Loiano to Bologna

So we had our first set-back today. Will has got a bad knee so we back-tracked from Loiano to Bologna where we are currently waiting for a train to Florence. We are going to do whatever we can to get his knee better starting with glucosamine pills and a couple days rest. Its a long trip and we are optimistic that it will be a majority biking trip.

Lodi to Modena

We biked our little tails off today in what was our first serious day of riding. We made it to Modena after dark, around 90 miles. We had a great, cheap meal at the restaurant next to our campsite. Props to Will for being camp savvy - he boiled water on his Whisper Light International camp stove (which is running on unleaded gasoline in the absence of white gas btw), poured it into our water bottles and put them in our sleeping bag - toasty! We are exhausted and going to bed. Thanks everyone for following the blog and special thanks to Steph and Mom for your comments, it's a real morale booster. Peace out bean sprouts.

The Beginning

We biked today from Milan to Lodi, short ride of only about 20 miles. Milan was fantastic though we were ready to move on. Our first night there was definitely the most interesting. Will and I had set a place to meet as my flight got in about 6 hours before his. After meeting at the Cadorna train station, the evening began with a celebratory drink at a bar called the Red Mullet.

Unable to secure a hostel for the evening, our Sri Lankan bartender - Roshan - suggested we crash on the grounds of an enormous castle - Castello Sforzesco - just a few hundred yards from Cadorna station. We were able to stay out of site because I'm pretty sure we were in what was once the moat surrounding the castle. We easily found the castle and immediately realized why Roshan had made the suggestion. Before settling in for the night, however, we made our way over to the drum circle going down about 50 yards away. Fifteen Sri Lankan guys jamming out with a single drum, singing, clapping, etc. We joined and soon found common musical ground with the tunes of Bob Marley. It was a hoot.

Around midnight we headed to our makeshift campsite, blew up our insulation mats, got into our sleeping bags and slept under the stars. Just before falling asleep I recall thinking to myself, welcome to Europe Tour 09.