Week 3

June 18, Saturday.

Cremona, Italy to Modena, Italy.
130 kms. 7 hrs. 35 min. Av. 17.1 Total 1335 kms.

Got up at 05:15 and was on the road at 07:00, that's the time the owner of the camp told me she would be awake so I could pick up my passport, pay and leave. Unbelievable I don't see the reason why I can't pay the night before so I don't have to leave my passport.
Being Saturday there was very little traffic, and not a cloud in the sky, it promised to be a good day for cycling.
The roads were flat and the surrounding area was all farmland good for making some Kms but nothing else.
The villages along the way were nice and at Pieve d'Olmi, I stopped at the local bakery for my morning pizza and energy drink, and this nice woman gave them to me for free, probably thought I was very poor and hungry.
Any way by the time I reached the turn for Parma it was only 10:00 with only +/- 20 kms to go so I decided to continue on to Modena, and maybe catch up to that Dutch couple.
After I passed through Casalmaggiore I stopped at this village under the shade of a tree to eat a bannana and drink the almost boiling water when this really nice lady walking by said something in Italian I din't understand, but I caught one word (fountain) and she pointed towards a church on the other side of the road) it took a while for the penny to drop before I got up went around the old church and found this small park with a fountain in the middle and a button valve on it, and when I pressed it Walla cool water, like it was refrigerated, I stuck my head under to cool of, and hung around for a bit to rest, man that was a god-send, the kindness of some people especially that nice lady.
From there I continued on to Viadana where I crossed the Po river.
After I crossed the river I headed east to Guastalla, very nice old town where I stopped for my pizza lunch, they made it better here it was full of olives on top (with the pits) LOL.
Then on to Novellara then to Carpi where I stopped at a closed gas station for the shade to eat more pizza, when this group of seven bikers came up and started asking all these questions where was I from and where I was going, the guys where cool and we had a nice chat, turned out I was the youngest of all hehe, and they all admired that I was making such a trip alone.
After Carpi the road got very busy with no shoulder, no trucks either but the cars din't let up one after another for all the +/-20 kms to Modena, it was hard going, I was hot and getting tired.
When I got to Modena it took a while to find the campsite as it was located next to an autostrade and a very busy road, not very nice at all, so I left to go look for another.
I headed towards, Modena about 5 kms away, nice city and the center looked very nice, clean, well kept, and everyone was walking around in there best outfits in the late afternoon, I was a bit underdressed though, also a bit sweaty and my deodorant had worn off hehe so I dint hang around.
I asked a cab driver if there were any other camping sites around and naturally there were none, so I ended up going back 5 kms to the first camp after a visit to McDonalds I didn't want pizza for dinner also.
Once I got there I saw the Dutch couple again they had just arrived after cycling 145 kms, and they looked bad hehe. They complained about that guide they were following, they ended up going through every little village between Cremona and Modena, were I took the most direct route and also keeping to country roads as much as possible.
Anyway I gave them my e-mail address and web page but I haven't heard anything yet from them, even sent them a mail but no response.
Anyway I wish them happy and safe travels.
I talked to the owner of the campground about my plans to head for Bologna the next day then on to the coast, and he suggested I cycle to Ferrara which is a very nice old city and the Kms were right from there I could get to the coast by Comacchio, again the Kms would be right. And that became my plan for the next couple of days. 
Also it is Sunday tomorrow and everything is closed in Italy, in the northern countries I could get supplies at gas stations here the gas stations only sell gas so I ended up going to a super market and getting some junk food along just incase.

        
Left to Right:
1- Just before Casalmaggiore, the main reason for this picture was, that they didn't plant any corn in this field.
2- Crossing the Po river, now you can see the reason there so few pictures on this section of the tour.
3- Another view of my crossing of the Po river. Good day for cycling though flat road, clear sky's, only just a but a bit too warm.
4- Lunch at Guastalla, this road was lined with villas. And I had a few people looking out their windows at me.

June 19, Sunday.

Modena, Italy to Ferrara, Italy.
80 kms. 5 hrs. 10 min. Av. 15.6 Total 1415 kms.

Got up at 05:30 but was on the road at 08:15, I was in such a rush to get out of this campsite that I broke a strap that holds my sleeping bag, than I had forgotten something in needed and I had to completely unpack on off my rear panniers to get to, so it took a while to get underway this morning.
Heading to Ferrara is taking me a bit out of my way, I supposed to be heading SE and I'm going ENE.
The road is flat, hardly any traffic and I did good time. I mostly followed the river Panaro, going through the towns of Bomporto, Camposanto, Finale and Bondena, where I turned and headed east to Ferrara but just before I reached the city I had to go thru some heavy industry in the suburbs, that again I was glad it was Sunday and no trucks.
The ride was good and uneventful, many large corn and wheat fields around, quite boring to be precise and if it wasn't for the head wind I would have run the risk of falling asleep.
When I got to Ferrara, it was easy to find the campground, very clean and quiet with hardly anyone there, nice for a change.
After setting up camp this lone cycle tourist going by the name of John, came by to set up tent close to mine and we had a chat. He was traveling around Europe for 2 months and had 2 more to go, going throu most of Italy, looking for inspiration as he was an architect in England. John was a nice guy, and we went into town together had a coffee and looked around a bit but split up for dinner as he wanted a proper meal for dinner and I was on a budget and was looking for a cheap pizza, besides I had not eaten one today.
Looking forward to finally reaching the Adriatic sea tomorrow and going for a swim, as the temperature is steadily climbing and its getting very hot being in the sun all day.

  
1- The flat and empty Sunday morning road to Ferrara. Easy going and not a cloud in the sky.
2- More flat farm land, again nice day to cycle if a bit boring.

June 20, Monday.

Ferrara, Italy to Lido di Spina, Italy.
82 kms. 5 hrs. 15 min. Av. 15.6 Total 1497 kms.

Got up at 05:30 and was on the road by 08:15, before I left I checked the temperature and it was already 32c.
The ride was hot, and flat, it was another uneventful day as I headed towards Comacchio.
I did see though for the first time in my life rice fields, I never thought they grew rice in Italy.
It looked strange seeing flooded fields with green plants poking out of the water and no Asians bent over working hehe. Anyway nice to see something other than corn and wheat fields for a change.
Comacchio was nothing much either so I didn't hang around, I cycled towards Lido di Scacchi where I had lunch and went looking for the campsite.
And when I found it what a dump it was, almost completely full of Italian families with hundreds of children running around and all the places where hard ground, great if one had a camper but not good for a tent. And to add to this they wanted 21 euro for one person and a tent, it was a nice joke and I laughed all the way back to the main road looking for the next place.
Heading south I stopped at a bar and asked a couple of locals if they knew of another camping further south and they told me about this huge campground at Lido di Spina, but I had to brave a very busy road the S309, full of heavy trucks. It did have a small shoulder, and checking my mirror periodically made sure I dint get scared when they passed me at speed.
After crossing this river I got off the S309 and got on less congested coastal road, which I followed for a couple of kms to the campsite of Lido di Spina.
The camp was several hundred meters outside of town, very large, very organized, very clean, with good ground to set up my tent, so I decided to take another rest day here as it had been a while since my last.
After setting up tent I went looking for something to eat and ended up with another bad plate of spaghetti, this was my lest attempt to eat spaghetti in Italy, I wasn't going to spend another penny on spaghetti, they just simply cant cook the stuff, it was uncooked, not   strained good enough and the sauce well I've tasted better from the supermarket back home.
That evening I had my first beers of the tour and I kind of made up for lost time hehe. I didn't care I wasn't going anywhere tomorrow.

June 21, Tuesday.

Got up early again, force of habit now, and did all of my chores early, then headed to the nearest town looking for an internet cafe with no luck, only one cafe with someone renting out his laptop, and it was busy so I gave up.
Then I went to get me a swimming shorts and when I got it, I headed back to the campground.
I wanted to check out the sea, and when I got there and got into the water waste deep I could not see my feet, so I got out again and headed for the camp swimming pool.
I was a bit disappointed, I was really looking forward for a nice swim in the sea.
The whole place was almost like a swamp and when I got off the bike to look a little around a bit I found that it was also quite dirty, I learned later that they were trying to clean up the area and still had some work to do,  there were also quite a few mosquitoes.
After dinner (in my tent) I got out my book and laid back, when it was about 21:00 and I was ready to sleep the Italian karaoke started LOL what a noise I would preferred to camp next to a disco. It was the only thing wrong about this campsite. It was so well organized like exercise classes by the pool, organized theater for the toddlers, I had seen places like this on TV but never been to one. It was great for families.
Anyway the batteries are charged and tomorrow I look forward to getting back on the bike.

           
1 & 2- Coming from Ferrara and going to Comacchio.
3- Colored houses on a canal in Comacchio.
4- Campground in Lido di Spina.
5- Dinner in my tent.

June 22, Wednesday.

Lido di Spina, Italy to Casteldimezzo, Italy.
130 kms, 7 hrs, 50 min, Av. 16.5 Total 1627 kms.

Woke up at 05:00 and was on the road at 06:20. I got on the S309 and naturally it was already busy with heavy trucks, it had a wide shoulder so the going was OK as long as I kept an eye on the rear view mirror and anticipated the huge trucks when they passed me.
The area is really nice a lot of swampy woods with a little of farmland in between, but flat so the views were not so great.
In my rush to find a map of the coastal area I made my first mistake of the day, I got of the main road and into Ravenna, and what a place, huge with a lot of heavy industry, and that meant a lot of trucks and extremely busy roads. To add to the confusion there were a lot of road works with many detours. So naturally I took the wrong road leading out of town and lost about an hour trying to find the S16.
The S16 continued to be as busy as the S309, the kind of road to lower your head and do Kms, with nothing much to see.
About 15 kms before Rimini I took a less congested coastal road and purchased a very expansive and bad quality map. (too much sun and not thinking right)
For the next 30 kms on one side of this coastal road there was one hotel after another and on the other all the cheesy ice-cream parlors, souvenir shops, bars, restaurants and camping's.
I could not believe how these people enjoyed that kind of vacation.
For the rest of the ride it was pretty much the same, every town had its share of large hotels and the whole sea front was full of umbrellas.
I kept passing one camping after another but was feeling good so I continued on, every time I reached one I said to myself lets try and make it to the next, then finally I saw on the map the last camping before the large town of Pessaro and decided I had done enough Kms for the day and would stop at Casteldimezzo.
About 10 kms before Casteldimezzo I came up to a couple huge climbs 10% and 8% and after 110 kms in the afternoon sun they were really hard, I was also getting all these looks from the locals and a few other cyclists on racing bikes.
But no problem I felt good and did those hills with ease, and continued on to the very basic of camping's, the price was OK though so no complaints.
The views from the top of those hills was also great and I could see San Marino in the distance. That night camping on the hill overlooking the Adriatic sea and all that fresh air I slept like a baby.

     
1- Looking north from the hill top near Casteldimezzo, the first of two heavy climbs.
2- Another nice view from inbetween the hills before the campground.
3- San Marino on that hill in the distance.

June 23, Thursday.

Casteldimezzo, Italy to Porto Recanati, Italy.
113 kms. 6 hrs. 25 min. Av. 17.6 Total 1740 kms.

Woke up at 05:10 and was on the road by 07:00. The day started real nice with a very long down hill into Pesaro, followed by the very, long straight and flat road to Ancona, not so bad just really boring.
At Ancona (which will never see me again) the trouble started, traffic jams, heavy industry, (the petrochemical kind) hot, noisy, just a nightmare. Than right smack in the middle of this city there is this huge 2 km hill at 10%, I almost passed out climbing this hill, I took a very long break at the top to catch my breath an drink a lot of water.
Getting out of this place was also real bad, again I lost my way and ended up on the wrong road which headed about 10 kms inland which got really hot in the midday sun. Found out that it worked out OK in the end because I went around Parco Regionale Del Conero, which had a few climbs on the coastal side, and probably would have been more difficult.
When I finally reached the coast again near Porto Recanati I was beat, very hot and tired so I looked for the nearest camping, which again turned out to be real basic and a little bit expensive but the location made up for it, 10m from the sea and all that fresh air.
I slept real good that night.

     
1- On the very long road to Ancona, a hill covered in sunflowers, one of a few beautiful sighs.
2- A hill top fortress with large church dome, on the hot detour around Parco Regionale del Conero.
3- The very basic but beautiful campsite in Porto Recanati.

June 24, Friday.

Porto Recanati, Italy to Pineto, Italy.
113 kms. 6 hrs. 50 min. Av. 16.6 Total 1853 kms.

Woke up at 05:00 on the road by 06:30, again a long flat road with nothing much to see.
Very easy riding with the wind on my back, but real boring I am looking forward to Parco del Gargano in a couple of days.
I made a mental note that on my next tour I will plan my route better so I will not get so bored while riding. All this almost featureless landscape is beginning to get to me.
I passed three campsites that were not so good, and after a few Kms outside of Pineto, I saw the sign of the fourth camp, pointing to the top of this hill, and it turned out to be 2 kms of hairpins at +/-10% straight up. Not wanting  to push for the fifth, or double back I took on the climb and almost passed out in the midday sun. It was one mother of a hill for that time of day.
The camp was OK and had a good size swimming pool which I went to as soon as I set up my tent. It was great, and after a few laps I cooled off and checked out some of the nice views of the area. Later on I met this Belgian couple that were with a trailer and we had a nice chat for a while, the man was a cyclist and was somewhat jealous when he heard of my trip.
When I had checked in, the manager told me that they did not accept cash at the mini market, bar or restaurant. Instead you get charged 5 euro for a credit card and put down a payment of say 20 euro which everything you get would be subtracted. Anything you don't spend you get back when you return the card. Very strange.

     
1- Sunrise on my rented beachfront property, I don't want to do any other type of travel, ever.
2- Another nice but rare sight of some hills with olive groves.
3- Checking out tomorrow's route from the pool area of the hilltop camping I stayed at.