On the road . December 2006 . France, Monaco, Italy and Greece
Internet Cafe, Florence, Italy
09-12-06
Country hopping to bountiful culture
La Roquette sur Siagne - France to Florence - Italy
(7 cycle days; 1 rest day; 562km; 4847m)
La Roquette sur Siagne to San Remo - Italy (98km; 832m)
San Remo to Campochiesa (64km; 500m)
Campochiesa to Pegli (78km; 473m)
Pegli to Deiva Marina (93km; 1406m)
Deiva Marina to Marina di Massa (79km; 916m)
Marina di Massa to Lucca (59km; 341m)
Lucca to Firenze (91km; 379m)
Three countries in one day
It is 5° Celcius when we wake and this little bunny
is really feeling the cold while preparing breakfast outside. We want
to leave as early as possible today as the ride and
camping opportunities are still a little uncertain. However, that plan goes out the
window when Ali discovers the insert clips from his
Ortlieb
bags are missing. We comb the area to no avail, so he
ends up putting the reserve set in. Of course they are at the
bottom of an already packed and loaded bag. We eventually
take off at 9.10am and head in the direction of Nice...
Tip of the month: SilNet
- silicon seam sealer
Every camper and bike traveller
should have a tube of this stuff. Made by
the same people that make SeamGrip, we have
used it successfully to reinforce stitching
and seal leaks in our tent fix holes in
the Ortlieb bags and even repair a resonable
sized snare in a Goretex rain jacket.
SilNet, SeamGrip and other great repair products can be found on the McNett outdoor products website along with excellent tips for anything and everything to do with life outdoors.
La Roquette sur Siagne (France) - Olympia (Greece)
Kilometres: 1483 and 620 meters
Riding days: 17 days
Alti meters: 11621 meters
Weather: cold, but clear, sunny skies
most of the time!
Best accommodation: by far: Le
Soline in Casciano di Murlo: fabulous
views, brilliant facilities and very friendly
hosts. And I haven't even mention the donkey
yet...
Special thanks to:
Frank & Maggie for the beautiful and
generous gift of two nights stay and dinner with
Guiseppi and Giovanna in their Villa: La Fabbrica di San Martino in Lucca. We had
an absolutely wonderful time and gobbled up
the luxury with sheer delight • The buddhist monk from the Netherlands who gave
us a loaf of bread and half a cheese wheel • Fausto for letting us camp on his plot of land near
Sta. Marinella and the delicious biscuits before
we left in te morning • The Italian man who camped next to us in Pompei
for the timely bottle of bubbly.
Breakdowns:
08: spoke (Ali)
09: spoke (Ali)
14: derailler cable cover broke - replaced on
18th in Rome (Son)
24: derailer wheels replaced (Son)
25: focus ring and lens casing broken off Sony
video camera
25: wire on voltmeter snapped
