Mid October 2010
After our stint in Rome we headed to the north of Lazio Province and into Tuscany. A brief train ride got us out of the city enough to start cycling on smaller roads and through beautiful countryside. Our plan, or vague intention as it usually is, was to cycle through Tuscany to the Cinqueterra region on the north west coast of Italy.
Day tripping around Rome before we head for the hills
One thing we didnt really consider about cycling in Tuscany is that all the beautiful historic little towns were built on top of hills. Meaning, for every town we visited we had a super steep ascent and a super steep descent. Marty figured that for every hill we climbed we earnt at least one scoop of gelato. Hence, it was our mission to find gelato at every little hilltop town we stopped in.
Marty enjoying his reward in a beautiful square in Sienna
We got into the swing of phantom camping, often in open fields and once in a rubber tree plantation, near dead end roads, descrete public parks and in patches of flat forest. Once we got no sleep as all we heard through the night were deer hunters and we had no idea how close they were to us, or more to the point, how close the deers were.
Warming up with a game of frisbee before we set off from our free camp in the plantation
Vinyards changing colour across Tuscany
We weaved our way through small lovely mountain roads from Orvieto, towards Aquapendente, up through to Castelle De Piano (where we met lovely fellow aussie cycle tourers). Autumn in Tuscany is magic. All the mountains are full of trees changing from green to yellows, reds and purples, and the vinyards are changing colour too. There is lots of forest and the towns are so densly built there isnt horrible sprawl that takes all the trees and fields away. After a big day of cycling we rested in Sienna at a campground for a few days and enjoyed creature comforts ie: a shower, and the sights on foot for a change. We were feeling fit and healthy and were both loving the cycling in this region. Back on the bike to San Gimginano which is a medieval walled city recognised for its many towers in the town. It was lovely but we hadnt seen this many tourists since Rome!
San Gimignano in the sunshine, towers all around
The weather was ever so kind to us with no rain all week. Clear blue sky days, sunshine, but very cool crisp nights and mornings, often frosty. So frosty we had to stock up on warm clothes for the journey, conveniently cycling right past a massive Decathlon store.
14% slopes as we headed into Sienna, definitely warmed us up!
We caught a train to La Spezia to avoid the industrial areas near Pisa. La Spezzia was a sweet little town. Gorgeous harbor and mountians all around. No camping so we splurged on a cheap hotel for a few nights, enjoyed the vibe of the town, then refueled for some steep cycling along the ridge top looking over the sea. The Cinqueterra (or 'five lands') National Park is reknowned for its incredibly steep olive groves and vinyards, built by hand into the slopes over 1000 years ago. The 5 lands are tiny fishing villages, brightly painted, sitting in coves at the base of these steep mountains. Very very sweet places
.
Cycling the Cinqueterra, looking down to Riomaggiore fishing village, note the brief sunshine here...
There is lots of walking to do around here, one that follows the coast for about 20 km. However, bad luck for us it poured rain so much they closed the trails! Our tent got flooded and we were saved by a lovely German couple who cooked us dinner in their fancy camper. It seemed like our cycle touring days were numbered. We got what we thought would be the first train out to France to stay with a dear friend that night. What we didnt expect was taking 2 whole days to get there, due to rain and to the bikes. Travelling with bikes, as we have learnt, is much easier when you dont have to take them apart and get them onto trains, its much easier to just ride them.
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