Bicycle Touring Italy

This week’s Travelsonabike2 bicycle touring on this day post is again from Italy on the 6th of June 2010. It’s been a good day, and I passed a milestone, which I was pretty proud of.

There is a more embellished version of this post, along with all the posts from my Italian bicycle tour, in my “Travels on a Bike 2 Italy” tour book, available to buy from Amazon.

Sunday 6th June. Marina di Casta to Marina di Carrara. 80 miles.

I’ve had a good ride today on quiet roads. Much of it has been spent cycling along the service roads parallel to the autostrada. They were excellent, and I stopped at one of the motorway services for an ice cream. Some of the looks I got from cars pulling off the autostrada, with me sat there, bike fully loaded, eating an ice cream. I think they all thought I’d cycled up the motorway to get there.

I cycled through Pisa today and, of course, diverted to see the tower. The Piazza di Miracol, where the famous leaning tower of Pisa is located, along with the Grand Cathedral and Baptistry. They were stunning and looked magnificent, along with the immaculate green lawns of the Piazza. That tower leans at quite an angle. And surprisingly, it wasn’t that busy around the Piazza; I was probably there a little early before most tourists arrived.

I passed the 10,000-mile mark today, not on this trip, but since I bought my bike two years ago. Not bad going, really, considering that three years ago, the furthest I’d ever cycled was probably about ten miles. Today is also the first day since arriving in Italy nearly 1300 miles ago that I haven’t taken any painkillers. Things are looking up. I might have to have a beer or two to celebrate tonight!

Subscribe to my blog and follow me as I travel around on my bike. Plus, as a subscriber, you’ll be among the first to receive news and updates on future tours. And, of course, you can always follow me on social media: Facebook, Bluesky, Threads, X, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest. I’m also on Flickr, where you’ll find pictures from all my tours, along with a monthly photo update that I publish each month.

If you want to find out if Garry’s away touring at the moment and check his location, visit the Where’s Garry page.

Bicycle Touring Italy

This week’s Travelsonabike2 bicycle touring on this day post comes from Italy on the 30th of May 2010. One of my favourite forms of travel today, and it was free.

There is a more embellished version of this post, along with all the posts from my Italian bicycle tour, in my “Travels on a Bike 2 Italy” tour book available to buy from Amazon.

Sunday 30th May. Bova Marina, Italy to Alessio Siculo, Sicily. 64 Miles.

Not so many miles today, mainly due to getting lost, taking a ferry, and sightseeing.

I decided last night that I was going to go to Sicily. After all, it’s only a ferry ride away. And after a bit of hasty homework last night, I decided to get the ferry from Reggio di Calabria. But when I arrived in Reggio, I got lost and couldn’t find the ferry terminal. Oh well, perhaps I won’t go to Sicily after all.

Giving up on going to Sicily, I continued to cycle on and reached Villa San Giovanni, where I noticed I could get a ferry to Sicily and managed to find the ferry terminal this time. As I approached what I thought was the ticket office, I got ushered to the boarding area. And before I knew it, I was boarding the ferry. I thought maybe I’d have to pay as I disembarked, but no, I just rode off with the other traffic, bargain.

I’m not too sure if I’m going to cycle around the entire island yet; I’ll see how I get on tomorrow. My first impression of the island is that everybody seems very friendly. Nearly everybody I passed said hello, or should I say “ciao”. I just hope I don’t wake up with a horse’s head next to me tomorrow morning.

Subscribe to my blog and follow me as I travel around on my bike. Plus, as a subscriber, you’ll be among the first to receive news and updates on future tours. And, of course, you can always follow me on social media: Facebook, Bluesky, Threads, X, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest. I’m also on Flickr, where you’ll find pictures from all my tours, along with a monthly photo update that I publish each month.

If you want to find out if Garry’s away touring at the moment and check his location, visit the Where’s Garry page.

Bicycle Touring Italy

This week’s Travelsonabike2 bicycle touring on this day post comes from Italy on the 23rd-May-2010. It seems as far back as 2010, I was having trouble with my legs.

There is a more embellished version of this post, along with all the posts from my Italian bicycle tour, in my “Travels on a Bike 2 Italy” tour book available to buy from Amazon.

Sunday 23rd May. Santa Maria a Mare to Fossacesia. 84 Miles.

The good news today is that the pain in my leg seems to have eased. The bad news is that I now have a blister on my bum! Which might explain why my leg pain isn’t as bad; I’m distracted by the pain from the blister. As a result, the song that keeps going around in my head. Money for Nothing, by Dire Straits. And the line that goes, “Maybe get a blister on your thumb.” Except I replaced the word thumb.

It’s been a pleasant ride today, apart from the pain from my blister and the heat. It’s been very hot. I’ve not seen a cloud in the sky all day. As I cycled along, on my left, I could see the tourist beaches with their sunbeds and parasols neatly lined up in regimental lines. On my right, away in the distance, I could see a range of snow-capped mountains.

I think the winters must be harsh here. There are plenty of road signs with pictures of tyres with snow chains on. It’s hard to believe in this heat.

A Good Day

I had a pleasant last 20 miles, cycling through small fishing villages, with the fishermen’s nets hanging at the end of piers in the beautiful turquoise Adriatic sea.

Subscribe to my blog and follow me as I travel around on my bike. Plus, as a subscriber, you’ll be among the first to receive news and updates on future tours. And, of course, you can always follow me on social media: Facebook, Bluesky, Threads, X, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest. I’m also on Flickr, where you’ll find pictures from all my tours, along with a monthly photo update that I publish each month.

If you want to find out if Garry’s away touring at the moment and check his location, visit the Where’s Garry page.