!
At 7 we drove back to the spot we got rescued from the day before, as we'd promised. But, when we got there, it turned out Rob didn't bring his front wheel, so I had to cycle it on my own.
Rob fans, he's promised to cycle an extra 15 miles at the end to make amends.
Then, when we both got back to campsite, I found out my iPad had been stolen while we were out. We searched everywhere, but in the end I had to call Orange to get it blocked. Yet another insurance claim.

To sum up Siena. Very traditional, gorgeous. More terracotta roof tops covering the views across the mountains/hills. Amazing.

I'm definitely going to run out of money coming back to all these "must come back to places" over my life.

We ate our burgers, drank two bottles of wine, 2 pints of Peroni, and went to bed.

Asleep by half 12.

Zzzzzz!

IL LONG WAY DOWN: CAPTAINS LOG - Barberino di Mugello to Siena

Right, where to start! Had a good breakfast, had another swim. Set off about mid-day. Intentional late start as we had our legs to think of so had the extra sleep to aid recovery. And as soon as we clipped our shoes in on the bike, it all went down hill, and I'm not just talking about the roads.

I filmed the entire 8 mile descent on my GoPro camera, but when I got to the bottom and looked round, no Rob. So I waited, and still no sign of him. I rang him, and he had a puncture. I waited 15 minutes in the soaring heat and eventually he rolled down. About 40 minutes after that, another puncture. This time we'd noticed a slash in the tyre. Again. So we called up his Dad, gave him our coordinates, and waited. After about two hours we were rolling again. New tube, new tyre.

And from this point, everything went terribly wrong.

Morale was low, energy was low, heat was high and so was the traffic. We climbed up and down and up and down until we hit Florence. And that's when the traffic started. My god, London is so much less hectic. Today at least. Bearing in mind we were both fatigued, the traffic tipped us over the edge. It took almost 2 hours to get far enough out of Florence to find normality again.

I'm going to digress slightly here and say we found the most gorgeous spot over looking Florence from a few hundred feet up which was obviously a popular place with the tourists. You could see mile upon mile of terracotta roof tops and cathedrals, buildings, landmarks, all surrounded by greenery and mountains. Just behind framing the view we had, were the Apennines mountain range we'd spent several hours climbing over the day before. Wow.

Anyway, we soldiered on, and slowly. Fatigue and stress can seriously bring your bodies battery life down rather considerably, and it didn't recharge. The climbing didn't seem to stop, the heat didn't die down, and the clock didn't stop either, it was getting late. Traffic, punctures, split tyres. It was becoming too much.

We maintained our hourly ritual of stopping for a refill of water etc, but we weren't making much progress. The mileage counter was coming down as slowly as a slug on glass and our legs felt like lead. We kept saying "Why did we do this?" "Why are we doing this?".... It was all in jest, at least now it seems, but at the time, we wanted out. It's amazing how far you can make your body work for you when you have motivation, determination. At home, we would have given up LONG ago, but we had a check point to reach.

Slowly but surely, it began getting dark and we were fearful we wouldn't make it to Siena. In fact, we didn't. We had to call the rescue team (Robs dad) to come and get us. 13 miles away. We had only one hour, maybe more of cycling to do and we would have been home and dry, but it was half past £@#*^ nine at night and getting later and based only on the fact neither had our front or rear lights fitted, we succumbed. Had there been no traffic, and had we not encountered a two hour wait for a replacement tyre, we'd have easily made it.

If you're thinking, "Ah, just an hour away, you should have kept going", try descending down a mountain swerving round switch back after switch back in the dark, with no lights, and lorries and cars and motor bikes and scooters every 5 seconds, then you'll know what was going through our heads.

I'm sensing a little tension in my writing here as I feel a little bad for missing that last hour, but we're getting taken by car, back to the very point we were picked up, to finish the ride to Siena.
We've called for a day off tomorrow as its now 1am and an early start tomorrow just a few small hours away to begin cycling over more effing mountains is not my idea of fun. We need rest. We NEED rest.

I've been mentally challenged today (no jokes, puns or similar please) and have never been forced to do something so hard in all my life. It wasn't the weather. It wasn't the terrain. It wasn't the saddle sore. It wasn't the dehydration..... It was fatigue.
Today just wasn't meant to be.

The plus side was our next rest day was supposed to be Sunday in Rome. But it will now be Monday we spend in the capital city, and we will have been paid. Or at least Robs dad will be and we'll have our cash flow temporarily replenished, so we can make the most of being in one of the worlds most famous landmark cities.

Don't get me wrong, it wasnt 100% all bad today. Just 99%. The 1% came from the views, the experience and the feeling that we're doing something out of this world. I'll probably never cycle Italy again, neither will anyone I know now, or ever meet, so I'm not going to complain any further.

Tomorrow we go to the city of Siena, and I'm looking dead forward to having a well earns rest. As are all of us.

Check back soon

The ILWD team

Pictures:
Just for info, the two ladies photographed here are probably in their fifties, maybe more, yet have cycled all the way from Austria. I know zero German, but we shared a friendly word or two. Amazing people!

And the photo of my hand shows the tan mark I'm going to have to live with for a few months, caused by the one bit of skin the glove doesn't cover. Just shows how bloody hot it is here.

G'night!

Ciao

IL LONG WAY DOWN: CAPTAINS LOG - Modena to Baberino di Mugello

Sorry for the late post here, last night we were physically dead. Comatose.
Currently say by our gorgeous pool. It's insane how beautiful everything is.

So, yesterday. Best thing I have ever done. Robs says the same. It was immense. Very hard day. We cycled 50 miles in the baking sun to just south of Bologna, and then we turned right towards the Apennines. It wasn't until we'd done the 50 miles that the climbing started. 21 miles of it. NON STOP! The views were to die for. Cannot explain in a thousand words what we saw. We averaged around 8 mph while climbing so we climbed for just under 3 hours. Try that at home. So impressed with Rob. He's been training since January for this and it shows. I have some GoProHD footage to show you when I get home. The climbing went on and on and on. Switch back after switch back. It didn't seem to ever end. We climbed to a peak of around 3,500 feet and climbed a total of around 5,500. All of which occurred in 20 miles. The best thing about it was the coming down. We descended for 10 miles with no flat bits, just swooping left and right until we got right down, only to find out we'd over shot the campsite by 8 miles. So we had to phone Robs dad to rescue us. No way did we feel like climbing back up 8 miles. Sod that.
The campsite here is the best campsite I have ever seen. Green plants and bushes everywhere. Amazing pool. There's an Italian family running it and they are awesome, friendly and fantastic at cooking. Rob and his dad had pizza, I had carbonara and chips. In Italy, pasta is a starter. So bolognese, tagliatelle etc are all first course dishes. But the chips filled the hole.
So tempting to stay here but have to move in. Leaving later-ish today to let the legs rest.
Yeah, so amazing what we achieved. 80 miles, 6.5 hrs in the saddle and 5,500 feet of cycling upwards. So buzzing from it all. Can't wait to show you the video footage.
Thanks everyone for continuing to read this and showing your support.

Ciao, ciao!