141km covered in 6hr11
average speed 22.7kmph
max 39.7kmph
odometer reads 5021km
Flat, flat, flat is the word of the day. And fortunately we are referring to terrain rather than tyres. The day passes much without incident as we roll in true smooth peloton formation from town to town on smooth Italian country roads, empty save for numerous tractors and peculiar three wheeled harvesting machines. The constant and steady progress is enjoyed by all and its a relief to be achieving big distances again, with not a mountain in sight. In fact there is nothing whatsoever on the horizon, this is quite possibly the flattest place I have ever been. On consulting the trusty Italia road map we learn that the whole area is in fact completly flat, and the only change in altitude is an area next to the coast which is actually a depression, and lies a little below sea level! Its all quite a change from the mountains we have grown to love. As we roll into the outskirts of Bologna however, things start to get a little busier. As we head towards a city ringroad we stop to consult our map. Of course, this being us, we are soon being questioned by a slow moving passing car as to our intended direction. He has time to shout a quick straight on before the traffic moves on again. Of course, the traffic comes to a stop once more and as we undertake the line of stationary traffic we meet this new spirit guide once more. The guy has parked up on the side of the road, and as we approach he sprints across the heavy (and fast moving) traffic on the other side of the road to direct us off onto a side road! He is quite insistent so with his assistance we make our way across the busy ring road, in between cars, and meet him on the otherside of the road. He gives extensive directions to fluent Philippa as Hazel and I smile blankly. We follow his directions which we soon discover are obviously more suited to lightweight mountain bikes than heavily loaded tourers. We end up dismantling panniers to carry bikes down and up two long narrow flights of stairs under a railway and then end up on a "cycle path" along a "canal" which the spirit guide insisted was "bella" and would take us straight into town. Unfortunately for us the path consists of cobbled steep bridges, boulders disguised under meadows and narrow steep embankments. Oh and more flights of stairs! Many people are delighted to see us, but unfortunately nobody seems to wish to carry our bikes up and down stairs for us! Darkness falls but the spokey dokeys do their job as we weave our way now through packed city streets. This is how we imagined cycling in Italy. Mopeds everywhere, no indication and tooting abounds. With Colby Compass at the lead however we negotiate closed roads, and streets crowded with football fans to eventually arrive at the doorstep of her friend Simone who is kindly hosting us. We eat some delicious Pakistani pizza (when in Bologna, do as the Bolognesians do) and retire to our beds, absolutely exhausted by sunshine!
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