Cycling in Italy

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Blog 1 - Cycling in Italy

Yep, I’m off again!

We left Portarlington (Indented Head actually) at 09:00 on Wednesday 4th August and eventually arrived in Venice at 13:00 Thursday 5th. The plane from Melbourne to Singapore (7 hrs) wasn’t full but after a three hour stopover there it was chockers then on to London (another 12.5hrs). Weather in London was sunny and a balmy 18°C but after a four hour stopover in the new Terminal 5 at Heathrow (yuk - they saved a lot of money there by not bothering about DESIGN with that one) we arrived in Venice after a two hour flight to pouring rain and a soggy slog to our first hotel. All up it was 34.5 hours travelling - no wonder the rest of the world calls us ‘down under’!

One highlight of the first leg was flying directly over Ayers Rock late in the afternoon. That massive monolith cast an enormous shadow over a normally desert landscape but was clearly saturated from slowly moving floods waters, which originated in far north Queensland more than six months ago. Apart from a nice little space invading five year old in the seat next to me on the Singapore to London leg, the rest of the trip was uneventful. Typically however I still felt like I had been through a tumble dryer when I arrived.

Oh yes, I guess I should explain the WE. There’s me, of course, and then there’s Fran (Frances), a friend who enjoys OS travel, cycling and bush walking. Already well travelled, Fran became interested in this trip a year ago and we’ve been planning it between us ever since.

I won’t talk about Venice just yet because we’re coming back for a longer stay. I can however tell you about the cycling tour from the wonderful old town of Mandova where we arrived by train from Venice and from where we started our first cycling trip. Averaging an easy 50-60 kms a day on our ‘gender generic’ bikes, the cycling takes us mostly through rural areas which spread out across the flood plains of the Po River. With mandatory coffee breaks in the many small rural towns and lunch from our saddle bags, the only uncomfortable part of the trip so far is the hot weather. Coming from a chilly Melbourne August, the temps here have been consistently in the 30’s and surprisingly humid, which hasn’t been helpful with the jetlag.

The next blog will report from Venice but until then, ciao for now.

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Photos

The boat and bikes
Arriving at the boat in Mandova

The boat
On the way from Mandova to the Po River

On the track
The group on a water break.

Comments

[willem]

Whingin Ozzie
Hi Dennis, you better beware not to become a whinging Ozzie. The long haul: you knew that when you booked and it's noting like the 42 hours from Casino, Lismore, Brisbane, Amsterdam, Alkmaar we once endured. Space invading five year old: aren't children sweet, poppy. Heathrow terminal: couldn't you just close your eyes and doze. Scorchers in Italy: there you have them al last and what do you expect from Italy in summer. Apparently, as not mentioned, you were not in the good red wine mood yet. You'll get there. Have fun. Willem

[rachel Grav]

Yo Dick!
Denbut! So good to read you... glad that you are out and about and making the rest of us look like lard asses.... enjoy your time in the saddle... xxoo Rachel