Romania

Romania was there and gone faster than you can say Timisoara. The primary destination was Timisoara where we arrived later in the evening. We scored our most lavish, 3-course meal of the trip for under $25, which we considered justifiable considering our campsite accommodation ran us $5. Dinner included probably the best appetizer I've ever had - plum tomatoes with an eggplant cream filling; a chicken entree served with a traditional mushroom sauce; and we finished with an apple and cream filled pancake that had been deep fried. Yum. Oh yea, our server was awesome, noting his appreciation of our appreciation for the simple things in life, i.e. bike riding and good bread.

Our exploration of Timisoara consisted primarily of the ride into town. The city center was quaint, featuring several nice, but not overly-lavish churches, with a good amount of public park space. We made our way onto what appeared to be the main, cobblestone pedestrian corridor of the downtown area. Many of the shops were closed as it had gotten late, but it nonetheless provided that taste of cosmopolitan living that feels so good after a long day of riding through fields.

Belgrade

We've just about made it to Budapest. After leaving Belgrade several days ago, our major stops were Timisoara, Romania and Szeged and Kecsmeket in Hungary.

We stayed in Belgrade for 3 days. As far as cities go it was probably the highlight of the trip so far, thanks in large part to our most awesome accommodation at the 3 Black Cats Hostel. Situated in the Republic Square (identified by the huge statue of a man on a horse), we had convenient access to the heart of the city.

The hostel was small but felt like home more than any other place we've stayed. There was a tiny kitchen that had everything necessary for Will to cook delicious meals several times a day.

The first night we were there our gracious owner and host, Mladin, prepared a traditional hungarian meal that was without a doubt the best food we've eaten since being on the trip. There were 3 main components 1) really good bread, 2) pork that was prepared in egg, breaded and then fried and 3) pickled peppers that had been soaking in the magical juice since october. When we asked him what you call this meal, Mladin explained that it translated into "winter food." It was a simple dish and Will and I were clearly the most excited people in the room about it.

We also got a chance to do some touristy things. The first day we went to the military museum located withing the grounds of the city's enormous fortress. Overlooking the Danube from one side and the city center from the other, it was clear that Belgrade has had a long, and at times violent history. The military museum was the military museum, don't know much what else to say. Cool weapons.

After the museum we made our way to the oldest tavern in the city, ? Aka "The Question Mark. We splurged a little on the recommendation of the server. It was good, but no winter food.

The next day we went to the Tito Museum and it was pretty clear that Serbians love that guy. It was an interesting experience that I will simply say this about - the nationalism espoused by a people (particularly in difficult or transitional times) in admiration for a single, charismatic individual can be both frightening and inspiring.

We had taken a bus to the museum and walked back through the city towards the hostel. We stopped at a huge, famous cathedral, the Parliament Building and made our way through the Bohemian Corridor. All very cool.

Sarajevo

It was dark when we arrived in Sarajevo and we were glad to find our hostel without much difficulty. Like many of the cities we've been to, the river provided a nice reference point. Unlike in Italy, Eastern Europe has no street-level detail on google maps, thus we've been working out of the maps in Lonely Planet. Its more difficult but also more rewarding when we successfully navigate our way through foreign street names to remote locations where hostels are often found.

We really took it easy in Sarajevo, based in the Old Town quarter, where we pretty much stayed the whole time. The weather was 40s and rainy. We walked the cobblestone streets of Old Town and down along the river. The city sits literally right in the middle of the mountains and from any given point you can see how close the snow covered mountains really are. The markets were bustling and the bombed out buildings on random street corners were a reminder of how recently war was a regular part of life here.

We ate really well and got a small taste of the nightlife when we went to see a killer blues band from Mostar at a local bar. Its difficult to explain how it was different from Western Europe and the states... Something in the facial expressions of the local people we passed perhaps. And, like rest of Europe, there is so much more history here, traditions and buildings alike are noticeably older.

The Greatest Ride

So a hostel friend that we made asked me today what my favorite place we had been was. I hesitated at first but then it occurred to me. I touched on it a little bit last post, but wanted to elaborate. It was not so much of a place as it was the last section of the ride on the day we left Dubrovnik.

We had spent the day riding the coastline of Croatia, which was in itself one of the most scenic portions of the trip. The hills provided healthy, but not overwhelming climbs, followed as always by a glorious, pedal-optional descent. The road was windy with obvious variations in elevations. The road hugged the coastline at sea level for sections, and then we would make the climb for sections that looked out over the Adriatic and all the islands not even a mile off the coast. But I think the best part of the riding along the coast during that day was when the natural line of the coast would cut inland around the little bays that provided protection for the small, coastal towns that often occupied them. The bays always had a variety of docks and their respective boats and waterfront homes. Often times these little coastal towns had no more than a couple hundred homes with no signs for a general store of any kind. There was something so cozy and safe about all of them, like out of some children's book. What was so cool about it was that we would ride completely around the bay, from one side to the other and get to see the towns from every angle and at varying elevation. And all at the mellow cruising speed that the bike offers.

After following the coastline all day, we finally turned inland just before sunset. And it was this little section of the ride that was the most extraordinary part of the trip - simultaneously calming and electrifying...

The sunset had begun to color the sky in that indescribable way that it does on the nights with the best sunsets as we abandoned the coastline and turned inland. We had just made the most significant climb of the day and found ourselves high at the cusp of a huge valley - the last bit of light colored the enormous valley floor populated with farm houses. The small fires burning piles of wood throughout the valley sent smoke into the air, and the entire scene was like something out of a dream. I pondered the feeling of being in this place that felt so familiar, yet at the same time was like no place I had ever been.

Riding downhill we curved around the valley floor before getting back on flat road that followed a river into the town of Metkovic, where we were headed. The air was crisp and cool as the dew had begun to set. Dusk had turned to twilight as we rode by a small town nestled up into the hillside on the opposite side of the river. There was a church lit up in a way that made the whole town seem to glow. It was like riding through a fairytale, not quite real but at the same time a completely sensory experience. Everything seemed at peace, and there was something so safe about this little hillside fairytale town.

I was sad to think that so much of it had only recently been rebuilt after war. I had always thought of the conflict in terms of the greater Balkans, but riding through that small town the tragedy of it all was so much more apparent than ever before.

Dubrovnik to Mostar

We left Dubrovnik for Medjugorge the morning before last. People told us that the Croatian coastline was beautiful and seeing it from the boat when we arrived in Dubrovnik was awesome. But to actually ride it was an experience I'll never forget and hope to have again.

We received some advice from a cab driver in Dubrovnik to take a back road into Medugorje, which provided for some country-hopping of sorts. After crossing into Bosnia, we shortly thereafter crossed back into Croatia and then back into Bosnia. All within 30m or so. There were just small little checkpoints where we showed our passport and moved though easily.

We spent that night in Metkovic and left the next morning for Medjugorge. Metkovic was cool, we had pizza and watched Starsky and Hutch.

We arrived on Medugorje early afternoon and spent the day on the church grounds. We went to an evening Mass and the music was beautiful. The service was translated into about 5 different languages. Will and I both sang.

From Medugorje it was a short ride to Mostar. Mostar is still rebuilding after the wars and there were bombed out buildings, bullet holes everywhere. We got in before noon and the place was jumping. The thing to do on a Sunday in Mostar is hang out in the beer gardens. Everything was closed except the bars with the front patios, and everyone was out. We had lunch in a park before heading to the bus station for the ride to Sarajevo.

Naples-Bari

A nice young gal just handed us a flyer for what we think may be a free sandwich, and not just any sandwich, but a chicken shwerma sandwich. We're not sure (it may be a free drink if you order a shwerma) but if that is in fact the case, our day thus far - between 7 and noon thus far - has taken not just a 180, but a 540.

Two nights ago we got into Naples after a full day of riding. The city had been described to us as "controlled chaos" and we unequivocally confirm the assessment. Making our way into the Naples, our destination was Napoli Centrale - the train station. However, when I googled it on our blackberry, we were taken to the restaurant Napoli Centrale, rather than the station. Ha! Naples essentially sits on a huge hill and getting to our misguided destination involved climbing that hill. Getting to our actual destination involved coming back down that hill, and that's when we got to experience that which is the controlled chaos of Naples.

A couple weeks before I left for this trip I took a family friend on a bike ride through Chicago. It was a particularly enjoyable ride because my riding partner embraced the aggressive kind of riding one finds when rolling down a traffic- packed Michigan Ave. A Marine, Raleigh used a phrase that they used in the service to describe our experience - Go Get Some!

I have never gotten so much as I did during that night ride through Naples. Basically a down-hill free-for-all, we weaved our way in and out of traffic until reaching our destination.

So back to the 540 that our day took. We got on a train in Naples the next day only to be kicked off at the next stop for having bikes. This after being told twice that the bikes were okay. I left my backpack on the train. It had my bike shoes, jacket, helmet, Lonely Planet and Pedal Power - The first three of which would either need to be found or replaced in order to continue.

We managed to get onto two more trains that eventually arrived in Bari, under the impression that my backpack had made it to the trains final destination in Lecce. We did what we could to determine whether or not the bag was in custody of authorities, but to no avail.

We arrived late in Bari and found a tucked away park to camp in, sleeping under a tree with no tent. We woke early up to rain, despite the clear forecast, and headed to Bari Centrale where my backpack was waiting with the baggage claim. The sun is out now and we're chilling at a park in Bari. We take a 10pm ferry to Dubrovnik. Shwerma included, the day took a 540.

Rome to Terracina

The stars are bright tonight. We've made camp on the beach in Terracina after a 70m ride from Rome. The ride today was the best of the trip. Sunny and 60, the first portion of the trip featured a 6-8km climb, which was more exhilarating than anything after a full day rest. At the top of the climb we rode through several little mountain towns, and it being a beautiful Sunday, much of the communities were out and about enjoying their day of rest.

We enjoyed a gradual descent and the final 40m featured mountains filled in by open pastures, a recently paved, flat road, and the wind at our back. For the last 25m or so we road parallel to a river and as we passed through small town after small town there were people fishing all along the banks - mostly not the serious angler types, just people enjoying some Sunday afternoon leisure time.

We pulled into Terracina around 4.30 and made our way to the beach-front where the boardwalk was bustling with hundreds of people out eating gelato and watching the sun make its way down.

Twas a good day.

Part 2: Tut-Tut It Looks Like Rain (and Wind and Gnarly Climbs)

We woke up soaked from the night's rain as we had not slept in the tent to avoid being noticed camping outside a campground - worth it in our mind to have saved the 20-25 euro its been costing us. So we found a laundromat, dried our essentials and were on the road by noon.

One of the problems we've encountered regarding roads is that often times a highway (which is okay for biking) merges with an expressway (not okay for biking) for 5-10 miles before splitting again into highway and expressway. That dilemma today led us diverted our course onto a series of back-country roads that consisted of several multi-mile climbs. Throw in a steady 20mph headwind gusting to 40mph, with constant and at times heavy rain and you get an idea of the intensity of our ride. It was by far the most intense ride I've ever experienced. For me personally, the elements combined for what was also the most exhilarating ride I've ever been on. The views were out of this world and there's something about an overcast day that illuminates the lushness of the vegetation - perhaps bc the plants are soaking up the nutrients that make them so incredible. Only about 30m today, it was a full day.

We made it to Albina after dark and by a stroke of luck found a little Bed n Breakfast type place with a room for 2 for the night for 45 euro, and an incredible pizza dinner. After all the rain and wet, a dry room was a necessity. About 80m to Rome, we hope to make it tomorrow, but the weather will be the determining factor. It's good to be dry.

Livorno - Castiliogne della Pescaia - Albina: Part 1

So I'm covering two days of incredible riding in this here post. Yesterday morning we left Livorno after an incredible night breathing in the sea air. The ride, approx 70m, was the perfect distance for 2 riders still breaking in their legs.

We followed the coast for almost the entire ride with lots of good, but manageable climbs. For the first 20m of overcast we would move from high atop bluffs looking out over the Mediterranean down into stretches of narrow road with dense, Florida Everglade-like vegetation on both sides of the road. I kept thinking how much the plants looked like the mangroves that grow out of the canals and along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico.

During what is now our regular mid-morning stop at a fruit market, the rain started to come down quite hard. We took the opportunity to stretch, 30 minutes later it had passed and 15 minutes after that the sun made its first appearance of the day.

The second stretch of riding brought about our first off-road adventure of the trip. As we followed the coast heading south we entered a sizable stretch of flat road with forest to the right (between us and the coast) and open farm field to our left. As we continued along the road we weren't certain whether it would lead us in a big circle, dead end, or what. We continued despite our reservations and arrived at what appeared to be a dead end. There was, however, a very narrow, puddle-filled dirt road that ran directly from where we were towards the parallel highway that we could see over a mile away. We went for it and it was that mile stretch that provided our off-road adventure. What made it tricky were the puddles - every few yards - in the middle of the road that we sought to avoid by weaving in and out on either side of each. We couldn't just stay to one side because there was enough room to get around each puddle only on alternating sides. We embraced the obstacle course and were pleased to find paved road on the other side.

It was fitting that the sun shone brightly for the third stretch of ride as we made our way though half a dozen beach towns. The winds out of the south slowed our progress considerably but the sunshine felt great.

Our final stretch of ride through the dusk brought us through an enormous, lush valley dotted by the characteristically Italian pastel farmhouses and back towards the coast after having been taken inland a bit. It was absolutely breathtaking.

Just before dark we reached the small port town Castiglione della Pescaia and found a discreet little area to make camp for the night. We settled in, exhausted for a night sleeping under the stars. We were not expecting the rain...

Florence to Livorno

With Will's knee feeling better after the Florence break we got an early start this morning. We left Florence in the rain and arrived in Livorno early evening. While we were expecting a less than ideal day given the weather, it turned out to be the best day of the trip so far. The riding was great, enough hills to keep us occupied but nothing too intense. It was small town after small town that wound through the gentle mountain passes all the way to the coast.

Reaching the coast was the goal for the day. And we did. I want to mention 2 things about todays ride that were particularly special. First, as we started to get closer and closer to the ocean we started to get great big whiffs of the ocean air that were utterly delicious and an inspiration to keep on keeping on. Second, as we got closer to the coast, everything became greener, and the wildlife generally more alive. We began to see trees with green leaves on them, which meant a lot to two weary riders.

I would be remiss if I did not mention Professor Harry Wray's book - Pedal Power: The Quiet Rise of the Bicycle in American Public Life - that I am reading because it occupied my mind for most of the day. It constantly reaffirms a philosophy of biking that continues to take shape with every great, and not so great ride I take. Its a must read for any biker, and just plain interesting for the non-cyclist. Amazon it. Amongst a great deal else, he talks about a cross-country US tour he did years back and as I was riding today the timeless spirit of adventure and exploration by bike was clearer than ever before. I am sure his book will be the subject of much reflection to come.

Florence

We spent two full days in Florence at a really awesome campsite that overlooked the old city center. From atop the bluff where our campsite was there was a trail that ran down into the city, which we traversed several times at all hours of the day and night.

Our first night there we met a merry band of guys and gals - Seton, Eduardo, Jason, Skye, Rachel and another gal whose name I can't recall, all painters studying in the city - who were more familiar with the city than us, so we tagged along and got to experience some of the nightlife we probably wouldn't have otherwise. Twas a spankin' good time.

The first day was gorgeous and we hung around the campsite, made some bomber pasta and just relaxed. Around 4 we made our way back down to the city for a happy hour and reunited with some of the merry band for a mellow evening.

Then came the rain. It rained all the next day and all the next night. Its supposed to continue all week.