European Cycle Tour 2005

This is a picture from Slovenia as an example of the lovely flower pots they have in front of their homes. We also found plenty of these in Hungary and Italy - lots of beautiful hanging baskets and all colours and shapes. The front lawns are not normally overgrown/natural but this is one that I could stop in front of at short notice!!!

Ciao from the top of the lovely lake. The first photo is of our coffee stop en route and you can see that it is quite hazy and difficult to see the other side of the lake. There were awesome hills one this leg - great to have such a lovely vista.

As we got closer to our destination the skies darkened and we had glorious thunder and lightning (Sandy loves this stuff) and didn't quite make it to campground before the heavens opened! Once the first downpour subsided we started to set up camp and then the rain started again and we couldn't believe it when we got hail (see second picture - about the size of moth balls). It was still a very warm 25° so it was quite funny to have hail - we put on our helmets while we set up the tent in case we got hit!!! Anyway, the weather cleared and heated up so we could have a swim soon after!!! But the thunder and lightning did continue all evening and it was AWESOME. We had forked lightning and sheet lightning.

There were a lot of cyclists and mountain bikes in this area and Carl was pleased to see Cannondales everywhere. Also lots of windsurfers and surf boards around, so the place was hopping. The last photo was taken near where we were swimming in the afternoon - this looks in the direction of Riva del Garda.

As we left Torbole we had a neat bike track to the next town and this castle was perched above us. We were finally getting into some cool mountain territory and so we cool stuff to look at as we cycled.
The third photo is near the top of some switchbacks that we cycled up - there were 9 tornantes as they are called, and it was a good climb.
Photo four is a typical view that we had on this day - lovely villages nestled among and at the foot of the hills. The photo can't really do it justice, but we try!!
Photo five is of one of the tunnels we went through this day - some of the them were short and easy and some were 1km long and very loud and quite dark!!!
You can tell we like to be by the water, because the last two photos are of Molveno where we camped for the night - a really cool ski town - right on the lake. We spoke to a guy here who told us their hail was the size of golf balls and they had dented his car!

Again, here is an example of the beautiful villages and apple orchards (and some vineyards not pictured) that we enjoyed en route to Bolzano. We got here on a Fri night so we could watch the Lions test the next morning, and also the first day of the Tour de France.
We don't have a photo, but we visited Otzi - the 5300yr old mummified remains of Otzi anyway.

On Sunday we cycled a quick 50km up to the lovely township of Merano (photos 4-6) just to keep our cycling legs warmed up! When we got back to camp our friends had already arrived!

We met Dick and Betsy in France in 2001 when they flagged us down from a cafe - they too have a tandem. We have kept in touch and they came out from USA to ride in the South Island and stayed with us two years ago. It is great to catch up with them again - they are an inspiration to us. They are in their mid 60s and are cycling in the area for 3 weeks before going rock climbing with their children!! (there are photos on the next web log page)

We spent two days sightseeing with them and catching up and it was just great!

The last two photos were taken when we went high above Bolzano on a gondola ride and enjoyed some spectacular scenery.

We ended up spending 5 days in Bolzano and enjoyed the piazza (town square) below and some wonderful time with Dick and Betsy as explained previously. We camped together and due to a very wet day on the day we (C & S) were due to leave, we stayed one more day together. The weather improved greatly in the afternoon and we were swimming in the camp pool!! They too have a trailer, and it was fun to ride out together the next day for a few km before we caught the train to Parma (home of Parmesan cheese and Parma ham) and they cycled south to Trento.
The last page is a wee visitor we had at the camp ground - he/she got into our tent for a wee look around . . . .

We stayed in Parma for one quick night due to our late departure from Bolzano. The campground is enclosed by the fortress and the first photo is of us leaving the fortress. En route to Bargo we stopped for lunch and the lovely lady actually put our sandwich together for us!!

This is just one more example of the many tunnels we have cycled through on this trip. This one is on a bike trail but we have cycled through many on roads also - some of them feel safer than others is all we can say!!

The last photo is taken at our campground just because we could! We had a table and chairs which was quite a treat. You might be able to see on our line a facecloth with New Zealand and a kiwi on it that I got for my 40th birthday - I always hang it up so that people know our origin!

From Bargo Val di Taro we headed over the hills to Levanto. This was our second big hill. The views were great! In all European countries we have been in cycling is a very common means of transport, but in Italy it is also a national pastime. Everyday we see lots of people kitted out on racing bikes doing training rides. The cool thing is they and also many motorists give us heaps of encouragement! Maybe because Mario Cipollini rode a Cannondale bike or because we are on a tandem? Anyway it is great!

After reaching the top of Passo Cento Croci, we had a really big downhill, with lots of switchbacks - the trick here is to not overheat the brakes - which get extremely hot on the tandem (we don't have a drag brake, which are a nice feature on some tandems). Our solution is to manully adjust our trailer hub brakes so the drag all the way down the hill, at the bottom they are way to hot to touch! But after a few minutes they cool enough release them.

In Levanto the campground was packed, many Dutch and Germans. And during the night we had a huge thunderstorm and it was still raining in the morning - so we had to go and find a cafe with sky TV so we could watch the 3rd Lions test - Go Tana! Also we met the manager of the Hurricanes at the Levanto campground - talk about a small world.

The first photo below is of a village we overlooked as we headed up to the pass. Second - finally we got to the top after 13km uphill. Third is of our destination - the seaside town of Levanto, which is at the Northern end of Cinque Terre. Finally the very very popular beach at Levanto.

Due to the rain in Levanto we were able to travel by train to all the seaside villages along the Cinque Terre - meaning 5 Lands. This is a National and Marine Park along the west coast and is a wonderful area. Our good Italian friend Girolamo recommended this to us.

We stopped at 3 of the 5 and each village had a share of the coast - great swimming and lovely water. Here are a selection of photos - this was a GREAT day! We were able to walk between a couple of the villages, but we could have walked from 1-5 if we had the time and inclination!

The great part about being able to travel to them by train is that the next day we rode across the ridge above them . . . the roads down into each village are VERY steep and it would have been quite tricky with the trailer to get up and down even into one of them! See the next blog for pictures from on high. . . .

On the great recommendation of our Italian friend Girolamo we cycled from Levanto over and through the National Park called Cinque Terre - meaning 5 Lands. (see previous blog)

The first photo is taken as we climbed out of Levanto on a stinking hot, humid day, even at 8.30am.
The next two are shots of 2 of the villages that we had visited on the previous day. It was great to be above them to get a different perspective, and great to climb up and along the ridge. If you are inclined to look at a map, the five are Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore.

We then enjoyed a great downhill into the town of La Spezia - you will see this port photo.
At the bottom of the hill we met up with a neat couple from South Africa who we had met in Riva del Gardo a week or so ago. We were going in different directions at the time, so it was neat to see them again - unplanned! Unfortunately we had no time to catch up because they were just beginning the uphill climb and we didn't want to delay them. We have their email and will keep in touch . . . . .

The last photo just took our fancy as we left La Spezia and started the trek toward Pisa.

We had a treat when we reached Pisa (after a short 30km which brought our total to 3000km) because we had worked out that Carl's parents - John and Dawn - would be arriving midday for a few hours on their bus tour. So with the aid of texting we met up for lunch and then sent them on their way again!!

We will be seeing them again on Saturday when we stay together for a week in a villa outside of Florence in a village called Reggello - south east of Florence.

We have continued to enjoy some stunning vistas in Tuscany, en route to Firenze. This is a hilltop village near Montepertoli on yet another blue sky day. The second photo is the view from above Grassina on the outskirts of Florence.
The next shots are taken in downtown Firenze - the Duomo, view of citta, Pont de Vecchio, a copy of Michelangelo's David (from a decorous angle as Carl wants to protect Kirsty's sensibilities - we saw the real McCoy in the museum).
Because of the tight city streets they have small electric buses - we couldn't resisit a photo.
The last two shots are taken at our campground - they take great care to have lovely flowers around everywhere.