This is the fifth attempt at writing the content of this post; all previous efforts have disappeared before they arrive on the blog itself. I am wondering if it has anything to do with “upgrading” my browser to IE9…. Let’s try again this time in Firefox. Mmmm… seems […]
At least something is glad to be returning to Benevento…. From the BBC News website ** Library returns looted manuscript ** A 12th Century manuscript which was housed in the British Library is to be returned to Italy because it was looted during the Second World War. < […]
“I’ve just about had it with this cycling from Reading to Brindisi lark. Who the hell does he think he is? He has spent the past five weeks sitting on me, at times cursing me and now, would you believe it, I have had my wheels removed and […]
I think I picked the route well today. I wanted flat and that’s what I got! It seemed a slow start this morning and when I posted from Venosa I was a little anxious that I would be cutting it fine to arrive in Matera and find a […]
Massimo has a flat next to his parents’ flat and his parents live in his house somewhere else. So… while Massimo was in his parents’ flat, I was next door in his flat. Does that make sense? Anyway, once I had got myself up and out of the […]
This is yet another town built around a long straight road; it seems to be the way to do it in this area. I’ve never been to South America but a lot of the places have the feel of towns you imagine exist down there. The long straight […]
Another new experience tonight; spending an evening on a working farm. Obviously my involvement in the farm is fleeting to say the least; the most I contributed was helping with the washing up. The place is run by guy called Antonello who has lived here all his life. […]
Massimo’s friend Tomasso arrived within minutes of me sending the previous message and escorted me to the farm just outside the town itself. Here is a picture of the main house Here are the statistics for Rome to Sora – another long day! Cycling time: 8 hrs 7 […]
Fiuggi is a nice find. Even nicer when it’s the place you manage to get your iPhone working again. It also thinks big; I have just had a couple of sandwiches (they were sandwiches, not panini, complete with the crusts removed!) in the Gran Caffè Martini and just […]
We are no longer in Tuscany but I shan’t quibble about the name; there is Peking Palace in Reading and dozens of Aberdeen Steakhouses in London. I only have half a clock to analyse tonight as from 12 o’clock to 6 o’clock there is a wall. So, apart […]
You are looking at one of the best that I have found so far on my Italian odyssey; a large (40cl) beer for 2,50€. Bloody amazing. They clearly saw me coming, drenched and identified me as a potential customer who needed cheering up with a cheap drink. I […]
As per your combined recommendations, I am now the proud owner of two cans of Autan and a packet of antihistamine tablets! Thank you. As for my travels, well, Siena wasn’t working for me which is a pity as I would have loved to have had a proper […]
For the first time tonight I’m feeling bit depressed. 🙁 Well, not really depressed, just a mixture of feeling sorry for myself; all the bites that I have suffered and which are making me feel uncomfortable for much of the time, especially when I am not cycling and […]
When I look at the map, Pisa sits in a lowland area with lots of blue lines indicating both natural and man-made waterways. The tower is / was sinking into the swamp / bog upon which Pisa is built. I can only hope that this means that as […]
I have to say, this is one of the best equipped campsites so far on the Eurovelo 5. You can see in the picture that there are nets above the tents to keep things cool in the sun (not sure how they would cope with the rain; hope […]
Who needs an expensive film set in New Zealand when you could come to make your film at Camping Pianelli, just outside Berceto? I half expect Bilbo Baggins to pop his head round the corner of the reception or for Gandalf to summon me to his cottage. Probably […]
1. I have a place to sleep tonight in a very busy but very friendly site somewhere that I can’t spell without looking at the map (and that would mean standing up and I can’t be bothered) but about 30 kilometres south of Parma 2. I have just […]
What a great guide and a great introduction to Italy but sadly Simone is off back to Pavia. Hopefully I’ll see him and Elettra soon. In the timebeing I need to continue cycling and get to Castell’Arquato. More later.
I have an App on the iPhone that lists campsites in Italy… just not all of them! For example there is a site in Pavia but it isn’t mentioned on the App. Notwithstanding, I’ve just put lots of little triangles on the map of sites between here in […]
Before I start, a big than-you to recent donations to the charity fund; it now stands at 87% of the total! This afternoon’s cycle was mainly along a very straight canal than leads from the southern suburbs of Milan to Pavia and we arrived in Pavia a few […]
The food is fine; I’ve just had a Big Mac and fries for the first time in years and it was great. I don’t have an issue with what they sell at all as long as people don’t live off the stuff. I know some do which is […]
Not a bad view if you are having an afternoon drink like me or indeed if you are waiting for a bus (green pole on the left). The statistics for the day are as follows; Cycling time: 4 hrs 27 mins 17 secs Distance: 75.00 kms Average speed: […]
What a beautiful place; I have suddenly arrived in southern Europe! I set off this morning at around 8 o’clock. It was not difficult to pick up Swiss route 3 as it ran right past the entrance to the campsite. Avoiding Bellinzona itself (I’ll come back to that […]
I’m not sure whether it is or not but crossing over into Italy at some point tomorrow will feel like it. I’ve notched up just under 1,600 kilometres in two and a half weeks; the estimate was for a total of between 3,000 and 3,500 over five weeks […]
I have failed to get hooked up to the Internet via Wi-Fi here at the campsite so instead I have just been through all the comments made over the last couple of days, made some notes and below are your individual responses. Some comments might only make sense […]
Last night we had an almighty storm; it’s a pity that I only heard it rather than watched it because there were more flashes of light than at a celebrity wedding. The downside is that it is continuing to rain. Perhaps rain in these parts is sponsored by […]
Only the other day I was saying on here how well the bike was performing… Claus Zimmerman, teacher from southern Germany told me not to take the old cobbled road down the other side of the Gotthard Pass. Claus (different Claus by the way from Stuttgart Claus who […]
I’m tempting fate by saying this but if you split my route into three parts, part 1 being from Reading to Strasbourg, part 2 from Strasbourg to the Swiss-Italian border and part 3 being the entire length of Italy, part 2 is the “easy” bit when it comes […]
This coffee tastes as good as it looks. The weather is looking up; blue sky without any threatening clouds. Fingers crossed. I was changing the dressing on my foot at the campsite entrance this morning when a French chap struck up conversation. He had watched me pack my […]
I’ve just received this email from Mark Rowland which contains lots of useful tips and hints; Good luck on the route – you may recall we exchanged emails some time ago. A friend and I set off on our own Italian adventure at the start of June and […]
…even for those who don’t do it! What better message for everyone as I continue my preparations. Picture courtesy of Massimo Mazzone in Italy who I will be meeting up with south of Rome. (Nice example of an object pronoun in French as well 🙂 )
“It’s a grim old day…” says the weatherman on Five Live and as I look through the window as I prepare for my second educational day visit of the week to France, I see the proof. Where has the summer gone? So it is with delight that I […]
Well, I have just arrived in France but not en route to Brindisi, simply en route to Boulogne-sur-mer with eighty children in tow. We are only here for a day to visit a boulangerie, a sweet factory and do some shopping in the town itself. It’s not the […]
…hasn’t been written yet. So it’s a good job that the Rough Guides to France, Switzerland and Italy were on sale at Waterstones today; three for the price of two. I am about to surgically remove the sections with the red circles. Not yet sure if it is possible […]
The brackets are required as I don’t know whether this will be an explanation (“How Twitter Works”) or a question (“How Does Twitter Work?”). I am, as you are aware, on Twitter. Over there on the left. My most recent post being about Dierdre Barlow (ha! I spelt […]
Laura Birchenough has just returned home from a cycle ride that took in the last part of the Eurovelo 5 – she stayed with Massimo Mazzone in Benevento – and then most of eastern / central Europe back to the UK. It seems to be the done thing to […]
Facebook is great. It has brought me into contact with lots of people who are interested in cycling either the Eurovelo 5 or a route that involves passing through the same places as the Eurovelo 5. Hamish Pattison from New Zealand is one of them and he’s just […]
I still have two weeks remaining of school, including two visits to France (to Boulogne-sur-Mer of all places!) but I am now getting to the point of being ready to cycle to southern Italy. Jim Rawnsley has suggested below that I start a thread of comments in response […]
Todd Rygh writes (and I respond in red); Hello Andrew, I just finished watching England-Germany. Not the result I was hoping for. Me neither, but they deserve nothing better! I am preparing my own bicycle journey from Winchester to Brindisi in late August through September, and I have […]
We are currently going through a mini heat-wave here in south-east England (confirmed by the fact that earlier this week the first hose-pipe ban was announced…). Temperatures are predicted to soar to around 30 degrees today (in the shade). I cast my mind back to a similar sun-drenched […]
Not according to BBC Radio 5 Live; the presenter of the early news programme welcomed the nation this morning with the following words; Good morning, it’s 5 o’clock on Friday 18th July and welcome to Morning Reports… I didn’t sleep well last night so I knew for sure she was wrong and I […]
Remember Rachel McCormack & partner Giovanni who are cycling from Ireland to Puglia for the Irish Cancer Society? They are following a sightly more easterly route than me but it is interesting to see that they used the Saint Gotthard pass to cross the Alps – see the […]
It was late night opening at A.W. Cylces yesterday so I took a slight detour on my way home last night to see what they had on offer in the cycling shorts direction. One of the familiar faces greeted me and after a few pleasantries, he said he […]
Just received this message (via Facebook) from Italy; Hello there, My name’s Simone and with some friends I work in a cycle co-op in Pavia. I’m also a bike enthusiast, for all kind of pedal powered vehicles. I saw your blog and I was immediately fascinated by your […]
What a brilliant book… but I won’t be buying it. I wandered down to Cotswold Leisure this afternoon for a general browse and to ogle at all the things I would buy if money were no object; quite frankly I could purchase everything in the store. I was […]
I have spent many pounds on many glossy cycling magazines in the last couple of years but I have to say that one of the best is the one that I receive for free by being a member of the CTC (OK, it’s not really free I know […]
My first Warmshowers guest is on the horizon; Alain from Boulogne-sur-Mer. Il écrit…. Bonjour Andrew I’m Alain and I live in the north of France. I’m cycling to my friend Phil’s birthday party in Shrewsbury later this month. I hope to be in Reading on the 27th during […]
As I have said before, I love the fact that people all over the World read my blog and contribute either through the comments or by taking time to email me. It is no doubt the nearest I will ever come to receiving fan mail (teenage school kids […]
Flavio has commented on my post of the 1st June (below in blue) and also on the CTC Eurovelo 5 forum (below in red) with the following messages; Hi Andrew, Great project! I found it only today.. two years later For the question posted in August, 6th… 2008, […]
My handlebars arrived but they were motorcycle-type number plates (registration P26 something). Despite the contents of the package, the bike had been converted to an “upright” style, but looked like a Winnebago complete with roof canopy and shed at the back. The forks were very angular and had bright […]
Jon is posting some amazing pictures on Flickr as he cycles up through Italy; this is just an example and was taken in the Cinque Terre.
There is a lull in action on the Eurovelo 5 front; I think the election is drawing my attention away from cycling. The Couchsurfing Group has a new (2nd) member, a certain Joe Barnett but I know little about him…. On the other social networking site that is Warmshowers, […]
My immigrant handlebars (Modolo Yuma etc…) are winging their way to the UK as I type! She was a bigot in my opinion (the kind of person who starts sentences with “I’m not a racist but….”). My handlebars are just as welcome as all the other hard-working residents of our country […]
….to the first day back at work after a long two-week holiday is receiving an email from a new blog reader that exudes positivity in the way only Californians can manage, which is useful for JJ Istrin as he hales from Los Angeles! JJ and his wife have exciting plans […]
Just realised what day it is today. There is a nice symmetry about the whole thing, no? And it’s a Sunday when I leave for Italy; Sunday 18th July 2010. It’s a long, long time since I wrote this on the 29th August 2008; 700 Days: The first numerical […]
If, on a Sunday morning at 8.30am I am spending time reading a document written by “Policy Department B, Structural and Cohesion Policies” for the “Directorate General for Internal Policies” of the European Parliament, I do wonder whether my cycling adventure along the route of Eurovelo 5 has […]
Rachel McCormack emails from Ireland; Hi Andrew, Just happened to come across your website and found it very interesting and quite relevant to me and partner Giovanni. We are finalising preparations for our bike challenge which will see us mountain bike from Dublin, Ireland to Santa Maria di […]
Thanks to Massimo for some comments regarding the route south of Rome. The bit between Como and Rome remains sketchy – I have suggested on the itinerary itself that I leave the detail until I actually arrive in Italy; is that wise? You can see that I do […]
Making progress, but not quite there yet! Thanks to Massimo in Benevento I have some detail south of Rome but north of Rome still lacks a day by day breakdown, as does the bit between Luxembourg to Strasbourg. This latter stretch has given George Jemmott some issues on […]
I’m not about to start a coal round but I could on the bike with the new Ortlieb panniers – the “Front / Back-Roller Classic”. Comically massive if you take the picture at face value but fear not, I shan’t be pedalling to Italy with them looking like […]
I put the question above on Lonely Planet’s Thorn Tree forum (nope, me neither if you are asking the obvious question!). I quote myself; I’m planning to cycle from the UK to Italy this summer along the route of the Eurovelo 5. However, the route is very aspirational and […]
Now that my detailed itinerary has hit the Italian border, my efforts need to turn to La Via dei Pellegrini in Italy itself. Regular readers of this blog will know that the Eurovelo 5 cycle route, although often associated with the Via Francigena pilgrim route does not really follow the same path. The […]
Laura Birchenough writes from Greece in response to my question about how she got on Couchsurfing in southern Italy; Hi Andrew, How are your plans coming along for your trip, good luck! I can honestly say that it is my couch surfing experiences that have made this trip […]
Not quite finished (well, not finished at all; I have the whole of Italy still to do!) but made good progress…
I joined Warmshowers.com last night. Mark Beaumont mentions the site in his book about cycling around the World and I have mentioned them on here before. They are a Couchsurfing service specifically aimed at cyclists. Apart from setting up a profile, I have started a forum thread about […]
Just catching up with some people who have been in contact with me and who I have contacted over the past few months…. George Jemmott continues his journey to Calais and you can read his blog here. It will be interesting to see his GPS data when he […]
It’s been a few weeks since anyone new has been in contact with me who is in some way interested in the cycling to Italy project so I am delighted to have been emailed by a guy called Neil Shirley who is planning on cycling from Oxford to […]
Nearly there. Just one more day until the second biggest reason to be a teacher starts; the Easter holidays. I know that sounds a bit cynical so apologies to those educational purists who want us all to be teachers because it is our “calling”, but we all have […]
Just had a very interesting Skype conversation with Michael in Vancouver; a keen cyclist who is planning to cycle in Italy later in the summer. It’s so nice to have a face-to-face conversation with someone about cycling plans! Thanks Michael. We promised to catch up again soon. You […]
In around twice the amount of time that I am planning on cycling from the UK to Puglia, this guy – Alan Bate is his name – is planning to cycle “around the World”. In the words of his own press release: On the 31/03/10, British professional racing […]
Only one week to go before the horological shift that puts us into British Summer Time. I can’t wait! Today has been a very Spring-like day (it should be ; yesterday was the Spring Equinox – just after half past five in the afternoon apparently!). No arguing, it […]
In the great camping v hostel debate that will no doubt kick in at some point on this website over the next few months (as it did last year when the hostel option won), this site – Hostelling International – may be useful. It has a very good […]
It was a good news morning all round. Shortly before receiving the voucher you can see here (suitably “redacted”) I also received a clean bill of health from my doctor; she told me I had a 1% chance of having a heart attack in the next five years and had […]
This is a comical tale from the late 1930s, but the more you think about it, the more sensible it is. As the following article from the BBC website explains, in the days before satellites, it was actually not a bad idea: Summer 1937. What could be more fitting […]
When I posted the previous message, I did worry that it was a bit boring and administrative; it was simply a letter from my employer confirming that I would be able to purchase my bike through the “cycle to work” scheme. It is bizarre then that such a […]
Meeting my niece in London after the meeting yesterday was the thin end of the wedge. Several beers later I arrived home in Reading and then tackled a bottle of wine so, as I write, I have a little bit of a hangover. What follows is a more […]
Isn’t it wonderful that, despite being competitors in the social networking world, WordPress, Twitter and Facebook all allow cross posting resulting in a spidery lattice of information to span the ether (they could call it the World Wide Web, no? It will never catch on…); there is no […]
Michael Musto, dragging himself away from the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, has contacted me with some questions about maps: Have you seen examples of the Michelin maps? Yes, I’ve bought the full set that I need to get from my home town all the way to Brindisi. The […]
I’ve been having an email conversation with Bernie Friend, writer of the book Cycling Back to Happiness. He certainly got there if this picture was taken after he finished his trip (I am on page 79 by the way). Here are the interesting bits. He is in blue, I’m in […]
I’ve mentioned Sanoodi Mapping before – read the previous post here. I’ve just revisited the site, created my own page and produced the map and profile that you can see in the picture for my commute to work. It’s impressive stuff! Click here to visit the webpage itself. The profile […]
I haven’t made an error in the title. It is the final final piece of the map jigsaw. I wrote here about having bought the final map which covered the heel of Italy. I glossed over the fact that I was ignoring the journey from Reading to Dover by […]
I honestly don’t write this blog for anyone apart from myself and to begin with that was fortunate as no-one else read it. However, as Google began to pick me up and as links began to appear elsewhere on the Internet directing people to this blog, I have […]
I sometimes wonder how many people have cycled in the past or are planning to cycle in the future from the UK to at least northern Italy. It doesn’t take long to find other blogs. Here is another: Oli Robbins, who cycled a fairly direct route from Essex to Venice […]
Following on from the previous post which refers to academic research in the USA, I have just received this interesting email from Todd Rygh in Washington State along the same lines. Most people who contact me via this blog have questions about the route or the bike or the equipment […]
This is a great blog (not mine, the one in the title, although mine is OK too…): blog.ch3.gr . Georgios writes: “In August 2009, after being in the Uk for 7 years, I decided it was time to move back to Greece. My ambitious plan was to cycle […]
Iain Harper has contacted me via the Bike Radar forum I mentioned yesterday. There is some really useful practical advice in his email and it is worth the read. As the list of “tags” at the end shows, he manages to pack in a whole host of different […]
Michael in Canada writes: Hello again. I have scowered the internet and came across the same info you were kind to show me in your blog. I am working on four main logistical tasks at the moment. Time and money, trying to get fitter, flight coordination and developing a […]
If you have read the previous post, I was wondering who Michael was (he had left a brief message in the chat box). Now I know; he has sent an email. He writes in blue, I answer in red: Hello Andrew, Hello Michael – thanks for the email […]
Just recieved the following email. Rob’s comments in red, my comments in blue: Hi Andrew Just been looking at your blog which is very helpful and inspiring. Thanks! Me and my girlfriend are planning to cycle London to Istanbul in May (for our honeymoon) and are considering route […]
Hi George Thanks for your email – your enthusiasm is infectious! I’m glad to be in touch with another person who is interested in the Eurovelo 5. My initial enthusiasm was not the Eurovelo 5, simply an interest in cycling and a wish to do something a bit […]
Just received this interesting email. George has also commented on the earlier post about maps: Hi there Andrew!I just found your site about EuroVelo5, and I’m rather excited. Introductions first – I’m George Jemmott, a silly American who is similarly interested in EV5. I think we might be […]
I mentioned a few posts ago that I might contact a couple of people who I know who may be interested in meeting me en route to Puglia in the summer. One of those people was Claus, my friend in Stuttgart. I trained as a teacher with Claus in […]
As you can see, piecing all the maps together in a long line would have been impossible in my relatively small living room, but here they all are stacked up on one another. I have followed the route from Calais and the good news is that there is […]
I’m on the train en route home after Christmas with my family and thought I would use the time to pull the strands of my preparation for my trip to Puglia in the summer together. Let’s kick off with the route. That is more or less in place: […]
Canada, The USA, The UK, France, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Luxemburg, Denmark, Switzerland, Poland, Austria, Portugal, Greece, Sweden, Finland, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Thailand, Australia, Japan… plus all the others who have been and now gone from the map. Amazing who is interested in this drivel!
I was only thinking earlier this week that no-one had been in contact for quite a few weeks about the blog and cycle to Italy…. and then this happens:From: “Richard Burton”Sent: Wednesday, December 09, 2009 3:17 PMTo: AndrewSubject: Puglia 2010 Hi AndrewI keep getting drawn back to your […]
Windows 7 allows for a rotating series of desktop backgroups. These are the six scenes available for the Italian themed set of desktop wallpapers. Not sure where they were taken in Italy but they do tick all the boxes of stunning Italian scenery, especially the one in the […]
It’s nice for someone to email again about the cycling next summer – it’s been a while since anyone has done so.Chris Hammersley writes:Just out of interest, how have you come up with this route? Have you avoided going down the east coast of Italy for a reason?I […]
I wandered into Waterstones this afternoon as I often do and trawled my eyes across the Travel section books (the only section of the bookshop where I can say “yes, I’ve read that one, and that one, and that one too… don’t fancy that one… oh, I wonder […]
