Home to Rome, covering 1,200 miles

Day 17 – “When in Rome……..”
Distance from home: 1,210 miles
Distance to Rome: +10 miles!

Sometimes no matter how hard you try your goal is not achievable, no matter what you do something will stop you. Today however, is not one of those days, forgive me for skipping to the end but…..

WE ARE IN ROME, WE HAVE DONE IT, 1,210 miles across 3 countries and 17 days.

Thankyou so much to you all. Will update more later, right now I have a date with a beer. In four months I have had two drinking sessions, I am looking forward to this!

Day 16 – “Charge of the light brigade…. down the S S 1″

Distance from home: 1182 miles
Distance to Rome: 18 miles ish (probably more)

Another early start commenced with the alarm going off a 7. Movement followed half an hour later. Not a bad nights kip overall, Ross’s cold that he has had since starting our journey gave him an unsettled night but other than that we were ok and ready for breakfast. Luckily it looked like the kids had already been, eaten and gone. We had our own table reserved and our own cache of food. The waitress greeted us with a sort of comedy surprise gesture, maybe that we had turned up? Who knows. It was a typical continental breakfast that we had become accustomed to, topped off with toast and cereal and some odd fruit juices. I think the waitress (knocking on maybe 40 odd) had a bit of a thing for me as m cappuccino came with a heart shape on the top where as Adams resembled more of a bum, she’d fallen for the ‘Jonny charm’ for sure! After breakers we packed up our troubles and headed down to reception. We didn’t fancy asking the receptionist as we had a fit of a falling out yesterday over the internet, so using my ‘sway’ over the waitress I encouraged her and the chef to don a Jersey each and join us by the pool. She seemed very willing! After we all had our picture taken she hurried the chef out of the picture for what I thought would be a picture of the three of us and her, but as I walked forward she gave me her camera phone and gestured I take a picture of her and the boys! She had used me to get to them…… bloody women! We my heart now shattered, ha ha. We set off on our last full day of riding. Because we had pushed so hard at the start and mid sections we had worked out that if we did 70 odd miles today we would finish at a decent time and would only have a short distance to cover tomorrow to Rome and still have most of the day to either settle in or explore. The only road we could take was the very familiar SS1 which we had been on or near from entering Italy. We burned off 10 miles pretty quick then diverted off and up (on the ups Adam lost another low gear!) into a nearby town that back down onto an ‘A’ road that followed a train track. This road was so quiet it was reminiscent of the much quieter roads in France and made a welcome break and a chance to enjoy the spectacular lagoon off to our right for the best part of another 10 miles until it was back to the SS1! We were racing along at 18-20 mph in one to one and a half our stints. The problem with this road was that it was similar to riding down say the ‘Spur’ road, gets you where your going but nothing to really look at! Mentally you have to keep it going, we all felt strong today, we were in high spirits and the end was in sight. When we stopped for lunch we came off the SS1 and had covered just over 40 miles! It was about another 30 or so to go. It was good to pass through a few towns after lunch but soon it was back to race pace down the SS1. There were some pretty steep sections that on any other day we would have trundled up, but not today, even on the ups we were maintaining 15-16mph. With keeping this pace we were burning energy a lot quicker and as the Ss1 took us to a port town, we were hungry again. Ross came up with the idea for buying some food then sitting and eating it by the sea, we did exactly that. After buying food we carried on for a bit until we found a good spot, absolutely brilliant. The sea was clear and we wondered how warm it would be, taking a swim was really feeling like an option but time and no towels prevented us. Last stint to go, we cranked it up again and charged on. We passed quite a few cycling teams and let them have a few cheeky ‘Jonny Ciao’s with good responses. Coming down the hill towards us Adam could make out a team of 9 or so riders all in White. This was it. Being our last full day it was time for the ultimate ‘Jonny Ciao’ I closed by eyes took a deep breath, opened my eyes again, focused, let go of the handle bars, guns locked and loaded on hips……… the first rider began to pass……… “Ciao ciao ciao ciao ciao ciao ciao ciao ciao ciao” I had done the lot of them and achieved the impossible, proudest moment of the trip! Ha ha! The charge continued and soon we were down a side road off the SS1 asking for directions towards our apartment. We soon found it and Adam checked us in with the girl on reception who spoke very good English, she showed us to our room and left us to it, after a small debate about who’s turn it was to pick the bed, we showered and chilled for a bit then washed some clothes. Adam and I had been eyeing up the swimming pool. Ross armed with his I-phone on video mode joined us and filmed our plunge into the pool. Although the sun was out it was very windy and felt chilly. We didn’t test the pool temperature and on initially hitting the water it felt ok…..but it was freezing! After a very short swim it was time to think about food. We got some directions from reception and decided to walk. After a long time we only stumbled across a closed pizza/ karaoke bar and another hotel that wasn’t serving till 8.30! It was only just gone 5.30
now. We headed back to the apartment, grabbed the bikes and went in a different direction and sure enough found a Ristorante. Walking in we were unsure if it was open, but an English speaking waiter gestured us in. We were the only people in what was quite a large place! I guess most people don’t eat until later, infact that’s very true of most of Europe. For the second time there was no menu and we went with what the waiter suggested. Bread and a meat ‘Antipasta’ starter then we all chose steak, chips and salad. The steak was cooked well, fairly rare but had more than a quick flash in the pan! Just what the doctor ordered. Whilst eating we looked back over the trip, It felt strange talking about the trip as if it is over, but essentially after tomorrow the ‘cycling’ will be done, we will have covered over 1200 miles over three countries. The reality of this didn’t sink in and it probably won’t for a while. After desert
Ross footed the rather expensive bill and we went back to the apartment, another early start tomorrow so it’s straight to bed. From just outside Marina San Nicola, a stone throw from Rome, Ciao!

Day 14 – “The pictures and punctures of Pisa”
Distance from home: 1,030 miles
Distance to Rome: 170 miles

It wasn’t exactly an early start so much as an earlier start. alarm went off at 7 and we were out by 8.30 ish. There was no breakfast today so after the photo with our buddy on reception and the Vespa in the lounge (1966, one of the first 100cc models) it was down to the local super Market for breakers. We now planned to head to Pisa, which was only a short detour away and see the infamous leaning tower and mainly get some comedy gold photo shots! it was back along the costal road for a bit then a few small climbs to head back in land and to the flats! It was incident free down to Pisa and we could soon see the tower. Our (Adam and I) reaction was amazement at just how leant over the tower was, you would think the name would give it away! This made Ross laugh a bit as our statements did seem a bit daft! When we reached the ‘entrance’ after negotiating hordes of people. We could instantly see daft poses already. I was in desperate need of the toilet at this point and left the bike with the boys a scurried off. It was quite a trek to the toilet and to my dismay found out you had to pay €0.30 for the privilege and I hadn’t bought my wallet…… soooooo with a bit more haste I got back to the boys grabbed my wallet then made a dash for it. Never mind the fountains of
Rome, I had the fountains of Pisa right here and it felt goood! Next up it was silly photo time! You guessed it, holding up the tower! I put on the big ‘guns show’ and used my to prop it up, Adam and Ross both opted for the more traditional two handed approach. It sound simpler than it was! Trying to get someone posing correctly isn’t easy and my camera battery had gone flat, so we were down to our I phone’s which don’t have the best camera! A lot of laughter and mucking about later we sort of had a picture each, either way Ross’s patience had run out with my bad directions and photography skills and one guy deliberately moving through his photo! We did a quick tour around, the other buildings near the tower are equally as impressive yet somehow it all didn’t seem real, they all looked like models, very odd but fascinating, again wish we had more time, but the road calls and we must obey! A few miles out of Pisa Adam let out a few disgruntled select words. Puncture number 4. (remember it was one a piece so far). We pulled into a garage and sure enough a large thorn was sticking out of the tyre. With a new inner tube fitted and inflated we were looking to get going….. Until Adam felt the front tyre……… puncture no. 5. Again it was thorns that were the guilty party and as Adam checked through the tyre for any other would be inner tube assassins, I went off to get some food and Ross tried to find out where the nearest bike shop was, turns out it was about 5 miles away! With the bike finally sorted we ate lunch and set off. I was expecting Adam to struggle a little to keep to the 17mph we had been doing but, in true Adam style he just got on with it! Whilst passing through an industrial area we spotted a large sports shop similar to a JJB sports. They must have a pump! We pulled up and Ross Adam disappeared for a while. Eventually a staff member appeared with a Track pump and Adam, the pump wasn’t brilliant but after a few attempts Adam was happy. It turns out the shop itself was a gold mine, way above the quality of JJB. Carbon fibre bikes, decent shoes everything a couple of bike pervs would need! Ross let me know that they had decent ‘Cleets’ for sale at a good price. Cleets are the clever bits of equipment that attach the shoes to the pedals. Mine had worn out and as a result my left foot kept slipping out! Ross got a set for himself and I, and I made a point to change them that night. Now we were ready. Good mileage here we come…….. The going was a lot better and we felt despite the mornings delays we would still
Make our next hotel in good time. We passed through a small underpass, Ross and I up front and Adam behind. Very faintly I heard a distant voice callout, I looked behind to see Adam looking down at what I thought was his chain, I called to Ross and we pulled over. Not his chain, it couldn’t be, could it. Yes it was puncture No. 6. Adam had clipped something solid in the underpass and not only was the inner tune punctured but also the tyre was split! The wheel was taken off and Ross took the whole wheel assembly back to the shop. Whilst he was gone I set about changing the Cleets on my shoes, easier said than done, they have been abused and worn so much that the heads of the screws were either worn away or had stones jammed in, but eventually I had success. Adam tested them out on the pedals by hand and thought they might be a bit stiff, but I put them on and they were better than ever. 30 min later Ross appeared with the wheel assembly complete with new inner tube and tyre all inflated and ready to go. He had a good chat with the guy in the shop whilst he was doing the tyre as he spoke fairly good English, he thought that we had covered the distance so far in good time and referred to us as ‘Speedy!’ If we had any more punctures he wouldn’t be saying that! With Ross and the wheel back with us and me with my new Cleets, we were ready to finish the day! We were now in the Tuscany region, much drier looking and a notable change in trees, shrubs and grasses but still beautiful, miles of flat landscape bordered by hills and mountains. It had been cloudy, sunny and muggy all day and as we persevered down long straights we began to feel the events of the day. Shortly before stopping for a much needed Panini a guy passed us on a bike wearing a three quarter length t-shirt and what can only have been a pair of speedos, he was bent over as far as he could and it didn’t leave much to the imagination! Needless to say he was met by some contained hysterical laughter from the home to Rome boys! After the panini ‘classico’ it was the last slog to the the Apartment and we began to wonder why it was €45 for the three of us. The sun was fading as we rolled up to a what looked like a deserted building, it had ‘Dusk till Dawn” written all over it (cult quentin tarrintino vampire film). After a few minutes a little old lady appeared and greeted us and gestured around the corner to store our bikes. It was down into an underground car park, which had a few cars, a Canoe and a few other bikes. Walking back up to reception a scruffy chap, presumably the ladies husband, appeared alongside the little lady and began ranting on. Not understanding a word he was saying we followed the couple to our room. They proceeded to show us how everything worked
Including the semi-automatic hob oven that had to be lit with a match and fold out beds (that didn’t stay folded out!) with 1″ thick mattresses that squeaked and let you feel every spring or support on the frame! The shower was a little tricky to navigate in and out of as the bday had been shoved infront of the door and, as I discovered ran out of hot water quickly, just at the point I was covered in soap! By far the best feature was the odd glass panel in the floor that covered a hole into a pit! This added to my ‘Dusk till Dawn’ theory and could imagine all manner of foul creatures lurking down there! The couple whisked Ross away (no doubt to be devoured) and left Adam and I to make a short documentary about the place which was cut abruptly short by someone entering the room, posted on my Facebook profile for you all to see. Once the weird factor rubbed off Ross took our clothes to be washed then we reassembled at the bikes and headed down into town on the bikes in casual attire to get some food! The bikes felt weird without the right clothing, gear or our bags! Once in town we were looking for a supermarket so we could make our own food but there wasn’t much on offer, we eventually had to settle for a ‘speciality’ shop and bought what we could. Not entirely satisfied with what we had Ross bought some snack bits and a Pizza each at a self service ristorante…… that wasn’t self service! In the dark we peddled back with our shopping and after locking up the bikes, got our washing and explored the underground odd gym and shower room, just as we were leaving there was a noise behind us then the sound of something coming down the stairs in a very odd manner! Needless to say we were off sharp ish! Back at the room we were relieved to find the glass panel hadn’t moved, Adam cooked what we had, Mushroom, artichoke and ham, cheese pasta parcels with tomato sauce. We sat down to eat and jested about being eaten during the night! We didn’t eat much as the food wasn’t great and we were tired. We set up the beds and crashed out. Well, unless the night goes bad, we will update you tomorrow, if we are eaten it was nice knowing you all, or if we are turned into to undead beats and you have wronged me in the past, I’m coming for you first! From San Vincenzo, Ciao!

Day 15 – “Not dead or undead but tired”
Distance from Home: 1,105 miles
Distance to Rome: 95 miles

Well guys, pleased to report we are not dead and we still have reflections, didn’t burst into flames when we opened the curtains (Adam did pull the sheets back over his head, but that’s normal!) and didn’t fancy blood for breakfast. Instead we had orange juice, some sort of round cake, yogurt and some ‘Kinder’ snack bars! Now it was photo time and we had preconceptions of this taking along time! Once we had the camera setup though it was fine! We said goodbye, collected the bikes and bid farewell to what was actually probably a really good place in ‘peak’ time to stay. We had again opted for an earlier start and hoped there would be no ‘hassles’ today. Being flat and very open the terrain gave no barrier against the wind which was blowing straight across us. Although not as bad as going into a head wind, it was bad enough and it was hard going. It felt like moving through mud. Still we made good progress by lunch time when we stopped for some food from a local grocery shop and sat in the local park to eat. The ‘Jonny Ciao’ wasn’t in effect today too much, maybe got in a cheeky one or two with little or no response from the Tuscan raiders (or
Sand people as their more commonly known, that’s a Star Wars reference right there!). The wind persisted until we hit the shelter of the hills but we traded the wind for climbs. Those hills just don’t want to let us go, Italy is determined to make us work hard for each mile we steal. Eventually we crossed the main road and our hotel was sign posted, high spirited we turned the last corner only to be confronted with a drive way that had an angle similar to a giant slide, a slide we had to go up the boys raced up while I cautiously peddled up. The weight of the panniers and the angle of the hill was causing the bike to be light at the front and I pulled some small wheelies going up. The view from reception though was well worth it looking out over the hotel swimming pool to the coast over fields of olive trees, vineyards and hills either side, absolutely fantastic and the sun even stayed out for a bit. Check in proved tricky again as they didn’t think we were booked in, again Ross had to explain and show that he had booked! The apartment was great and shared s similar view as from reception. After check in and showering we chilled out near the pool, debating wether to go for a swim or not, we didn’t in the end looked at accommodation for Rome instead, problem was the wi fi network was blocking things like Facebook etc and when Ross tried to use booking.com found it kept trying to access Facebook! Try explaining that to the receptionist! I think they got the gist of what Ross was saying and unfortunately that wouldn’t let us use their computer to access the site. The problem was overcome by downloading the booking.com application and the boys began setting about getting accommodation sorted, reading some funny reviews along the way. Hungry, we still had 40 mins till the ristorante opened so we went back to the apartment and played a few hands of cards to pass the time. We were eventually seated for dinner by s slightly concerned waitress but she didn’t give away why. There was no menu so we were sort of given the option of meat or fish for starter and main dishes. I simply said “meat and meat” and the boys followed suit. What the hell was coming next was a mystery (and some of it still is) The starter had ‘meat’ cheese and a bit if salad and tasted good, then after s long wait the chef came out, ranted on about something almost bowing and seemed to be apologetic! Turns out he was a little behind, so he gave us a free chefs special which was some sort of sea food platter, which despite not being keen on fish was actually pretty good! We then discovered why the waitress looked so alarmed, there was some sort of kids birthday party now coming in, hordes of the noisy buggers! Next up was a very tasty lasagne, we thought maybe that was it but no. What came next wasn’t nice. It was some sort of wholemeal pasta, maybe mushroom and some kinds leaves of some sort, in a grey sauce that kinda tasted like strong cheese. We drowned it in Parmesan cheese and drank water after every mouthful. After that we worried what could be next, so I tried to grab some ice cream from the freezer and gesture that we would go back to the room and eat it. The response was shock, there was still another dish to come. We made out we were full and the waitress bought it but then offered Tirremasu, how could we refuse. The chef bought it out and had obviously made effort to present it like a five star hotel, it looked good and tasted great. Finally dinner was over and we were very tired by this point so it was time to crash out. From Argentario Osa Village Ciao folks

Day 13 – “Cyclist to rock climber in one easy road block!”

Distance from home: 954 miles
Distance to Rome: 246 miles

Only the bells at 7.30am disturbed what was a relitively good nights sleep! Breakfast was included again today do we fell out of bed and headed down. Cheese was avoided this time round and my body was craving fruit, so fruit it was accompanied by a couple of yogurts some bread, ham, cake and a cappuccino, there would have been some cereal to go with that but the dispenser broke as soon as I touched, I seem to have a gift! On the way back up to the room we stopped and had a look at a topographic map of the region and it was all hills for at least the first half of our journey and they didn’t look small! Whilst Ross checked us out I stood and watched a local mixed band warming up and getting ready for the days festivities. The guy on the saxophone was rocking out some mean “One Step Beyond” by Madness. I was really hoping that they would start before we set off, but after a successful photo shoot, we were on our way. Everyone had Italian flags tied or draped round them, I wanted to find one but couldn’t find anywhere that sold them on the way out of town! The going was steady and soon we were back amongst the hills mixing it up with the indigenous locals armed with ‘The Jonny Ciao”, some were puzzled others amused some mugged us off entirely by not saying anything at all! It was time to release a new version as many cyclist were riding in pairs. On the next short flat I rode no handed and perfectly timed a duo came round the corner. With a loaded gun on each hip they receive a volley fire of “ciao ciao”. Result! A steady stream of motorbikes and scooters followed us up and even more coming down the other way. This trip is going to end up costing me a fortune, not only the cost of the trip but also the fact I’m going to have to buy a bike as soon as I can! We stopped for a panini at the top of a climb where bikers, man powered and horse powered a like congregated, and it has to be said there’s a sort of two wheel Alliance thing going on, a mutual respect. After Ross had bought us lunch it was back to climbing again. This hill was feeling more like a mountain and sure enough it was. 691 m which is 2,267ft and apparently mountains start at 2,000ft so that made it number 3! The down after the peak wasn’t steep but certainly gave us some easy miles. At the bottom there was a sharp hairpin bend to the left and a fair amount of traffic so we opted to stop. Just as we did a youngish bloke in a focus drove by with his window down and started gobbling off at us! It may not have been directed at us as behind the car was large man pushing his bike along. He was happily shouting at no one in particular in a stereotypical Italian manner. As a camper van passed him it pulled over and his attention focussed on that. As he tried to pass behind it, It backed up and almost ran him over! Lots of energetic shouting followed from van driver and the chunky Italian monkey, we simply stood there and tried not to laugh. Once it all passed we pressed on. A few more hills came and went and soon it was back to flat ground and easy easy going. Ahead there were a few roadwork signs warning us of some minor works taking place further down the road, being seasoned ‘Home to Rome’ road work specialists now we carried on and, despite passing workmen and a cyclist who had past us earlier coming back the other way, no one urged us to turn around. Around the next bend, trees, fencing and mud lay strewn across the road and then we saw it, half the hill was across the road in front! Large rocks and dirt now blocked us! Undeterred we cycled up to it and Adam and I scrambled over in our cycling shoes to evaluate how passable it was. For about 200m the road disappeared but around the bend it turned back into road again. I stood at the top and watched Adam complete with ruck sac do a spiderman impression to join me at the top. It was doable but we didn’t fancy our chances. I slid back down then Adam followed, throwing caution to the wind he threw his bad down letting it get covered in dirt and mud! As we got back to Ross we told him we might want to try a different route but he told us the only way was to go back and then up another steep climb. Whilst we looked at alternatives, Ross had changed his shoes and hoisted his bike onto his shoulder and he was off, across the loose rocks and up the mountain of dirt. Adam and I had little choice but to follow. Because my panniers are on the bike it was hard lifting Aurelia (my bike) once we reached the foot of the mountain of dirt I scrambled to the top with my panniers whilst Adam looked after my bike. Adams words echoed through my head a split second too late, “that big rock looks loose, I wouldn’t stand on it!” with that I lost my footing and lurched forward, I was find but had now sent a huge rock crashing down towards my bike and Adam, he managed to get everything out of the way just in time, well done that man. Finally after hoping a fence we were back on the road. Road works 0 Home to Rome
Boys at least 4! With bikes and bodies ok after the rock climbing we were now heading for the coast road. Long, flat and busy, very busy. Dodging in and out of traffic as cars tried to park, flying up onto the cycle lanes nearly getting knocked off every five minutes by our fellow pedalists, forcing us up onto the promenade, then back down again! It was mad, horns and bells in there prime the Italians love a good beep, good, bad or indifferent, any excuse! The honey bell was also working overtime as well, plenty of eye candy, although not easy to letch when your supposed to be watching where you are going! I do now of a beach front as long as what we cycled down today! It went on forever. With some detailed (but Italian) directions from a policeman we were in the right area and soon down a side street we could see the sign for Hotel REX and to Adams delight there was a 1966 sky blue vespa on display, the love affair continues! the guy on reception spoke good English and after a much needed shower, he recommended a Ristorante on the Promenade we could get discount at! I couldn’t take more pasta and pizza, so opted for a ham and mozzarella starter follow by tuna steak and grilled Mediterranean veg, delicious. The boys enjoyed and rice and seafood starter followed by Wurtsel pizza. A good meal at a fair price! We walked down the promenade for a bit and onto the beach and observed the mountains in the distance, hard to believe we had cycled over them! On the way back to the hotel we decided to detour to The famous leaning tower tomorrow for some comedy photos. There was also a bit of chat about what we would like to do in Rome when we get there on Friday. Please don’t think this is a holiday from here on in, there’s still a lot of mileage to go and we won’t party till we get it done…. But what a party it will be! From Viareggio, good night.

Day 12 – ” The coast with the most…… miles…… Up!”
Distance from home: 889 miles
Distance to Rome: 331 miles

The room temperature could have been likened to a sauna during the night and none of us got a good nights sleep. Still there was breakfast to look forward to! Continental breakfasts are good but a bit weird for me. Cheese and cakes first thing in the morning doesn’t seem right! But it was included in the price so we made the most of it given that it was Sunday and everywhere was closed! The coffee machine worked as advertised and produced a good Cappuccino! Whilst chatting amongst ourselves the couple on the next table started to chat to us. Ted and his lovely wife (who’s name eludes me) were Irish. They worked in Austria and were heading for Majorca. Through the conversation we talked about what we were doing and Ted gave some great stories about some of the things he had done for Charity, of which there was a lot. Ted very generously gave us €20 for our cause, again very generous for someone who doesn’t know us. He was adamant that we should join him on one of his Charity rides in Ireland, so we gave hike one of our cards, thanked him again and said our goodbyes. The weather was looking sunny but over cast so it was shorts and pink jerseys on display. Back down at reception we checked out and bumped into Ted again who gave us a few more stories and quizzed us a little more about what were doing. We had our photo taken with the guy on reception and also with Ted. We were a little behind schedule now so we had to press on. With the bikes loaded, we decided to disregard the Sat nav pick our one route again, whilst picking a suitable route Tim popped his head round the corner to wish us luck and show a video of his bike back in Austria , which turned out to be a snow bike, I have got to try that at some point! Finally we were off, with Ted doing a little video of us, we were heading for the coast. To start with the terrain was flat with a few ups, my stomach was feeling a bit dodgy, maybe it was the baby bel I had for breakfast?! The road surfaces were terrible and the bikes were taking a bit of a pounding but were holding their own. I was finding it hard to get into a rhythm and Aurelia (my bike) was feeling laboured and hard to ride, at least it felt like the bike, perhaps not feeling to good it was me, either way when we hit the next section it was fairly hard going, you’ve guessed it, more steep hill climbs. The hills around us as we climbed looked more like those you find in the jungle, and with some weather damaged trees these hills looked like something our of a war film, “Hamburger Hill” or “Platoon” something like that. The climb was tough and slow and it had started to rain lightly which didn’t help but we kept it going. By the time we reached the top the rain had stopped, and it was time for some well earned down hill. I keep saying it but I have got to come back to all these places on a motorbike, trying to get my ‘knee down’ on a push bike is great fun but not quite the same, didn’t stop me trying though! About half way down we stopped for a snack break (bare in mind everywhere was shut so we weren’t eating alot!) just past a very impressive bridge that went across the valley high above us, the Center pillar supporting the bridge was as impressive on its own, it was massive! We debated if we could see the Mediterranean from here and it wasn’t conclusive as it was to far away. We saddled up and headed down. My stomach was giving me concern and I really wasn’t getting into it today. At the bottom of the valley we started to catch glimpses of the sea in between the buildings and then after one last corner there it was, the Mediterranean! The sun had come out now and was shimmering on the water, it looked great! We had now reached the outskirts of Genova and pushed on into the city. I have never seen so many scooters and bikes in my life, it was like Poole Quay bike night on steroids. There is a lot more energy about the Italians, more so than their French counterparts and it was defiantly true in this city. Brains switched to city mode we made shirt work of getting through it all. There was another Market ahead so we dismounted, loud pan pipe techno music was blaring out. We spotted a food Stall selling meaty rolls and chips etc and I set about getting us something to eat, an ordeal that was to take an hour start to finish! Jesus! It took ages and the food we got at the end didn’t justify the wait, in the slightest, a few chips and a fee bits if Frankfurt sausage, bad choice Mr. Sargeant! After our gourmet meal, we carried on. The ‘honey bell’ (mounted on my bike, which I ring when I see an attractive lady) was on overdrive, so much so that it came loose in it’s mourning! Adam has taken very much to the idea of buying a vespa, and I think it will suit him. Keeping along the coast line we passed through Soli and then into Recco. Out of Recco it was back to very steep uphills…… for the next 8-10 miles. To keep us entertained we were enjoying saying Ciao to as many people as we could. Ciao being a general greeting and farewell at the same time. On the back of this I developed the ‘Jonny Ciao’ and I think you should all try this at home and post some pictures or videos on my profile. I’ll try and get a video posted ASAP with instructions! Basically you make a gun with your thumb and index finger then take your hand down to your hip give a nod and purse your lips slightly and say Ciao! That’s the ‘Jonny Ciao’, Animal Talent Show could pull this off on stage to help raise a bit of awareness for us and maybe some dosh? Both Ross’s achilles now hurt, Adam had lost his bottom ‘easiest’ gear and I wasn’t feeling 100% in general. Tough times, and given that it was the end of what totalled 83 miles we were tired. Finally we reached the top and looked down onto Chiavari our stop for the night. It was a downhill all the way! On arrival Ross began to check us in but the guy on reception kept trying to say that he was full! Ross kept trying to explain that we had a reservation and showed him on his phone but the guy was having none of it! Finally he conceded when he saw the Booking.com logo in the corner and it was plain sailing from there. The bikes were stored in the dinning room on the first floor and we were up on the third! Clean and refreshed it was into the nearest Ristorante for food! If the pizzas and pasta weren’t so cheap and tasty I would prob be complaining by now!
a very filling and tasty dinner and much needed, walking back to the hotel I could feel how heavy my eyes were, it wasn’t gonna take much to get to sleep tonight, heat, bells or sirens we were gonna sleep right through, good night folks.

Day 11 – ” Pretty in Pink”
Distance from home: 794 miles
Distance to Rome: 426 miles

*If you want add Ross Lennon and Adam Lennon as friends on Facebook, there are some diff bits on there profiles video diaries etc*

“We need to get up early boys” was the bold statement from Adam last night! Come 8 o’clock he wasn’t exactly a coiled spring getting out of bed, as we have learnt he’s not a morning person! It had clearly been raining during the early hours and the skies were looking grey and wet! It was gonna be tights and waterproofs today! We had our first proper breakfast at the hotel today and we think this may continue, although the coffee machine gave what it wanted and not what you asked for! It was set to be an easier day today as the mountains were behind us and the distance was shorter, but we all know how this keeps ending! Ross had given us a package each on the Ferry back in Portsmouth and told us we would be able to open them the first morning we were in Italy. Today was that day! There is a video of this on Ross’s profile so add him and check it out. He had ordered bright pink versions of our Jerseys for us to wear! I’m not usually a fan of pink but it’s considered very manly in Italy and we had already seen a fair amount of blokes wearing pink that morning. A very welcome gift thankyou Mr Lennon Cnr. esp after yesterdays disappointment. We mucked about for a bit then finally checked. We thought today would be the first time we would be refused ‘the Jersey shot’ as the woman on reception was quite abrupt, but she was no match for my charm! (puke) unfortunately the rain hadn’t stopped so it was Macs and bag covers on, which meant the new Jerseys were not on display! Setting off the boys looked like some sort of techno ghostbusters, esp Adam with his white sunglasses and orange tinted lenses A fair amount of singing “Cycling makes me feel good” to the famous film tune could be heard in Torino, and me with Areosmiths “Pink” as well, the mood despite the weather was good. We wanted to make Alessandria by about 4 so we kept the speed up and were looking to make the ETA. Until…… coming off of a roundabout Adam felt his front wheel slip and sure enough it was puncture number two. We made short work of getting on with replacing it and after I had done a stint of the inflating (which takes a lot with a small pump) Ross took over. Let’s just say his style of ‘pumping’ was a little vigorous and on the ‘vinegar stroke’ there was a tell tale release of air from the tyre. On slowly removing the pump we found he had snapped the valve!!! This counted as a ‘penalty puncture’ for Ross so we are now all on 1 each! A few town folk had passed us on bikes earlier and were now coming back to see us still changing an inner tube, they didn’t know it was our second and must have thought we were the most incapable people on the planet. On the second go (keeping Ross well away) it was ok and after a quick stop at a super market we were off again. If you remember our pump will only inflate up to half the pressure needed so the next order of business was to find a bike shop which Ross and his useful phrase sheet found out there was one in the next town. When we got to the town Ross asked again where the bike shop was and had a result as the guy he stopped spoke fairly good English. We followed his directions bur couldn’t quite find it, so on asking again another geezer gestured us to follow him, he even gave the boys some sort of salty donought, which I missed out on. At the shop Adam used his best Italian asked in his best English “Do you have a pump?” the shop keep obviously didn’t understand so Adam switched to international sign language for pump and she smiled and let us use one she had out back. After a quick bit of the boys ‘bike perving’ in the shop, we were hop footing out of there, through the town. Worth noting here that over the past few days there have been Italian flags everywhere, not sure if it’s been a national holiday or if it’s tied in with easter? After an hour or Ross needed a ‘comfort break’ and we stopped at another super Market (haven’t mastered this in Italian yet). Whilst Ross was inside Adam and I were approached by a youngish man who started to babble away in Italian. I looked at him and said sorry I’m English I don’t understand. “Good” he replied then after an awkward pause carried out to explain he spoke a bit of English. He was very interested in the bikes and was a keen cyclist himself. He explained some good places to ride in France, Italy and Sardinia. He then began to ask where we were going where we had been, and while all this was going on more of his friends started wondering over. Ross returned to find a group of people surrounding us, what his thoughts were I don’t know! He soon became embroiled in the lively banter and it turned out many of them spoke good English. They were genuinely interested and seemingly impressed by what we were doing. We took the opportunity to get some photos with them and they donned all of our spare jerseys! With the photo session done they invited us to join them to cook pizza in the countryside! As intrigued as we were to see how you cook pizza in the country we had to decline. We started to bid them farewell and then to our complete amazement they did a whip round and gave us €35 for our charity. They had never met us before, we were foreigners in their country, nor were they likely to ever benefit from the charity they were giving to! Totally and utterly gobsmacked. Be honest here if you saw a group of French or Italian cyclist in the Uk raising money for a charity for their country would you give them a penny?No? I’d have to say I probably wouldn’t. Perhaps now I would. With some firm handshakes and my first cheek to cheek kisses with the ladies, we were off, and perfectly it was dry enough to let the pink jerseys shine at last! 19mph was stretching the legs nicely and soon after passing a miniature sized grass strip airfield complete with child size tower, we hit the hills. It takes a lot to change from flats to hills and we didn’t exactly cruise the climbs easily. The terrain was hilly with vineyards in abundance. 4 O clock wasn’t looking feasible now as we were constantly climbing or having to negotiate road works that literally blocked what was left of the road! The boys can lift there bikes as all there weight is on their backs, which they rarely complain about, I however can’t lift my bike easily due the weight and balance. This meant pulling my bike through mud, sludge, loose stones and under growth! It soon came off though but Aurelia (my bikes name as picked by David Bright, Julius Ceasers wife!) is looking a little off road ish! After a long climb into a town called Lu. We stopped and had pizza slices a twix each and some sugary sweets. We sat near the local group of stereotypical old man of the town, they were content to the watch the sleepy town pass by and comment on everything that passed them by, no doubt including us! Another 13 miles through hilly landscape and we arrived in Alessandria and found the hotel quite easily. After securing the bikes it was just about 6 ish, 2 hrs ahead of our previous few nights. Time to slouch a bit, recover, shower then head into town for food! We wondered aimlessly down street after street but couldn’t find any places to eat! Eventually (and guided by a statue pointing down a street) we found somewhere, guided by the smell of food and not the two gorgeous girls behind the bar of course! The waiter didn’t seemed to impressed with our lack of linguistic skills, but on observing him he didn’t seem to be much of a people person, even with the locals! You will never in a million years guess what we had to eat…. go on. What’s that? Pasta and Pizza you say? Well I’ll never, you got it in one, but you missed out the bread and Grissini! After finding our bearings we headed back to the hotel, en route we stopped for an ice cream. On ordering I thought it was one scoop each so started ordering for myself and the boys. However it turned out it was pick three flavours each, so I had ordered raspberry ripple and lemon! Horrified by my choice the lady cut the lemon scoop off! Panicked I just grabbed three random flavours, which didn’t turn out too bad in the end, and with a little more time to choose the boys enjoyed theirs as well. From Alessandria, ciao ciao !

Day 10 – ” all roads lead to Rome…. And laughter”
Distance from home: 729 miles
Distance to Rome: 491 miles

Rolling over in bed, I could still feel all the aches and pains from yesterday’s ordeal were still there, but you’ll be amazed what 8 hrsskeep will do for you, even if the beds were a little narrow and squeaky! Thankfully we were equipped with clean riding gear so at least we were a bit fresher. Breakfast consisted of what we could get out of the vending machine in reception, where there was some bad news waiting! The American / Canadian lady behind reception told us that all routes over the Alpes were closed. We now faced a dilemma, head back and find an alternative route or press on towards the tunnel. After the photo we opted for the tunnel, no one likes to back track, especially after yesterday. We set out and the wind was there waiting! 7-8mph was all we could muster even down hill parts were hard work and the up hills at times seemed more draining than the mountains. We were now approaching the motorway turn off which we couldn’t cycle down. We headed into a town called Modane and spoke to the tourist information staff. It wasn’t good news, no trains and buses, all services suspended! We cycled back to the nearest service station at the mouth of the motorway and made up a sign to see if we could hitch hike! Ross took the first car and Adam and I were confident that we and the bikes would get picked up! I frantically txt people back in the uk to get a translation to be able to explain to people what we wanted. Nobody stopped, people we asked at the service station either said no or were heading the other way. It wasn’t panning out very well! We had attracted a bit of attention from the police and despite questioning us a few times they left us alone. I left Adam to try his luck and cycled back to Modane to try and find a taxi, there were none at the taxi rank so I went back to the tourist office to see if they could help. The lady behind reception was very helpful and ordered the taxi and explained the situation to them Eventually the taxi arrived, a very pimped out black Vw van! I removed my front wheel and put the bike in the boot. I jumped in the front and with some gesturing we headed off to pick up Adam from the service station. Adam looked glad to finally see me and more importantly the taxi. We quickly got the bikes and gear loaded and were ready to go, our driver however was still waiting for a third person to jump in, Ross by this time was now in Italy! From my first explanation our driver thought the third man was in the services and continued to wait. Again I explained and this time she got the idea! We got to the toll for the tunnel and joined the que, a stern faced guard started eyeing the van up, he started to walk over and the driver wound down her window and greeted him. What followed next must have been a conversation about who we were and what we were doing. She was asked to pull over to one side and switch off the engine. Meanwhile Ross had made it to the first town with his new mate Gee / Gui or something to that effect. He had quizzed Ross the whole way about what we were doing. He had also tried to insist on taking Ross all the way to Torino (Turin) and considering his bike was still in France along with his buddies, he declined and got dropped off at the first exit from the motorway, he was now stranded! Back in France our driver had produced numerous documents to the guards and had now been breathillised twice, after the third attempt she was asked to get out of the car and go with the guards / police! Adam and I were now alone, without a clue what was going on. We had been controlling ourselves to this point but we burst out laughing! After 20min though the laughter wore off….. mostly and after 30 mins one of the guards came back and asked in French if we had already paid and wanted our passports! We handed them over and got no further explanation. Another 10 mins and our driver finally reappeared and hopped in the car simply saying ‘ok’, she was about to start up and move until we told her they still had our passports! Eventually the guard came back and handed them back. What the he’ll had just happened? Either way we got through the 14km long tunnel and were dropped off near to Ross, who had found shelter in a strange cafe. He walked down to meet us and we shared a lot of laughter about the events that had just unfolded! At least now we were all back together again, except now it was 4pm. We gathered ourselves and headed for Torino
Which lay 77km away! Best pedal fwd into the wind which had followed us across the boarder! Still we made good ground. The weather had taken a turn to the colder side of fresh! A few uphills stretched our fairly unused legs and the snaking and twisting downs were as brilliant as ever, noted some more places to bring the ‘proper bike’ in the future . The mountains were much more prolific this side of the boarder and much bigger, but as the afternoon passed on they began to shrink, smaller and smaller. This marked the end to mountain climbs and indeed the Alpes. It wasn’t the best send off. We had been unable to cross the boarder as we intended and what’s more we had been forced to make some of the journey by car. No one feels more cheated than us, it may have only been 14km but it was prob the most significant distance of the trip. If we could have found a way it would have been done, I give you my word! Hunger soon began to cloud our thoughts and eventually or new sponsors appeared and guess what…. it was the Italian version of Inter Marchet Super! Now that we had mastered French (cough cough) it was baffling trying to go back to knowing nothing again! Infact less than nothing! with fuel in the tank it was time to up the tempo! Adam lead the charge at his Race Pace and Ross and I followed suit. The miles flew by. Above a menacing black cloud had moved In and after the first spots of rain Ross called a stop and we got our waterproofs on, just it time! The shower didn’t last long and we were soon back to bombing along. Time was getting short and the light was fading. The road into Torino Center was long a straight with loads of traffic lights which meant going back to the stop start frustration! The sat nav did it’s usual trick in town of trying to double back and giving us turns after we had passed them but it was ok, we were there. We rocked up at 9pm our latest day yet! Tired and hungry we checked in, slumped for a bit then went out for dinner…… more pizza and pasta. Bloody tasty it was too! Made the boys laugh how much I sweat when I have spicy food, who would have thought “pizza atomic” would be so spicy!!! Adjusting to the lingo is producing mixed results. Now using a combination of English, French and Italian! Well, it’s 1 am here so I’d best sign off. From Torino Italy, we hope you enjoyed your first Bank Holiday, take care, ciao!

Day 9 –
“Your forgetting the main reason fro climbing a mountain”
“and that is?”
“…..because it’s there!”
- Kirk and Spock Star Trek IV
Distance from home: 667 miles
Distance to Rome: 553 miles

I got up early and ran a nice hot steamy bath, perfect way to loosen up ready for the day. It would have been too had I not forgotten my legs were sun burnt as I dropped myself in! I had to stifle shouting of a few profanities. Once the burn was done i lay there and soaked for a bit, it def felt better! After a slow start and breakfast (cold pizza) we were heading into town to find a bike shop, after a bit of messing about we found it and the chap took our bikes out the back and inflated the tyres, we were surprised to see they didn’t need a lot. We said our thankyou’s and goodbyes and set off again through the town. The route suddenly jerked off right and up a ridiculously steep side street, that was a morning wake up for the legs! It was up from then, our second mountain. It was a hard slog, even more so than yesterday, but it was better doing it at the start of the journey than the end like yesterday. A fair distance up Ross stopped at what can only be described as a trough of water with a fresh supply coming into it. I couldn’t resist and dunked my head into it, it felt great, cold, but great. Back to it! The views were sensational, I keep saying that but the higher we went the better it got. Everything was feeling good, don’t get me wrong my legs were aching and I was breathing louder and heavier than Darth Vader on a dance floor, but the going felt ok. Approaching the peak (about a mile off) I could hear the squealing of tyres coming up behind. I looked back to see a red car come round a corner sideways and he was gaining fast. Being a fair way at the back I stuck out my Arm and gestured for the motorist to slow down and indicated there were more cyclist ahead, this seemed only to spur him on. He over took me on the next bend tyres screeching and the arse end of the car right round, he missed me but I wouldn’t like to judge by how much. I was angry and vowed if the car was at the peak I would be taking issue with the driver. With the anger fuelling me I caught up with the boys who, as it turns out they had also had near misses with the now infamous ‘red car’ but alas it wasn’t in the car park at the peak. OH S**T THE PEAK! We had made it and it smashed yesterday’s mountain. 3,721 ft. After a small celebratory (but more essentially needed) lunch we donned our jackets and sunglasses and headed down, waaaaaaay down hitting speeds near 40mph. Heading Into a valley between mountains, again great fun but definitely had to keep our wits about us. A rubbish road through a town meant getting of the bikes for a couple of hundred metres and after jumping back on we crossed a river and it was back up…… again. Picturesque villages broke up the journeys arduous agenda but even they couldn’t stop the unrelenting punishment of the climbs. Even now though we were all feeling alright…. ish! Another hard climb was finally rewarded with another long descent and down into a town called La Rochette, where a patisserie stop was in order. Ross picked up some tasty muffins and some sorta jam tarts which went down a treat! The sat nav was now trying route us all over the place so despite our better judgement (due to yesterday’s ‘short cut’ ) we picked our own route) We picked up the main road and with the mountains surrounding us again we picked up the pace to a racey 19mph and it felt comfortable, and given that we thought we were home and dry as this was a short day, we were feeling great. After mile upon mile of the same route we began to wonder if the end would ever come….. It didn’t for a long time…. a very long time. Sings of the mornings efforts were starting to show through and old aches and pains crept back in with a few new ones! The pace began to drop 15, 13, 11, 10mph, the wind was now coming straight down the Valley between the two snow peaked mountains and must have been gusting 25-30 mph. The going was tough and I can’t out in to words adequately what we were facing. We were down to 5mph at points and the town was still 15km away. We were all hungry now, really hungry, which is not good. We had always managed to eat before this stage on previous days but there was nothing about. With a stop I dived into my panniers and found a muffin and a waffle, the boys shared the waffle as I devoured the muffin. I could feel my legs shaking just from standing, this was not looking good, we still had 11km to go. The wind didn’t let up at all, each turn of the pedals seemed to move us forward only small amounts. I started to feel light headed from a lack of food but the town was now in sight, heads down we limped to the hotel. Adam checked us in and found out about laundry services. I don’t want to be too graphic but let’s just say if you had to pick who smelt best out of us and a skunk, the skunk would win and turn it’s nose up at us! With our clothes washing, Adam had s quick chat to the lady on reception who was very fluent in English. She was very surprised to see us on bikes as usually this place is covered in snow this time of year, we were very lucky, very lucky indeed. We scrubbed up and headed into town. Pizza and a massive salad were on the cards again tonight, this time I made sure I wasn’t getting a bloody raw egg sat in the middle. Over dinner we discussed the next days route, as we had come a lot further today we were looking at pushing onto Turin, this would save us an extra day, the problem now is it’s Le Alpes time. Will let you know how we get on with that one. I’m feeling ok now I’ve eaten, I don’t want people to worry, I’m stronger than most people will give me credit for and I’m a long way from being finished, besides I’ve got two great guys here and we are looking out for each other, night folks from St Michel De Maurine