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!
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