We did it!

We left Matera this morning and for once found our way out of town quite easily. Bruce, Rob, Charlie, Dan and Jack all welcomed us into Taranto at several points on the way in and at one stage followed us  with hazard lights flashing and a big notice to say who we were and what we had done!  Champagne was waiting for us on our doorstep and we felt very special. We've cycled almost 3000 kms, had about 4 punctures between us, one boil, one 'ski knee' lots of laughs and our friendship remains in tact! Charlie has taken some great shots of the last couple of days which i will put on the blog tomorrow. We are both very sad its over and.....yes! we are wondering what to do next!!

Pics from our journey across the Appenines.

We watched Lake Conzo North east of Potenza getting smaller and smaller as we climbed higher and higher 

We reached the peak of Mt Carruozzo after cycling along a ridge which separated two hills/mountains. Amazinly we looked over three valleys and it was absolutely stunning. We will never drive along an Autostrada again without wondering what the alternative route might be like.

Even a workman at the peak was surprised when two Brits appeared over the top. He took a photo of us with his own camera as well as this one! At the end of his day and several hours later, we heard non stop tooting behind us. He gave us great encouragement once again!

Castelgrande

Muro Lucano

We fed our drivers well! Dan and Charlie actually asked for one each of these enormous pizzas but the  chef warned them off!

With no car or caravan sal and i spent our last night in Matera......on carnival night. We only had our cycling gear, toothbrush and nighties . Thank goodness none of our children were there because we had to go out .......

in our nighties !!!!!! We got some very strange looks !!

We can't believe its our last night!

...and we are in a chintzy little B and B in Matera. Our lovely, loyal Mondeo estate finally gave up the ghost yesterday having 'climbed every mountain' and down again. The clutch has completely burned out and the steering is dodgy. So the last two nights have been away from the caravan too. We have just had the most extraordinary few days climbing over the back of the Appenine mountain range. At 3600 ft (1206m) we had our photo taken by a man working on the road up there. Goodness knows what he will do with it but he was clearly impressed! We crossed a long long long flat ridge that crossed over to another set of hills and allowed us to see three valleys at once. We have been through forests, looked up at villages with castles on the top, then a few minutes later found ourselves looking back down at them! As we came down again we found harvest in full swing which is weird to see in June. The weather is very hot and the up hills have been constant but we are pleased to report that we are coping well and haven't had to push our bikes once! Tomorrow is going to be all down hill...yippee and our welcoming committee will be Rob, Bruce, Jack, Dan and Charlie. Hope the champagne is chilling.

The Last ZAG

Now we are on the home straight - having turned inland just north of Naples. Our biggest problem has been finding campsites. Poor old Jack has has taken the caravan up steep  hills and down narrow streets looking for sites. One night was spent in a restaurant carpark as no alternative was available. On the other hand, our bike ride has been fabulous. Many long uphill stretches on the old Via Appia as we crossed the Appenines. We are now much faster and can easily manage a 5 or 6 mile hill and then do not brake so much on the downhill bits. The views have been spectacular. Only 30 years ago this area was devastated by an earthquake but there is no sign of it now other than the rather opulent houses that have been built since.
Today, Bruce brought back Charlie and Dan who will be our drivers for the last 3 or 4 days  to Taranto.

 Our car park caravan site

 Parilese where we joined the old Via Appia

 The campsite at Laghi di Monticchio found on Andrew Sykes' blog. It saved the day - Thanks Andrew!

  The view from the old Via Appia.

The Coast Road towards Naples

The first half was fantastic. Georgeous beaches, pretty campsites and straight roads. When the going became too hot we just pushed our bikes onto the beach and jumped into the sea. A few minutes sunbathing afterwards and we were dry and ready to start again.

 Sal in her red hat

 Lovely sandy beach near Teracina.

 Jack joined us as our driver and came to meet us on the spare bike. His backside is still sore!

The pretty town of Sperlonga

Our Day In Rome

If you are mad enough to cycle through Rome............do it on a Sunday! Most of the roads leading to the major sights were closed to cars and buses. It was amazing, cruising straight up to the Coliseum on our trusty bikes. We finshed the Via Flaminia, cycled through the city and straight out the other side. We would have liked to have stayed on the Via Appia but changed our route to cycle down the coast road instead.

The Trevi Fountain (with all the tourists editted out)

 More ancient ruins!!...... They were everywhere

Guess where we are and where we come from!

All roads lead to Rome !!!

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And finally we have almost made it. We have to do a final 50 miles tomorrow to get to the city and then we'll cycle through the centre on Sunday. Bruce is here for the weekend and will tow the caravan round the ring road !

Distance covered so far

2046.75 km
1271 miles

Assisi

Zig Zagging our way down italy

We finished the first of the Zigs (The Via Emilia) The best bits were cycling straight through the city centres....Bologna, Faenza, Forli and Rob arriving for a week to tow the caravan and set up camp. The worst bits were the filthy weather, the very busy bits of the Emilia, getting lost on the little roads when we tried to escape it.( Italian sign posts and even the roads have little in common with any of our many maps. At one point we had to be rescued by Rob as we arrived at a river to find no way across despite it being marked on the map !) and the coast at Rimini is pretty horrendous. We actually couldn't see the sea as so many deck chairs and parasols were in the way. The Italians themselves are amazing. Friendly and helpful all the time.

Top of San Marino

Looking down as we crossed the Passo del Furlo

We looked down on this along the Via Flaminia

One of many hilltop mediaeval towns

At Pessaro we turned inland and started the Zag, following the Via Flaminia. Almost immediately as we peddalled through the Appenine mountains (in the valleys that cut through, although not completely devoid of hills !) the country side became quite beautiful. All the way along perched on high hill tops are walled mediaeval villages and towns peering down on us. We went up to a couple (by car )...Morciano di Romagna and Gemmano were made more poignant by the fact that Sals Father and his regiment  was protecting the area in 1944. We were staying in the little principality of St Marino. as we headed towards Umbria we stopped at the Italian home of the Wiseman family, next door neighbours of Rob and Sal's in Wendling. Guy and Alice were very good hosts...too good actually !!!!
We passed through the Passo del Furlo and followed the original Flaminia which runs along side the modern fast road. We had a a long climb of about 4 miles towards Sheggia. It wasn't easy and Rob wasn't expecting us to do it without walking...but we did. The four mile cycle down the other side made it worth while.

Rainy Days !!

Italy

It really is an extraordinary country! The Italians have given us amazing support. They say we are ' ill in the head' or we must have 'diesel in our legs'

 Sal was rescued in the town of Lodi the other day. She was cycling on her own as i had done the route the day before. She was caught in a torrential storm with thunder and lightning and a car stopped. Inside was a family of four, two children sound asleep in the back and their parents. Sal could not find her way out of the town and the couple insisted she got in, bike and all, so they could take her to the right place. The bike sat between the children ( who never woke) and sal was crouched in the boot! That was an extreme example, but we have had people walking the length of a street with us to get us on to the right road and lorry drivers stop on roundabouts if they see us floundering (we don't do that often i promise !!!) Signposting and cartography is a big weakness in this part of the world. Only a few signs have road numbers on them, village names vary from map to map. Yesterday we cycled to a village with a river we had to cross. My map (Michelin) showed no bridge and Sals (AA) showed it did have one. Guess which one was right! Good old Rob had to come to our rescue but had to do a 90 mile round trip!!

A bit about Anne Mustoe

Anne Mustoe was head mistress at my school a short while after i had left. In about 1982 whilst on a train in India during the long summer holiday, she glanced out of the window and saw a lone european cyclist and was filled with envy. She decided there and then to resign her post and to cycle round the world. Two years later she set off on a bike donated by the school and did exactly that. Sal and I are now following her tracks in Italy. She decided to cycle along the three main Roman roads..the Via Emilia which is from Milan to Rimini. The Via Flaminia from Rimini to Rome and the Via Appia which is from Rome to Brindisi. All the roads are pretty straight and have been brilliantly constructed so that you hardly feel you are going up hill (despite signs to ski resorts!) and don't have to brake going down hill (not that we do these days!) Of course 30 years on the roads are much busier and there have been some hairy, scary moments on the Emilia which is now just about under our belts. It is fantastic to cycle straight through the centre of a city ( Bologna, Faenza, Forli) and straight out the other side! The city centres themselves are beautiful...paving stones, huge piazzas, churches, clock towers, arches and of course cafes, restaurants and bars galore. Tonight we are close to Rimini in the little principality of San Marino. Rob is here to drive us back to our starting point tomorrow which would be much closer if I hadn't left my phone on a bridge wall and had to cycle 10 km back to retrieve it! I would love to tell Anne Mustoe about our adventures but she sadly died two years ago whilst cycling somewhere in Russia, 27 years after first setting out and still on the bike that had been her leaving gift from St Felix.

Swiss Route 3

Just a bit about this as the Swiss have really done themselves proud. We are now a long long way from our last 'little red sign' that was Route 3. From Basle to Chiasso we didn't have to look at a map or a GPS. Our little red signs took us through farm yards, along river banks, up hills, down dales, through orchards and allotments, across building sites, cities and housing estates and even up and down a mountain pass. It was always kind, trying hard not to work us too hard and always there or just around the corner. Well done Switzerland........and then to Italy !!!!

Sorry!

Hello everyone,
Sorry we have been out of touch - we have had internet troubles yet again. We are well and nearly at Bologna!

Love Mary Ann and Sally (by proxy again) xx