Off we go!

....Well we nearly started with a disaster. Got onto wrong platform at Norwich and realised we were too late to get our bikes onto the train.... it went without us.! All ended well though and no horrendously expensive extra ticket..Everyone felt rather sorry for us !
Boris J has done the most amazing job of cycle paths in London and we zig zagged our way from Liverpool St Station to Weybridge crossing the river 5 times ! We stopped to have lunch with Ella in the shadow of Big Ben and The H of P. It took us about 5 hours in the end to get from East to West and with our rather circuitous route (not getting lost once) we travelled about 50 miles along the Thames. Only one 'near miss' We were on one of these new Super cycle Highways in Chelsea and Sal slowed down for a taxi pulling out of a garage. He thought she was stopping and put his foot down. How Sal managed to swerve round him I 'll never know, but she did, with me SCREAMING at anyone who would listen as broken hips and squashed bikes flashed into my brain. Both our hearts thudded for quite a time after that !
There is so much to be proud of in London. It's bustling, clean, exciting, dramatic, fast and furious and beautiful. The river traffic changed at every bridge starting with HMS Belfast, ferries and working boats then the houseboats, then the rowers and then the cruisers. We passed through fabulous old markets, soaked up everything in Westminster, goggled at the houses in Chelsea. We crossed Richmond Park and cycled passed Hampton Court which is completely breathtaking. Today we saw bits of London we just didn't know existed. Off to Reading tomorrow and the kennet and Avon Canal Path.

Planning.

Two more sleeps! We are catching the train to London on Friday morning and aiming for Weybridge. Not too far cos I know what we are like and we will no doubt stop at a billion London Landmarks!. Boris J has sent us the most amazing map of cycle routes in London (absolutely free) and we now have to choose our route from Liverpool St Station to Putney bridge. There is so much choice. Do we go North of the Thames and go passed St Pauls, up Fleet St, round Trafalgar Square, passed Buck Palace and round Hyde Park Corner into Knightsbridge or do we go across the river at Tower Bridge and go passed the Golden Hinde and HMS Belfast, the London Eye, Tate Modern, The Globe and the Royal Festival Hall.
All exciting and there are other choices too. We will decide tomorrow!
Sal is already packed. I'm not. Are we likely to stay in our cycling gear all day ? Will we get away with going out in our nighties in England ? WE WILL NOT TAKE TOO MUCH LUGGAGE. Noooooo! Actually half our gear so far is spare inner tubes, pumps, puncture repair kits, lights etc. Oh we are so 'bikey'
Can't wait to get started.

The final count down !

The last day took us from Matera to Taranto where there welcoming party were waiting for us!!

Sal having a sedate last day's ride

Mary Ann was in more of a rush!

                                           

We were accompanied in to Taranto by our support vehicle



Jack sprayed us with champagne as we reached the apartment.

Even our bikes got some champagne



Our support crew minus Ella and Dan



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.