Day 15 - Bolsena to Rome

Sorry it's been almost 2 weeks and much of our blog audience will have got up dusted themselves down and wondered off to pastures and blogs new by now. Apologies for the delay, normal service has been resumed. 

Well I know you know we made it, so that's not really news but what happened that last day? 

Well let me tell you to the best of my knowledge. I have to say that for two reasons. 1. it's been a while since it all happened and 2. The day started with a hangover. 

First I want to thank Jeff, Chris and John for stepping in and writing Day 14. That's a day I'd like to forget but will sadly remember for the rest of my life. My beautiful companion and best friend Beanz died after a very sudden illness. I shall not dwell on it here but blog writing was not on the agenda that day. 

We spent the evening on the shore of lake Bolsena, a beautiful and peaceful place. I sat and quietly toasted my friend remembering our life together whilst the sun set on her life. 

Then my friends came to share the views and we drank some more, and some more, and then the Limoncello came out. I mean there was no point carrying it to Rome was there? Whilst most sensible people went to bed John, Jeff, Chris, Jill and I continued. After a few bottles of cheap and frankly nasty red wine we decided to follow it up with cheap and nasty Limoncello! Not a recipe you'll find in any sports nutritionists handbook before a 70 odd mile ride. 

In the morning of our 15th day on the road we all went through the ritual for one last time. Water bottles filled, back pockets stuffed with food, tyres pumped up and bags packed. Between the peloton every part of the anatomy ached, for some it was our head, for others bottoms, knees or legs. We all pulled out our D2R shirts to wear for the day ready for the afternoon photo call and as an unspoken allegiance to the team we had become. 

There was some excitement at the thought of what we were about to achieve and a certain relief that the relentlessness of the same routine every day would soon be over. There was also some reluctance to end what had been a fantastically beautiful ride and the shared camaraderie that only comes from shared suffering and experiences. 

Soon though the keys to our little camping chalets were handed back, Garmins were started and we were in formation back on the road and all thoughts turned to the wheel in front and no further. We rode along parallel with the lake edge and climbing up to a point where the view of the lake was more splendid and worth the incline (as views tend to be). You have to earn the view I think. Put the work in going up and you will be rewarded for your effort when you stop to rest at the top. A good philosophy for life. 

We had left early before breakfast so didn't take much persuading to stop for coffee and pastries at a little road side cafe. The patron probably thought human locusts had arrived as his pastry cabinet looked rather sorry for itself by the time we left. Such was the speed of the plague in demolishing food and coffee poor Massimo had the unenviable task of interrogating each of us to recall just how much of the damage we had each inflicted. With a list that sort of resembled the truth we climbed back on our bikes and rode on though small towns and villages towards a lunch stop. There were a couple of minor hills but the usual inspection of the route profile the night before hadn't conjured up any nightmares or horrified expressions as the days in the Alps had. 

We were all fairly relaxed with a relatively short days ride ahead and with an early start this was going to be easy right? We rode along chatting, two or three abreast on quiet rural roads. Had we been more focused we would have noticed that they became quieter and quieter until suddenly there was no road. 

Route mapping for rides like this has got much easier in recent years with websites such as ridewithgps.com and mapmyride.com it's easy to click your way across a continent in a couple of hours. Then you can check out your two dimensional route to assess the road quality using street view. Random samples or viewing of junctions to ensure they are negotiable by bike leaves you with more confidence than blindly picking a road from a map. On the whole it works but not every mile can be checked easily so occasionally things don't go to plan. This was one of those times. The road literally ran out and there in front of us was a house with high Steel gates padlocked across the 'road' we could see the gate at the far end and the road we wanted to be on just beyond it but we couldn't get there. So with some hiking and scrambling around in fields we agreed there was no route through even if we were prepared to carry our bikes over fields to get there. 

Matt had loaded open source maps onto his Garmin where Jeff and I had City Navigator maps from Garmin. Today open source was a clear winner. Matt could see a level of 'track' that our 'on road' maps couldn't see. We were about to take a detour off road on our lovely road bikes, no one was keen  on a 20-30km detour at this stage. We all wanted to go to Rome and only Rome. After polling a couple of passing motorists with our plan we were confident of success so headed off road in search of our course. This was Strada Bianche territory! Pausing to let everyone whose mountain bike skills were rusty or non existent Matt waited at a junction. "You can't go that way" exclaimed Denise, it's private and forbidden it says on that sign. "What sign?" We can't read Italian we are ignorant British tourists we yelled as we passed the sign. Besides a local just told us we can get through, that's as good an authorisation as we need. The whole Italian contingent held back slightly and followed us mad English on along our proposed route. I am not sure if they just thought we were mad but followed as they had no map themselves or were happy to ride along behind. I am sure had they been closer to us we would have heard the winces of pain as their beautiful Colnagos bounced over boulders and gravel. To be honest I didn't ever ask them for fear of what they might have said. Mi Scusi Giorgio y Susy. :-( 

Then just as our pioneering British spirit was beginning to wane Tarmac appeared. Matt had re found our course. We were headed for Rome again. Hoorah......! Matt, nice work. 

We rode on through the last few pretty towns and never quite came to the unglamourous suburbs that rides into London or Paris seem to entail. 

Jeff's route into Rome (aside from the little incident earlier, which I don't hold him responsible for) was a marvel. We rode for a while downhill along straight perfect Tarmac between maze fields and for a time enjoyed our bikes and the wind in our wheels. "Let's ride our bikes really fast" Chris shouted as he rode past me. "Come on, hop on". I didn't need asking twice and before we knew it there was a small peloton working together to achieve maximum speed. No care in the world except how much faster can we go? Then the road changed and the need to regroup and wait for the back to catch up signalled the end to the fun but as we merged together the need to ride as a team to avoid traffic hazards and losing people was paramount. The crazed Italian drivers never materialised in the way I had envisaged from the stories I heard pre ride. If you have ridden a bike in central London then Rome is no worse. Just assume everyone is out to kill you and ride accordingly. 

Saturday afternoon arrival did seem to be a good relatively quiet time. Avoid Sunday, the Pope emerges and so does most of the tourist and catholic population of Rome. Saturday afternoon was a relative ghost town. 

We rode to join a cycle path which follows the Tiber into central Rome, its good quality Tarmac and remarkably free of glass and dog poo as so many British cycle paths can be. It meandered and hugged the Tiber for about 6-7 miles (possibly more) until we emerged near the Castle D'Angelo. Two punctures in the final mile tested our patience but we finally rode on along the cobbled road that leads directly to the front of St Peters Basilica. 

There before the Basilica were Liz and Angela our fabulous support for the week as well as Paul Mewis who had arrived the day before and hired a moped to come and join us at the lake. He instantly became a hit with the peloton, a moped outrider to point out the location of the Landy and our lunch spot was brilliant. A few more days with us and we could of had him motor pacing us uphill! I half expected Angela to appear riding pillion carrying a chalk board to show the time gaps to the main peloton while we had our little jolly off the front of the pack. 

The usual support was by now joined at the finish by my great friend and Italian Tifosi Nicola Baughan. Nicola loves all things Italian and speaks Italian fluently. She wasn't going to pass up an excuse to spend a couple of days in Italy even if she was fresh from the beaches of Sicily. She had arrived the day before with my beautiful Stepdaughter Kirsty who was making her first trip to Rome as a treat for all her hard work during her AS levels. You see hard work = just reward. It was fantastic to see them and quite emotional after the previous days. I was so pleased they were there. Thanks both of you, I shall never forget it. 

So we all made it safely to Rome, mostly stronger physically and also probably mentally too. Some aches and for some of us some pains but intact and pleased to have completed a fabulous journey in every sense of the word. I am sure over coming weeks we will all digest the achievement and reflect on the lessons learnt and the experiences had. 

Nick and Alex have raised over £1000 at the last count for the Kalabash Trust. Well done boys two spectacular achievements. I am sure they will have also learnt much about themselves and hopefully how to fix a puncture on the side of the road! 

Friendships previously forged are stronger than ever and stories and memories of our days on the roads will be shared for many years to come. 

Thank you to my fellow riders for putting up with me and my Bianchi, which just wants to ride fast. it's an Italian Stallion after all. 

We all stayed that night within reach of St Peters Square at the Hotel Columbus which was ideal with secure parking on site and somewhere to store the bikes.

We enjoyed a last supper together before the peloton disbanded and most of us stayed on to explore Rome. It has a lot more to offer than Gibraltar it has to be said (sorry Gibraltar). I will add a selection of photos from our days in Rome but it was very nice to pack and wave off the Landy not having to do the drive back this time. That pleasure was left to Paul and John. Chapeau boys. 

The Bianchi and all the other bikes and riders are now safely back in the UK or home and I am sat here on the train to Durham, about to run the Great North Run with my best friend Kathryn Chester. Another exciting chapter ahead. It will be Kath's first but we shall run together and finish together.

Kath's husband Martin has invited me on another epic ride next year. 6 countries in 6 days. Of course I thought about the offer for all of 2 minutes, absolutely I want to come! Life is for living and I want to spend as long as I can in this life living it happily, sharing experiences with great friends and keeping active as long as possible. 

There is a lot of time to think when you ride your bike and over the last two weeks I have thought a lot about all sorts of things. However I thought most about how important friends are in life? It may seem like a silly or obvious point but there's more to it than that. I have thought about it a lot and spent a large number of hours silently just appreciating my friends. 

So I would like to reiterate a toast I made on that night in Bolsena. "To best friends and loyal companions" I urge you to raise a glass and join me. 

This blog is dedicated to one of the best, to Beanz....

Here are a selection of photos from Rome:

Carb loading for the welcoming committee...

Swiss guard at the Vatican with Kirsty and I. 

Piazza Navona

The Pantheon

My favourite, the Pantheon.

Our last night in Rome. L-R Jill, Jeff, Chris, John (JP), Kirsty & Bevens et al. on table behind. 

A lovely memento of the trip bought for me by Nick and Alex. 

"Stripey"

St Peters Square (it's round!)

St Peters Basilica

Kirsty, threw a coin in. Tradition says that's a sure sign you'll be back. By bike perhaps...?

The Trevi Fountain.

The Spanish steps.

Vatican museum.

Artwork in the Vatican. We cycled across there...! 

A sneaky pic of the Cistine chapel and my nostrils! 

Kirsty on the staircase in the Vatican museum. 

Day 15 - Bolsena to Rome

WE MADE IT! 

I will write a proper post in next 24 hours but just to say we are all here in Rome. Arrived safely and intact. 

More news with photos Tomorrow.....

Day 14 - Monticiano to Bolsena

Sadly for personal reasons, Jane isn’t writing the blog herself today and the task has been taken over by Guest bloggers Chris and Jeff.  So today this won’t meet the literary standard Jane has been setting and which has been so complimented by her readers.

Today Jane was told that her loved friend and constant and adorable companion Beanz had to be put to sleep.  It was very sad for all of us to see Jane upset.  Beanz was well known to many, and will be sadly missed.  Tomorrow we will ride to Rome to commemorate the memory of the Beanz.

  

It was a tough day out for the peleton today, which had a number of us reduced to walking the bikes up a short but very grippy section of Etruscan countryside.  Over 3.000 feet of climbing in one hit after a couple of early warm up climbs was challenging but by lunchtime the task was accomplished – a testament to how we have all got stronger over the last couple of weeks.  The compensation was some sublime countryside with views straight out of a “this is the best of Italy” guide.  The compensation for the hills was a number of coffee stops, which gave us sufficient energy to move on to the next coffee stop and the next one.

And at the highest point of the day when the grey mist of exhaustion was blanking out the views our wonderful support crew of Elizabeth and Angela had laid out a fantastic picnic which restored our spirits and set us off on the final stretch of the day.

One final coffee stop with added  ice cream was sufficient for us to glide the final few miles to a lovely campsite by a lake.  When we have forgotten the hills we will all remember a fantastic day.

The only other incident worth noting was Matt’s effort to knock an Italian car off the road.  Good try and probably honours even but we’ re giving the win to Matt on the basis of the weight discrepancy.

Day 13 - Lucca to Monticiano

Today's ride was through Tuscany and we were all looking forward to some amazing Tuscan scenery. It didn't disappoint. 

The peloton was the biggest of the trip today. After the arrival of Denise and Massimo yesterday their friends Giorgio and Susie also joined us today. Giorgio has a clear pedigree in cycling as I am told his father was the trainer for Fausto Coppi. I rode behind him for a short while and noticed he wore a helmet with gold decorations and world champion stripes on it. I assumed a connection to Paolo Bettini the italian ex world champion and Olympic gold medalist in Bejing and asked if he was a fan. Yes he said "He lives near here". then Massimo told me that he also had dinner with him a few weeks ago and proceeded to show me photos of them together. I was in awe!! 

We also were joined by Mark Hudson who many years ago (in fact 2008 he reminded me) came with us to ride Vatternrundan in Sweden which is a 186 miles around a lake and ridden in one day. He met us at the hotel with Laura his wife and children and they became a second support car for the day. 

Leaving The hotel in Lucca after breakfast there was a beautiful view of the sun coming up. which felt like a taster of the incredible scenery to come. 

I took up the back rider position and we hadn't even gone beyond the city walls of Lucca before we had a puncture to fix but 10 mins later we were on the road again weaving between the city traffic. Somehow a peloton of 15 had more gravitas with the traffic than one of 11 or 10. It's amazing how at a roundabout holding up a hand on an outstretched arm to command the traffic will do. They really are somehow willing to accept its your right of way and not theirs. 

The first 40 miles we were a disciplined road train even though we had never ridden altogether before. We rode mostly in a line and our average speed went up considerably. It made the miles tick by quickly and on several occasions I had to admire the view from the back end as a snaking peloton weaves around the corners with wheel rims glinting in the sunshine. We looked for all the world like a well oiled team after a few days on the road the novices had learnt a lot and it showed. We looked good and it was exciting to he a part of the team. 

Riding through one town the route took us straight through the market. I am surprised no one came out the other side with clothes hanging from their handlebars we were so close to the stalls.

Then we started to climb the tuscan hills which was hard in the heat of the day but not impossible. The views were spectacular. 

There were only a few things as the back to deal with but mostly we moved on and came to a lovely lunch spot from our fine support crew. I wasn't hungry though and tried to force some food down. Today wasn't my day and my legs weren't as full of energy as I would have liked. 

The hotel had a pool so I handed my responsibility over to Chris for the tail end position and Jeff, JP and Matt joined me on the express train to the hotel. 33 miles  until we could swim. 

The motivation was high to get to the finish and we worked hard between the 4 of us to get there. The last three miles were on busy dual carriageway which we have subsequently discovered bikes are banned from. It didn't stop us though and the speed we were doing almost equated that with most trucks. We quickly adapted the usual changeover routine of pulling out onto the carriageway to allow the rest of the team to come through. With cars and trucks passing so close and so frequently (don't read that bit please dad!) we made use of the lay-bys every mile or so. The lead rider pulled off into the lay by while the other riders came past. Then the previous lead rider pulled back onto the carriageway at the end of the train. It was fun and we all four of us enjoyed the last 30 miles immensely. I felt like I didn't have the legs today though and was holding the others back. We made it to the end though without incident and hopefully I didn't most of my share of work on the front. 

We made it to the hotel before the forecast thunderstorms (which have still not arrived). Our reward a quick dip in the pool before everyone else arrived. 

Just as I was walking to the pool the Landy arrived and I felt terribly guilty at the thought of the bags to be unloaded and the rooms to be sorted so after a micro dip in the pool went to help the support crew. It's not their Job to wait on us hand and foot and I see no reason for  them to be carting our bags in and out. For anyone who has been a support driver I say it's more exhausting than actually riding an event. So the more help they can have the better. I had the ultimate pleasure of serving them Prosecco while they took a quick dip in the pool. 

THANK YOU SUPPORT! You have been amazing and I hope you realise how valued all your efforts are. 

I am afraid between my duties at the back and constantly racing to catch up or racing off the front with the fast boys I took very few photos today. Having no energy I wasn't up for stopping for pics then knowing the inevitable chase to catch back on would be coming. Matt has given me a couple of his to add in so hopefully it won't be too dull today! 

Day 12 Borghetto Di Vara to Lucca

Today was meant to be an easy day! Only 53 miles of mostly flat roads to cover we tired to set off early from the lovely hotel Sonno D'Autore. They were so lovely and helpful we heartily recommend them if you happen to he cycling through with 10 other mates! 

My front derailleur delimiter must have loosened with all the vibration from the road as my chain started  to drop over the big chain ring yesterday so a small amount of facing got it back to normal and then Jeff had a similar issue with his headset and Chris had some other minor mechanical. So after a hearty breakfast and good bike faff we set off. Then I remembered my sunglasses were on top of the car bonnet. Oops! So I headed back to grab them. As its only a 53 mile day it wasn't going to be hard to be self sufficient and let the support team take some rest so I didn't want to bother them with giving my glasses back once we were on the road. 

I then spent the next few miles catching up with the others and I loved that ride. It's just so special sometimes to be out on your bike in the early hours of the day when the light seems so fragile and there is just you and your bike working together. The Tarmac was great quality, the road wide and the clouds were creeping up the valley between the trees as was I. I rode along with fresh legs and felt not a care in the world. 

After a few miles I turned across a river and at some temporary traffic lights met Jeff and John, the rest of the peloton had gone through the lights already. Then we discovered Chris was behind them but I hadn't seen him and had just come along the route. He didn't appear after about 5 mins so we called him and sure enough he was lost. He got back on track and was close by from the land,arks he was seeing so we waited again. Still no Chris and another phone call revealed he was now lost again. Chris has been using a Garmin 800 to navigate with and loaded the same routes that we all have but those with open source maps do seem to have a harder time following them (except it has to be said, for Matt who is clearly a talented Navigator and never seems to have problems finding his way.) 

So with Chris still last we agreed for him to wait at a particular spot and we would come and find him. Except in the interim the Land Rover happened across him and got him to follow them, so now we were off course looking for a moving target and struggling to find it. Then with a few more phone calls we found somewhere we all knew to meet at and the Land Rover handed Chris over to us. So then we were a group of 4 and had a good ride working together to make up for lost time. We stopped for the obligatory morning coffee and then continued along flat rods through industrial and built up areas. The road surface was poor and to be honest it was hard work riding in formation and watching at every minute for a crazy Italian driver to pull out in front of us. 

Chris's cleats on his shoes have taken a hammering with all the walking/ploughed fields etc and he wanted to call in to a small bike shop we passed. They didn't have any cleats for him but they did have an amazing array of old bike paraphernalia which I am sure the owner would have told many storied about had our Italian been up to scratch. 

Shortly after the bike shop we mad the last and only real climb of the day a relatively short one before dropping down into the plane where Lucca sits. Our Hotel tonight is in an old Monastery slightly up on a hill overlooking Lucca and the olive groves. It's a fabulous spot. 

Despite the extra mileage (6 extra) we finished mid afternoon and a few minutes after the others then a quick shower and change and we all took a taxi to town to do some sightseeing in Lucca which is a beautiful walled city. The main square is an oval apparently! I was under the assumption that a square was a square and an oval was oval but seemingly not it my travelling companions are to be believed. 

 

A spot of lunch and an ice cream before a wander around the town and we were ready to head back to the hotel for some R&R. Waiting for the taxi we looked around a bike shop only to see this world champions jersey hanging up. It belonged to Cipollini whose home town was Lucca. In two more weeks the UCI road world championships will start here in Lucca and ride to Florence so we shall all be looking out on the TV for places we recall I am sure. 

Alex's father Massimo and mother Denise have joined us today and will ride to the finish with us. Massimo is Italian so we have plenty of local knowledge with us. With two more Italian linguists to help with the ice cream and coffee stops we should be sorted. I am sure Alex will be happy to have them around too. 

Massimo has already triumphed by finding us a beautiful hilltop restaurant for our dinner tonight. :-)

Lastly some of you will be aware of my love for all things turquoise or 'celeste' as Bianchi call it. I did see one bike in town to rival the colour of mine but I am not sure it would cope so well on the climbs....