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| Brenner Pass |
The journey through Brenner is glorious. Mountain slopes decked in green or white. Small monastries slapped onto unreachable hills as though a painters brush had flicked them there.
Despite the journey being long, it is by no means arduous. Regular stops for refreshments and stretching of legs and backs makes it quite a pleasant experience. The extras are many: There's always a film on the way down, the bus has extra 240v contacts so mobiles and laptops can be used. coffee, drinks and small stopfillers help to make the journey pass quicker and give you an opportunity to walk half the length of the bus and mingle with the others for a while. Just being able to chill out and talk to the person next to you in the knowledge that from the moment you stepped on the buss you know you have something in common. That he/she is a cyclist on your trip, you don't always spot the other cyclists on a flight.
Hitting Brenner at 8.am with temperatures of 15degrees is another plus.
Just that feeling of being abroad, warmer air and buying your Latte Macchiato with €'s!
After leaving Brenner it's not far to the Italien border. sms's in the night and morning let you know as soon as you've entered another country, telling you the standard rates for calls abroad etc.
Oddly, every year when cycling to San Marino I always get such an sms telling me "Welcome to Spain!"
Ok ...??
Now we were passing through Modena, the Navsystem was coupled to the bus's videoscreen and we could all follow our progress south-south-east towards Misano.
Some Nove Colli hills loomed through the haze to the West. Silent pillars, a painstaking testament of many attempts to cycle over 9 hills, 230kms involving 3,500 meters of climing in 12 hours.
San Marino stood out from the flatlands like the hull of a sinking ship moments before it plunges into the depths. In a couple of days I'll be attacking her norther slopes with the promise of a good gelato and coffee at the top. For now though that would have to wait. Catolica and Misano were drawing close.
Soon time to unload the bus and trailor and set up bikes for a test run before dinner.
Despite the journey being long, it is by no means arduous. Regular stops for refreshments and stretching of legs and backs makes it quite a pleasant experience. The extras are many: There's always a film on the way down, the bus has extra 240v contacts so mobiles and laptops can be used. coffee, drinks and small stopfillers help to make the journey pass quicker and give you an opportunity to walk half the length of the bus and mingle with the others for a while. Just being able to chill out and talk to the person next to you in the knowledge that from the moment you stepped on the buss you know you have something in common. That he/she is a cyclist on your trip, you don't always spot the other cyclists on a flight.
Hitting Brenner at 8.am with temperatures of 15degrees is another plus.
Just that feeling of being abroad, warmer air and buying your Latte Macchiato with €'s!
After leaving Brenner it's not far to the Italien border. sms's in the night and morning let you know as soon as you've entered another country, telling you the standard rates for calls abroad etc.
Oddly, every year when cycling to San Marino I always get such an sms telling me "Welcome to Spain!"
Ok ...??
Now we were passing through Modena, the Navsystem was coupled to the bus's videoscreen and we could all follow our progress south-south-east towards Misano.
Some Nove Colli hills loomed through the haze to the West. Silent pillars, a painstaking testament of many attempts to cycle over 9 hills, 230kms involving 3,500 meters of climing in 12 hours.
San Marino stood out from the flatlands like the hull of a sinking ship moments before it plunges into the depths. In a couple of days I'll be attacking her norther slopes with the promise of a good gelato and coffee at the top. For now though that would have to wait. Catolica and Misano were drawing close.
Soon time to unload the bus and trailor and set up bikes for a test run before dinner.
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