Bologna to Rome and boy are my legs DEAD

Pardon the radio silence, we’ve been non stop since Bologna and Florence with little to no Wi-Fi. But we’re still alive and kicking; although my body may beg to differ.

So since Bologna we went through the Appennine Mountains, a 6 day excursion totaling over 300km. I have had multiple breakdowns, tantrums, and seriously considered flying home from Rome. I very much hope to stop the sniveling and anger and reach a point of enjoyment that supersedes the pain I’ve been feeling. Looking back thus far, I realize that starting a 5-month trip where the first two weeks consist of extreme elevation climbs for several days might not have been the best for breaking me in.

All that Yellow? Yeah, ranging from 0-3000+ feet.

I could break down each day of going through the pass but there would be a lot of me saying, “fuck this shit. I’m done”, “oh, this day was better”, “crrryyyyyyyyyeeeee!!”, “yes, very pretty, now don’t talk to me”, and my favorite “I can’t do this”. So needless to say, as with the hills and mountains, there were lots of ups and downs for me.

In the first couple of days through the pass, we encountered a town called Poretta Terme. A lovely little piece that reminded Dan and myself of Bath, England; a Roman influence with a one or two imposing stone towers and, of course, a church. It’s a small quiet place without a lot of tourism, but the prices were still a bit high, so after one night we called it and rode into Florence.

We decided to only spend a day in Florence. I’m finding that with this trip thus far, we’re sort of rushing through towns and cities. It’s been rewarding cycling through some villages, stopping for minor exploration or a cappuccino, but for the most part I think the general feeling is that we’re missing stuff. We’re having a hard time deciding when to haul up or when to push on. We’ve hit a few cities that we most definitely want to visit again. For me, it’s Bologna and Florence. I highly recommend saving up a good amount of dough and spending a good 3-4 days in Florence. With it being the birthplace of the Renaissance movement, there’s just so much to see, explore, and with major name high end brand stores to shop. I’m on the hunt for some dope leather driving gloves; the kind where you picture yourself gripping the wheel of a sexy little Italian roadster driving through the Alps blaring White Snake with the wind in your hair.

Florence is nestled in a valley so after we left our trek took us through; you guessed it, more climbs. What made this one especially fun was the weather, cold coupled with a healthy downpour. We managed to find shelter in a very old vineyard in Greve Chianti, Castello Vicchimomaggio, and had ourselves a little wine tasting of the local flora. I can honestly say that thus far in the trip, even the cheapest bottles of wine we’ve encountered, have been stellar. I have yet to have a bad glass of wine or coffee for that matter. After that we settled in a small B&B down a long dirt road and enjoyed a warm fire for the evening.

After Greve was Casciano di Murlo. Guess what? More complaining. This by far was the worst of the climbing for me. Just a side note, there were pros training on the first stretch from Greve into Siena, and here we are with many pounds of gear in tow (I think a few of the Frenchies liked me, as I must’ve been the only busty lady on a bike; or the kissy noises meant something else entirely). Getting out of Greve to go through Siena, getting lost (a common occurrence for us on this trip) and then taking hilly country dirt roads to find our campground at the top of a very steep climb, a 10-hour ride took its toll on me. I could barely walk up hills by the time we were done. And if I ever wanted to remember what it was like to have diaper rash as a baby (trust me, I don’t), I pretty much got it from my bike saddle.

Our last day of riding through the hills took us out the last of the range for one last temper tantrum on my part and into Grosseto and into a rather large hotel/resort after 80 km; I indulged in a bubble bath as a much-earned reward. Today we’re in Grosseto waiting for a train to Rome. For the time being, any major climbing is done for me and I am very much looking forward to leisurely rides without the aid of padded ass shorts.

Sorry this post is so long and boring, just trying to get caught up. Hopefully without having to do any major rides for a bit, I can be a bit more regular,  a lot more descriptive, and a lot more positive, with my postings.