Day
18: Harnessing the Wind; From La Spezia to Pisa in Italy
May 17, 2012;
Distance covered today: 83 Km; Total: 1259 Km
I
woke up at 6:45 and packed up. We said goodbye to the family and cought the
8:37 am train to La Spezia because it was forbidden to cycle in that area. To ride out of La Spezia was very difficult
and boring: lots of traffic, no shoulder and wind. But after we got out of the
city, the wind turned on our side and the road got better.
 |
| On the Way to Pisa |
My
bike computer had stopped working. I thought it was run out of battery so I
bought a battery for 4 Euros, but the problem was not solved. Then during our
cappuccino break, I read the manual and fixed the problem. However, I had to
reset the computer and I lost the distance I had recorded so far.
 |
| My Last Drink with my Friend, Thomas |
Very
soon at about 5, we arrived in Pisa. Thomas and I had our last break there and
we said goodbye. From then on, we had to bike alone. After Thomas left, I went
to the tourist center and got the map of the town. I checked a hostel, but I didn’t like it so I
decided to go to the Pisa Tower and then go to check the campground nearby.
I
felt a little different when I first laid eyes on the tower. It was like I
always had seen its picture in the books. I was very excited.
When I was walking around the tower, a guy with a bicycle approached me and asked me if I liked the roads in Italy. And that was the beginning of a long conversation. He was a cyclist from Germany. He is planning of going to La Spezia tomorrow. He lead me to the campground. The staff who registered me in, Rosa, was Iranian. It was nice to see another Iranian. I made a huge dinner and I am going to sleep now.
have you heard about recent earthquake in Italy. I wish you was not around that area.
ReplyDeleteAfshin jan, I don't have a clue about the earthquake. It must have been very far and a minor one. See you soon.
DeleteHi,
ReplyDeletethis is Thomas. Greetings from Corsica.
Yesterday I had the first day cycling in the rain.
I'm right in time, so I stopped early that day for a dry place to stay.
Cycling here is harder than on our trip before. Lots of up and downs, but really nice scenery.
Hope you feel well, make lots of new friends and wear always your umbrella.
Your friend Thomas
Hi Thomas,
DeleteNice to hear from you. I did the same. I woke up at 5 am to get to another campground before the rain which was supposed to be at about 5 pm. The rain started at 3 pm and cycled in the rain to find a crappy campground round the first lake of the three I had planned to see. It rained all night and this morning. I biked in the rain, not fun at all with all the rain gears. I am now camping very close to Roma, round a beautiful lake.
Talking about hills, from Pisa to the lakes, there is nothing but hills. I will write about it soon.
Talk later.
Enjoy your trip.
Hi Mansoor,
ReplyDeleteI finally got a chance to catch up on your blog. Glad to see that you are doing well and having a good time! I just read all your posts from the beginning and must say that it seems like an amazing adventure. The pictures you have posted are incredible as well!
Hope you keep meeting great people and have a good time! I will try to keep up with your blog more often now :) Wish you all the best!
Aamir
Hi Aamir,
ReplyDeleteGreat to hear from you. Your message also means my apartment is still up there, isn't it?
You read all my postings?! Wow. That means a lot to me and of course it shows that you are also interested in traveling by bicycle.
I am doing fine, except that the weather has been so wet for the last couple of days. Everything is wet. I am only 30 Km outside Rome to take a two-day break and explore the city.
All the best to you and have a wonderful summer.