Via Francigena summary :)
What a fantastic ride :)
The weather was surreal. I had two days of rain, but otherwise, it was in the 70s and sublime. This is not normal, although, with global warming, it might be the new normal.
Italy is beautiful, the food was amazing, and the people were very kind. I would love to go back and explore some of the cities along the route more. I really enjoyed Aosta, Pontremoli, Lucca, and Siena. I’d also like to explore Rome but with tour guides who can help explain what I see (Rome also comes off slightly as a dumpster fire).
By the numbers…
I rode 999km over 57 hours and 16 minutes, spread out over 18 riding days. That is an average of 55.5km a day. I gained a total of 10,976m in altitude.
My average KM/H was 17.4 (which is awesome compared to the 14.9 on my previous tour). I did a much better job training and was ready for this tour.
This was the first tour where I didn’t max myself out physically. I paced myself and didn’t do anything too crazy. A big part of this was I had a brand new seat I’d never ridden on, as my seat broke right before my tour. I was worried I might have a lot of butt issues if I pushed too hard (butt issues are the worst when biking).
The longest riding day was 75km and 1346m in gain. I was pretty spent after that day, but the rest were pretty even.
I have mixed emotions as I really like finding the edges. But I think this trip was for the better as I also needed a vacation. I had a ton of time to read, enjoy the sun, and pace things. Next time I will go for some much longer days, I think.
How does this compare to previous tours?
Packing? A+
I did a great job packing versus previous tours (not too much and not too heavy). I need to add some super lightweight tennis shoes as walking in my bike shows around town hurt my Achilles. I packed a nice pair of light weight pants I could have taken out. I also didn’t wear my long bike pants, given the warm weather. But they were nice to have. I was very happy with the new waterproof coat Lindsey got me! It would be nice not to carry a laptop at some point; that adds a chunk of weight. At one point, I rode up 200m to get groceries, and it was so much easier without bags :).
Random?
- I saw two snakes.
- Being motivated to work while doing a bike tour is hard. The rest days helped me get fully caught up.
- Lots of pilgrims on the road; I saw 50+. I talked to 2 cycle pilgrims as well.
Aosta & bus ride
Yesterday I rode for 12 hours on a bus from Rome to Aosta. This method worked pretty well, although I had to store my bike under the bus. It seems ok, though. The 2nd bus I changed to said I didn’t have a bike spot reserved, but once I showed them the invoice, they waived it. The seat on the first bus sucked, but my back felt fine (go rehab and bike riding!). This might be a good method in the future if I can’t do circular routes…
I am in Aosta for a full day, and I will start driving home tomorrow :)
Aosta is one cool town with lots of Roman history, and I spent the morning in churches, crypts, and museums (with the snowy alps in the distance).
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