Author: Garry

Garry McGivern’s Italian bicycle tour, Wednesday 2nd-June-2010 Gaeta to the outskirts of Rome. 100 miles. Well, that was an expensive stop last night. Two hundred euros for a room and breakfast! And to top it all, an hour down the road this morning, I came across a campsite! But that was an hour this morning on fresh legs. It was already eight o’clock by the time I’d stopped last night. Although, if I’d spent less time trying to find a room in other hotels, I might have found the campsite. But then again, I didn’t know it was there until this morning. And to be honest, I’d just had enough last night.

“All roads lead to Rome”, or so they say. Well, they did today! I had a lovely ride into Rome along the tree-lined SS7 Appian Way. An ancient Roman road which used to connect Rome to Brindisi in the southeast. Rome was as beautiful as ever. Apart from the cobbled streets! But at least they were nowhere near as bad as the ones coming out of Naples yesterday.

In Rome

While in Rome, I did the tourist bit and got my photo taken in front of the Colosseum, which a kind German family took. After getting my photograph taken, I decided to leave central Rome and find somewhere to stop. And what a nightmare that was. Pulling away from some traffic lights, I managed to snap a toe-clip off one of my pedals! In a rush to beat the cars, I pulled away from a set of traffic lights. And went to put my foot into my toe clip, but I hit a large cobble at the same time. And instead of putting my foot in the clip. My foot landed on top of it and snapped it off! Luckily it landed at the side of the road in the gutter, so I was able to retrieve it. Hopefully, I’ll be able to fix it.

Things didn’t improve either after breaking my toe clip. Every road I went down turned into a motorway. But after much perseverance, I eventually managed to find a way out of Rome. And I even managed to find a campsite. Although it was a bit pricey at twenty-five euros. But compared to last night’s hotel, it’s a bargain! Things seem to be a lot more expensive along this coast. But then I suppose there are a lot more tourists around here than there are in the south and east of the country.

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Garry McGivern’s Italian bicycle tour, Friday 28th-May-2010 North of Cariati to Catanzaro Lido. 85 Miles. I’m still exactly sure where I camped last night. But the first town I came across this morning with a name was Cariati. It rained in the night, which is the first bit of rain I’ve had since being in Italy. It wasn’t heavy but did go on for most of the night, and it was still raining when I got up at five o’clock.

I saw some more prostitutes today. Business must have been a bit slow for them. They were all taking pictures of me as I rode past. Perhaps I should have charged them!

Yesterday

I forgot to mention what happened yesterday, which at the time wasn’t worth mentioning. I was in a small shop getting my daily supplies and was having a laugh and joke with the lady behind the counter. Not that we understood each other, but I think she asked me where I was going. “to Sicily, home of the Mafia,” I said. That was it. Her smiles and friendly gestures disappeared! And I was quickly served and ushered out of the shop, with the door slamming behind me!

The Mafia, known as the “ndrangheta” in this part of Italy, are “allegedly” still around and have a lot of influence, so I read last night, which might explain what happened yesterday! I thought it was a bit odd at the time and never gave it another thought. But after reading my Lonely Planet guide tonight, I can perhaps see why I got the reaction I did. Maybe it’s not “allegedly”, and it’s true!? I hope I don’t wake up next to a horse’s head!

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Garry McGivern’s Italian bicycle tour, Thursday 27th-May-2010 Metaponto to I haven’t got a clue! But it was 88 miles. I wasn’t really expecting to stop just yet. But when this campsite popped up, I thought, why not. And I didn’t get a receipt when I paid for my pitch. That’s how I usually find out where I spend the night!

There was a bit of a chill in the air first thing this morning. It was cool enough for me to have to put my fleece on. Although it soon warmed up, and I was back down to a t-shirt. It was also very damp this morning, so my clothes were still wet. I couldn’t pack my clothes away wet, so I distributed them around the bike. Unfortunately, I didn’t have anywhere to put my pants, so I put them on my head! To dry as I cycled along.

Watch Out For The Bugs

Today’s ride has been mainly on dual carriageways. And looking at the map, I think it might be the same for the next couple of days. As I cycled along today, there’s been a range of snow-capped mountains, which looked pretty spectacular. And as long as the mountains stay over there and not in front of me, everything will be fine.

It was a good decision to stop when I did. Tonight’s campsite has only cost me five euros. I’ve got the place to myself, there’s nobody else here, and it’s right on the seafront. Although being on the seafront turned out not to be so good. After eating supper and clearing up, I went to look at the sea. But whilst I was on the beach, something started to attack me. I haven’t got a clue what it was. But it was about the size of a bee and made a low buzzing noise. Needless to say, I made a hasty exit and returned to the safety of my tent.

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Garry McGivern’s Italian bicycle tour, Wednesday 26th-May-2010 Monopoli to Metaponto. 77 miles. It’s not been a good day, with things going awry right at the beginning of the day. When I left the hotel this morning, I thought I’d be clever. And instead of going back the way I’d come into town last night, to find my road. I thought I’d go my way to find the road, thinking it would be a shortcut and I wouldn’t be going back on myself. Some shortcut that was what took fifteen minutes to cycle yesterday took over an hour this morning. That just about set the tone for the rest of the day.

Once I’d found my way back to the right road. I then spent the next four hours trudging uphill. Then once I’d reached the top, I was enjoying the fruits of my efforts, freewheeling downhill. I took a wrong turn and had to turn around and cycle back up the hill. But thankfully, not as far this time. But it was still an unnecessary climb, something I could have done without having to do. I can’t say that it was entirely my fault. Some of the names on the signs are very similar. And unless you look properly, it’s easy to follow the wrong sign and end up in the wrong place. Well, that’s my excuse, and I’m sticking to it.

Glad The Day’s Over

Many of today’s problems stem from partaking in a little too much of the local vino last night. I knew I shouldn’t have had that third carafe! It doesn’t matter now as I’ve found a campsite again tonight. So there’ll be no vino, just beer! Hopefully, tomorrow will be a lot better.

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