The End of the Road

We arrived back in London on Sunday night for the final cycling leg of our journey home. The platform at St Pancras was as we remembered when we set off over three weeks ago, both as if we never left and as if we had been gone for years. We started our journey back from Milan by train early Sunday morning, stopping in Geneva and then Paris where we rode our bikes across town to complete the final stage back to London. 4 countries covered in less than 24 hours and lugging bikes and panniers to boot! Unlike our journey down, our return was relatively seamless but they certainly don't make it easy for anyone to travel with bikes and each country and rail network has its own idiosyncratic policies to circumvent!

Whilst we have enjoyed each of our previous cycling tours (South West UK - 2010, Brittany & Normandy 2011), there was something just a bit more "gustoso" about this one. The people of Puglia were exceptional, the vistas were beyond picturesque, the food was exquisite, and most importantly the cycling, despite our crash, was splendid and stronger than ever before. I feel like I've come back from vacation both refreshed and enriched by the plethora of experiences that only could have been experienced traveling by bike.

We needed a day to process all our thoughts to summarise some of the highlights and statistics of our trip (and of course I had to go back to work)! Here are a few for consumption.


- Stats first! Kilometres Ridden: 987.6Km. Were it not 10pm Sunday night and raining we would have done a loop of London to surpass the 1000km mark!

- Burratta and Mozzarella Balls Consumed: Well over 40 between us.

- Hire Cars Damaged: Only one

- Health & Safety Regulations Violated: At least 2, most notably Sunday night at the Eurostar terminal whereby the baggage handler loading our bikes gave us a lift with our bikes on the back of the baggage cart at full speed through Gare du Nord (photo below). If you ever need a vignette to accurately express the differences between French and English culture I suggest checking your bikes on the Eurostar in London and then in Paris. One station's baggage depot is modern, impeccably organised, and there isn't a doubt in your mind that your bike will arrive in tact on the other side. The other is a dimly marked side door along the side of a burned out platform with no security, no paperwork, and a rough and ready approach to loading luggage which had me searching through my insurance policy to determine what type of loss and damage I was covered for. I'll let you guess which is which but I must say the later, despite the chaos, was far more exciting!

- Number of Towns in Italy with Clearly Marked Signage: One. We would like to give the mayor of Ostuni an award for the only city in Italy where the directions actually continued in a logical manner, the kilometres to destination were accurate, and there was even a bike lane on some parts of the road. The rest of our trip involved a lot more guessing as often signs would be contradictory and no sooner would you pass a sign saying 8km to your destination that 500 metres later you would suddenly jump forward in time to 5km only to be let down that it was actually 11km when you hit the next sign. Our speedometer didn't lie so the conclusion that can be reached is that the Italians like to keep you optimistic. If someone gives you directions and suggests it is just up the road or 500 meters away, add a couple more kilometres and you will be bang on!

New Friends Made: More than we can count.


We hope you have enjoyed sharing some our adventures and perhaps inspired some of you to strap on a helmet and get peddling on a journey of your own. And if you are ever hungry look through some of the older posts for gastronomique inspiration!

The sutras signing off for now....stay tuned for next year's adventure - location TBD!

M & D

Bologna: Gastronomie and an opportunity to break 1000km!

Tonight we write this blog over an uncharacteristically, less than glamorous dinner of potato chips/crisps and a well traveled bottle of Puglian Primitivo from the summer kitchen of our friends outside of Bologna. As we haven't had the opportunity to get on our bikes for the past two days we have had to monitor our consumption a bit more carefully and ensure we don't go over the top! I threw in a 10km run this am in an attempt at replicating the effects of daily cycling but doubt it came anywhere close to the 100km of cycling of days past.

We opted to end our trip in Emilia Romagna, where we have old family friends who were long overdue a visit. My dad and I spoke today of the bizarre relationship we have with time . We have not been back for years and yet sitting at Venturoli's restaurant today it is as if we never left. I've been coming here for over 20 years and my parents longer than that. As someone who moves often, I am fascinated by my own experience of different places and times in the world, especially those where one returns often or has spent an extended period of time. One builds a certain familiarity and emotional connection with a place that doesn't in my experience change with time. Nostalgia runs freely and you realise that despite all the change that has occurred both within yourself and to the place itself, the core essence of what you felt or established when you first came remains.

We drove a delightful 685km yesterday from Bari to Bologna. Nothing but sun and clear road ahead of us and save for a quick shopping stop at the halfway point we made our way smoothly towards the North. My father is an excellent driver and has vast experience on both the Italian motorways and manuevering vehicles of varied sizes. Ironically, despite all his careful navigating, en route back to the car rental he managed to take out a piece of a wall out of our friend's driveway. Not to mention the damage on the car (which he refused to view), it turns out the wall he damaged is actually of historical significance and in over 300 years no one has significantly damaged it. The local mayor tried to get it removed as it was an obstacle to vehicles but our friend argued its historical significance due to the railway that originally ran this route to Bologna on the grounds that they were never hit by passing trains so why would it be an obstacle to a car. Seems it only takes a wayward Canadian in a foreign land to cause a bit of havoc. Thank god for Hertz supercover - zero deductible. My father even considered adding a few more dents to the vehicle for good measure but wisely opted to cut his losses.

We were in love with the food and people in Puglia, so much so that we were ready to forget the North altogether. Thankfully we did not. We enjoyed a fabulous meal last night of local delicacies. Bologna is not only the home of bolognese (of which you will see a photo below that resembles none of the so called bolognese you have eaten at home) but a real gastronomique capital in its own right. There is a different refinement to the food here without a loss in authenticity to the historic and cultural backdrop from which their cuisine emerged. We enjoyed lunch at a local favourite today where the specialty is frogs. Traditionally frogs were rampant in the area and caught locally but times have changed and now they are imported from the likes of Albania. Still served in the traditional manner they connect the past with the ever changing now and future and over each delicious bite you begin to understand the people and the place a bit better than before.

We are still 50km short of breaking 1000km for the trip. We are both proud and somewhat blasé about the kilometres ridden. People are sometimes shocked when we explain the journey we have undertaken and normally express how they couldn't do it. Perhaps a lesson for life that I have discovered through this trip more prominently than others is that we are much more capable of achieving great or somewhat challenging things than we ever imagined. Sure planning and preparation is essential but at the end of the day motivation, determination, and more than ever tenacity is what allows us to move forward.

Tomorrow we will undertake a small day ride in the region and Saturday morning we will begin the real Northern journey home with a 30km ride to the Bologna train station, a night in Milan, and then the epic transition back to London. With a few kilometres on the agenda traveling across Paris and London we will break the barrier by Sunday night! For the moment, enjoying the last few days of vacation before we return to the real world and the weeks behind us become distant memories.

Final leg to Bari

We are approaching the end of our cycling tour in Puglia. Having set off from London on September 28th towards the south we were excited about the trip ahead but had left any expectations at home. Monday October 1st we set off for the first of many kilometres ahead with the sun shining and today we ended it in similar fashion.

After a pleasant evening in Ostuni Sunday night, we begun our journey back towards Bari with the sun shining as usual. We had arrived at night so on our way out of town we were overwhelmed with the amazing view of the valley below and the ocean in the distance. We headed first to Fasano then towards the coastal route towards Monopoli. No funny money in sight but we did inadvertently take the side road whereby ladies of the night were soliciting daytime customers. A bit surreal on a bicycle as you always get a bit closer both physically and spiritually for lack of a better word to the people and things you pass along the way.

For the rest of the day, we followed the coast on route and arrived rather seamlessly in Bari, another 100 km day under our belt. We had opted to come
back a day earlier so that we could return to Trani where we stopped on our very first day for a picturesque and sensational seafood meal. We decided to do a day trip - 40km each way - to finish off the major cycling of the trip. It is both amazingly different yet strangely the same traveling without the weight of pannier bags. The first few kilometres feel like you are on a brand new bike and that anything that comes at you terrain wise can be overcome. After about 30 minutes, however, the difference is far less pronounced and you realise that the panniers are not what have been slowing you down but rather the obstacles created in your mind.

The ride out to Trani was tougher than expected with the wind and the overcast skies. Yet our return following yet again a phenomenal closing lunch was exceptional. Not a cloud in the sky nor a gust of wind on the horizon. It was fitting to finish our journey as we began it and returning along the same road but in the opposite direction provided a whole new perspective on the towns and people we had passed along the way.

We've ridden 947.3km to date and hope to break the 1000km by the time we get through Bologna, Paris, and London in transit. To give you perspective on the distance we've traveled it is approximately half way from Vancouver to Los Angeles or the equivalent of driving the length of Italy from the Swiss border to the heel. Major miles completed for now but no doubt more ahead in the days and years to come.

I must say thanks again to Kona for their wonderful bikes that have survived collisions, 1000kms in trains and cars, and owner abuse! They have not let us down!

An atypical Sunday!

Just when we thought we were running out of material, an unexpected lunch stop during Sunday's ride from Lecce to Ostuni proved fruitful.

We set off early Sunday morning, the sun yet again shining, towards Ostuni, where we intended to spend the night. Whilst it was only a 70km ride, we thought we should push on through in order to make it there before nightfall. At about 11:30am however, a seemingly insurmountable craving for pasta came upon me and we decided to stop in Mesagne to grab a quick bite to eat. When we arrived in town, there were no trattorias jumping out at us so we asked one of the locals. He gave us what you would think we're seemingly clear directions but 10 minutes later we were on the other side of town and still no meal in sight.

This has been a recurring theme throughout the trip. None of the directions we ever get are clear, the signage is confusing at the best of times and often when you do seek directions an argument ensues amongst the locals as to which road we should take, how to get there, resulting in a mishmash of instructions that leave you no closer to your destination.

We asked another couple of girls at the corner how to get to this restaurant or any and no sooner than the words had spilled from our mouths had a committee formed upon the sidewalk about where we should eat. They debated what was open, argued over who had a better restaurant, and then one man called his friend and then sent us along our way. For the second time, we again got lost, and were seemingly further and further away from any prospect of nourishment .

As we turned down our last hope of a side street, a man flew out of a bar with a beer in his hand yelling Canada, Canada and waving for us to come in. A bit bizarre but then we figured perhaps this was the restaurant the man had called and they were signalling to us. It wasn't but what a fortunate mistake.

Antonio invited us to sit down outside the bar, the rest of the boys came out - Alex, Giancarlo, Vincenzo, Francesco- prosecco and beer were forced upon us before we even knew what was happening. No sooner had the first drinks been finished were two more upon us and the conversation was flowing and laughter echoing in the streets. Antonio told us to scrap the original restaurant and instead advised he would take us to his friend's restaurant. Our offers to pay for the drinks were refused - a gift for visiting and then Antonio whisked us away to lunch.

We turned the corner and came upon a nondescript Osteria. Antonio poked his head in the kitchen, the chef came out to meet us and was told to take good care of us. They were more than accommodating with our bikes taking then down the road to the storeroom for safe keeping and we walked into this wonderful surprise of a room! 12 tables, a well dressed crowd (except for us), and great gastronomique sights and smells bellowing about! A glass of prosecco upon arrival and exceptional service from the two young boys working the room. Great wine and food (photos below).

As we were getting ready to leave, the table next to us had taken an interest and no sooner had I asked for the bill that we were being given a bottle of wine to take with us as he owns one of the vineyards that supplies the restaurant. We were then invited to sit down, offered glasses of their rose, their prawns, and ended up staying another hour eating and drinking with our new friends. We have made a promise to return for their birthdays in April for a big party in the countryside!

So our 2 hour lunch became a 4 hour lunch and we needed to make good time to make it to Ostuni before nightfall. As we left town we ran into Antonio once again bidding us fairwell. We hadn't over eaten but certainly had drank our fair share of local vintages - much of which was free! Tracy, Derek thinks you may be onto something - we managed 30km in just over an hour and felt better than we had for days on the road! Maybe eating is cheating! Smiles on our faces from the epic afternoon and new friends we had made.

Grazie a i nostri nuovi amici di Mesagne - Antonio, Alex, Vincenzo, Francesco, Giancarlo, Pepe, Piero, Domenica, Agnesa- speriamo vedervi la prossima volta!!

Lecce - big city living in Puglia!

Life just keeps getting better and better. We are reporting from the Centro Storico of Lecce, the 3rd biggest city in Puglia. A delightful city of an agreeable size with a wide array of exceptional pasticcieria's, baroque architecture, and a lively bar scene that only starts to get going past 23:00!

Yesterday we left Santa Maria de Leuca along the spectacular coastal route. As always a few directional issues - nothing in Italy is straight forward. If you are clever enough to figure out the route on your own you shall be rewarded at the end. Minimal traffic, many ups and downs, yet our legs were almost begging for a few hills to test them. We are feeling strong and resilient; che peccato (how unfortunate) that we must return to reality in 10 days time!

We opted to skip a leisurely lunch to ensure we made it to Lecce before nightfall. All was going as planned until 15 km to our destination when an unbearable wind confronted us. My father was rather rational about the whole thing but I on the other hand was not. I completed a triathlon in June in Kent and the wind was incredible for the whole 40km bike portion. I have since had a vehement hatred of wind which clearly isn't useful for the last kilometres into town. We then faced thunder, lightening (and in the words of Chi Coltrane) " I tell you it's frightening!" A freak hailstorm and a few strops later we arrived at our hotel a few kilometres out of town after 105.66km of cycling in one day! A new record.

We ended up spending an extra day in Lecce today, as it is a great little city . We could have cycled on but will leave some mileage to get back to Bari for the next couple days. Again we have found exceptional accommodation at a great price which allowed us to explore the city and get some admin done. It is never easy booking trains in Italy, locating a laundromat, finding sugar free yogurt, but here we are at the end of the day enjoying a fabulous local merlot from a 3L plastic container purchased from an enoteca with all in order. We were stuck in Zara earlier today whilst a hurricane dumped down on the city for a hour. Purchases made and a sight to be seen - 40 Lecce citizens barricading the door to avoid the downpour!

Tomorrow we head towards Ostuni, before making our way back to Bari for Tuesday. Still over a week before we head back to reality or perhaps the disillusion we live in !?!

Tropical October

We will make this post short and sweet and let the photos speak for themselves.

We have woken up to a windy yet sunny morning in Santa Maria de Leuca, which is the sole of the heel of Italy (sole reference stolen from SR). Feels a bit like Hawaii. Yesterday we rode 56km from Gallipoli to Leuca. We had spent the previous day resting in Gallipoli following our crash, and managed to swim in the sea and sample the local seafood. There is definitely a different feel here as there always is by the sea. You can also see there is more wealth here than some of the other seaside towns, evidenced by the well maintained villas, the yacht club full of pristine vessels, and the manicured streets. By manicured I mean the lack of rubbish lying by the curb!

It is quite an experience traveling through seaside towns in the off season, as much of Southern Italy is really only open in the height of summer from mid-July to mid-August. We had an incredible lunch yesterday at a restaurant by the side of the road overlooking the sea. Some of the best fish we have ever tasted and yet we were the only customers! It is mind boggling how they manage to survive at all - I suppose another vignette of the struggling Italian economy.

Embarking on our last few days of cycling before heading up to Bologna for time with old friends and some good Northern cuisine. I'll be sure to fit in a few runs for the lack of cycling!