The Wandering Idiot

Well…it’s taken me quite some time to finally getting around to finishing this section of The Wandering Idiot. I do apologise to those of you who have so loyally followed along and given me support during my trip. I definitely owe that to you. It probably wasn’t too cool to just drop out of the interweb like that…Rome and then *poof*! As you have probably already gathered, my trip came to a close in Rome…so there you have it…Brighton to Rome it was. And a good trip it was. I learned a lot and my appetite for touring has grown insatiably.

I thought I would touch a little on why it has taken me so long to finally draw this part of the blog to a conclusion. I guess for one, I was embarrassed. Embarrassed that I had set out for Istanbul and then failed. There was no celebration or feeling of ‘I made it’…I feel like I got to Rome, and then the trip just ebbed away. Then there was the public nature of it all…all of the readers that were following along, sending me emails and posting comments…I guess I kind of feel like I let you all down…and it took me ages to come to terms with the fact that I was no longer cycling…and it’s taken up to now to admit this to all of you.

I have ready so many blogs of long distance riders…covering distances many, many thousands of miles more than I, and I guess I kind of feel like I did not achieve what I had set out to.

I did not get the wild camping experience I wanted…I guess you should choose your cycling seasons better! It seems that I carried a lot of gear that I hardly used…tent, exped downmat, cooking supplies, etc. It just feels so…so…unsatisfying. Here I had set out for this big adventure to test myself, sleep rough, travel freely and endlessly, and I hardly got away from the UK at all….just down the road…

So why did I stop riding? Well, for one…it was getting cold, and once I hit Rome, the big ‘freeze’ that took hold of Europe back in December hit Italy as well. I stopped enjoying myself…fighting the cold, and I was afraid of a repeat of the rain that I had on the early part of the trip in the north of France…I was tired and just wanted to be with my family in Zagreb. Two…money was starting to become an issue…I still had funds remaining, but I was afraid of running out completely and then starting somewhere with nothing…I guess I wasn’t brave enough to just go for it, live a little more recklessly and just push. I should have budgeted A LOT more.

So…where does this leave me now. Well…quite unsatisfied…I’ve got a bug for bicycle touring now, that I’m not sure how to satisfy…I just know that I need to try again…
For starters, I have every intention of completing this trip…perhaps cycling the Zagreb to Istanbul stretch in the summer months…but beyond that I’m already daydreaming of longer tours…planning better (this trip was dreamt up last August, by September I’d bought my Surly and by October on the road!) and riding more.

If you were afraid that I may never want to see another touring cycle or pannier again, I have good news for you…that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Travel by bicycle is one of the most amazing ways to cover distance, get (or stay) in shape, enjoy scenery, meet new people, have time to think, and travel on the cheap. I’m so glad that I’ve discovered this form of travel…and I have plenty of time to explore on two wheels…

So for now this is Vinko signing out. I will shelve this trip as Brighton to Rome…and hopefully add more chapters to ‘The Wandering Idiot’.

Watch this space.

It’s cloudy this morning…and there an ominous feeling of rain. We’ve enjoyed cold but clear days for some time now…so I suppose the clouds had to come eventually… We packed up and left our shelter…the road we were riding on is marked on the map as an unmaintained road…so we expected dirt, and we have had roads like this before….but the further we went, the worse the road became. Huge potholes, deep tracks that the tractors had cut into the road, small creeks to ford, and eventually, impassable mud. We had to turn back and find another way through the fields.

Although frustrating to turn around, it was some of the most fun riding I’d had on the trip while it lasted! The road improved as we cut through small dirt tracks in between farm fields and it seems the moment we finally hit tarmac again, Alex’s back tire completely failed and exhausted all it’s air pressure in one loud BANG! The tire is finished. There is a deep cut along the side wall which had punctured his inner tube. A nice big rip.

Thankfully we broke down just outside a small farm…it was early in the morning, about 9.15am when this happened, and the locals were out and willing to lend us a hand. Alex and Tiago got to work patching tire, but it didn’t look good. With no spare tires around they would need to fix his to at least get to a cycle shop…but today is Sunday…there is nothing open…this is going to be a slow day. We had extra inner tubes with us, but with no spare tire Alex tried to patch the hole with things like a bit of yoghurt carton and spare rubber found on the farm, among other things.

The weather was also starting to turn for the worse…I was torn between staying with Alex and Tiago and riding to Rome without them. I was getting anxious to get to Rome as quickly as possible with rain looming but things were slow going. It’s kind of a mental battle you go through, but in the end I had to remind myself that I started this bike tour on my own and I didn’t have to ride with them…I could always go, although I felt guilty about this as well.

Stefan and I spoke about pushing on together…Rome was about 120km away, but we figured we could do it by dark.

Decision made, we politely parted company with Alex and Tiago…left them on the side of the road…I felt terrible.

But that was it, we were on our way, and picked up pace very quickly. We pushed the 58km to Civitevecchia as quickly as possible. We had to take about 20km of highway though as there were no other available roads. I really don’t like riding on the highway…it’s nerve racking and dangerous, but thankfully as it was a Sunday the traffic was light and there were no trucks out there. The other worry of course is the police as Italy carries a steep fine for cycling on the highway….the police drove by, and left us to it…whew….

The scenery to Civitevecchia was nothing to write home about. Flat, bland. The sky was grey, cloudy, the wind was cold, strong, and biting. It was a generally unpleasant cycle.

On arrival to Civitevecchia we stopped for lunch. No sooner did we enter the restaurant when the skies opened in a heavy downpour. Sheets of rain. I thought about Tiago and Alex…wondered how far they’d made it. There aren’t any towns between Civitevecchia and where we left them…certainly no cycle shops. I imagine that they’d probably set up camp somewhere to ride out the storm.

Seafood spaghetti. Cappuccino. Perfect. We felt better. Rome – still 70km away. The rain – heavy. The wind – stronger. The scenery – boring. I see the first train of my trip in my immediate future.

So yes…I did it. I’m sorry, but it just seemed like the most sensible solution. I just couldn’t bear the though of 4 hours of freezing rain right now….so a train to Rome it was…and I can’t tell you how happy I am with that decision.

Train travel is brilliant. …but not as good as bicycle of course…

On arrival to Rome we got hounded by touts all pawning themselves off as ‘official’ Rome Tourist Information Officers. They’d ask ‘do you need a place to stay’

‘Yes, can you point me in the direction of a good hostel with a good bar?’

‘I know perfect place, you tell me how many nights.’

Next thing you know they are booking you into some dodgy ‘hotel, but the do hostel too’ place that is probably owned by his cousin or brother in law….all for about 18 – 25 euros per person per night.

After pushing away about three or four of these guys we got out of the station. Found and internet cafe and within a few minutes I was booked into Yellow hostel, very central, great bar, for a cracking 10 euros a night. Beat that.

Stefan and I put off the sightseeing for now. We dropped ourselves into a local restaurant and finished the evening there.

Was a long day….I’m glad to be in Rome and not camping in freezing rain…it’s cold out there right now…after all, it is mid-December.

I feel really bad about ditching Alex and Tiago like that, but I’m sure they will cope all right. I will try to meet up with them again in Rome in the next day or two….

58km Bicycled Today

3313km to Date

It was cold last night…I mean cold. This morning, part of the river we were camping on had ice on it and the leaves all over the valley were covered in crystals. Last night I was wrapped up in my two-season sleeping bag (I know, stupid choice for winter camping), silk liner, merino thermals, trousers, a t-shirt, fleece, and socks. I was comfortable…except for my toes, which really felt the brunt of the cold.

We were up at about 7.30 this morning…first thing was another dip in the thermals (got some pics of them this morning for you!). It was awesome. Crisp, clear day…another cloudless one. There was no one at the thermals but us now – mind you, last night there were people here bathing until the wee hours…

The pools to ourselves….we took our time…

Once we hit the road we immediately hit a 20% climb out of the valley…this lasted for the next few hours…by the time we broke for lunch at 12.30 we had hardly covered 20km…

I have to admit…although I often have spoken before about the loneliness of the road, I am also experimenting with cycling with others and I do find matching pace with people can be difficult. Where I like 100km+ days and short lunches, Alex and Tiago like long lunches and so far our maximum day has been 62km…it’s not a problem, but I just have to watch myself, enjoy the company, and realise that I am not in a hurry…which sometimes I cycle like I am.

After lunch we did another 40km or so before starting to look for a place to camp, just outside of Grosseto. There is a lot of farmland around here so has been hard to find a good wild camping spot….we got lucky though and found an abandoned house in the middle of some barren farmland. The house is borded up, but the driveway is well sheltered by two rows of large old trees, so we’ve pitched camp on the driveway….30m from the main road. Not a bad spot.

I am really grateful for bumping into Tiago and Alex…without them there would be no way I would be doing this camping on my own…hopefully through this experience I will get the nerve to give it a go on my own later on….

62km Bicycled Today

3179km to Date

I hit 3000km today…seems like the kms are flying by!

I’d been to Siena before, it was a little out of my way, and I had no intention of heading this far south on my trip, but it looks like all things happen for a reason….so rather than heading east towards Ancona and my ferry to Croatia…I reluctantly aimed south…not sure why, but knowing that it was the right direction to be heading…

The sky was blue, cloudless, and glorious. I even feel a little sun burnt this evening. The whole day was crisp and cold with a fantastic winter sun warming the day. I finally made my way into Tuscany proper…rolling hills, lonely houses on hills spouting smoke, surrounded by pine, and mile after mile of leafless vineyards. The scenery was breathtaking, the road was exciting…gentle climbs and falls, tight turns, and ever changing landscape…

About an hour into my day I caught up with two cyclists…both long distance tourers…both heading south from Florence, just like me. Alex and Tiago are both from Portugal and have been cycling from three months, via north Africa, Spain, and France…and get this…they are also heading for Istanbul!

Maybe a bit more hard core than me as they have been almost exclusively camping…guess I can learn a thing or two from them!

I end up riding the rest of the day with them as they were also heading for Siena as a final destination for the day…we had lunch…talked a lot…it was great to have some company on the road.

They have a 1 year trip planned and will be heading deep into Asia on their tour, you can check out their blog here, however it is in Portuguese…but great pics.

From Siena I was due to head East to Perugia, and they are continuing south. We discussed the possibility of meeting in Albania and doing the final leg of the trip together from there.

On the way into town, Alex’s chain broke – which he fixed at the Piazza del Campo, and I got a lesson in fixing chains.

In Siena, I am being hosted by a couchsurfer, and – although Alex and Tiago camp a lot – they are also being hosted by a couchsurfer in Siena… We met our respective hosts at the Piazza and then the lot of us shot off for some beers at some dive that the locals knew about.

Alex and Tiago are heading to a hot springs in the morning to chill out and camp – it’s directly south of Siena and totally out of my way…but frankly, I really fancy going along…sounds fun and a good chance to see something I may never normally check out. My host, Anna, has been trying to persuade me all evening to give up my plans of heading to Perugia and trying to get a ferry to Croatia as fast as possible and enjoy my time in Italy.

She’s right. While being in Italy I can’t help but think that all I want is for this leg to end, get to Croatia, and chill out with family…

Well…decision made…it looks like I’m going with the boys tomorrow! …and from there, to Rome…

77km Bicycled Today

3066km to Date

Up and at em…I think I went to bed at about 9pm last night…nice early night. I had the entire 8 bunk room at the hostel to myself…was kind of cool, but the hostel is this massive, grand old building, so I felt kind of spooky being there all alone!

I started finally cutting through the northern part of Tuscany. It was grey…there was a constant drizzle that never seemed to get you wet, but was always there…heavy fog…and bare trees. Smoke billowed from the chimneys of most houses…the smell of winter was strong…wood fires and rain…

The ride wasn’t long today, but felt difficult. My body felt cold, stiff, and resistant. But I was excited to get to Florence…so I just focused on pedalling…a little bit at a time.

My mind wandered terribly. That’s the thing about cycling…you have a lot of time with yourself…you and your thought – and that can be a terribly place sometimes. Too much time to reflect…

I arrived to Florence at about 3pm…made good time today. I checked into my hostel which is not bad as far as hostels concerned. 18 euros a night and they have a pretty nice indoor swimming pool, sauna, and steam room….aaahhhh yeah…I spent a good time in there today resting my weary body.

I had a wander through the Christmas markets…had sausage, beer, mulled wine, and some christmas sweets.

I love Florence. It’s a beautiful city. The energy of the place now is crazy as it’s a public holiday and everyone is out enjoying the crisp, cold air and keeping their hands warm with hot street food.

I bumped into Jen, one of the American backpackers that I met in Riomaggiore. She and I, and a few other backpackers that are staying at the hostel wiled away the hours this evening sharing travelling stories and planning our days for tomorrow.

I’m not sure what I will get up to, but I will explore town a bit and possibly have a look at a museum or two…we’ll see. The one thing I am certain of is that I definitely will have a swim in the morning!

88km Bicycled Today

2989km to Date