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.
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| Top of San Marino |
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| Looking down as we crossed the Passo del Furlo |
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| We looked down on this along the Via Flaminia |
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One of many hilltop mediaeval towns
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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.
