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This website is a diary of a first attempt at cycle touring in Italy (spring 2000) which included visits to 5 top Serie A football games on route between Rome and Milan. Very much inspired by reading other peoples bike tours on the Trento Bike Pages I had soon purchased a bike and panniers and had the maps out planning my first cycle tour. After being captivated by the 1990 World Cup as a 10 year old, I have remained a fan of Italian football ever since, so when choosing a place to go for my first cycle tour, the decision on where to go did not take very long.
My trip began watching the Rome derby and then ended in Milan to see Inter Milan play Juventus in the derby of Italy. Cycling nearly 800km inbetween these two cities I managed to take in the hills of Tuscany, Pisa, the Ligure coastline, Lake Garda and Lake Como while also visiting 3 other top football games watching the teams of Juventus, Palma, AC Milan and Fiorentina.
Cycling
Match Days
On arriving in Rome, I was already feeling like a part timer as my new pump failed to fit the nozzle on the wheel of my bike, as one of the criteria for flying with BA was to let the tyres down for the plane trip. As soon as I got to the youth hostel in the taxi though, I could see the Olympic stadium gleaming in the distance about a half a mile down the road, so I immediately went and purchased my ticket for the big game on Saturday. The next job was to get my tyres pumped up, so luckily another half a mile in the other direction, I found a small bike shop. With my tyres now inflated, I began searching for my lost front wheel air cap outside the shop, to my great amusement however the owner of the shop unscrewed the one on the back wheel and then threw it across the other side of the street, explaining to me that I didn't need them.
My first glimpse of an Italian footballer was quite a worrying moment. Out of the tunnel they came one by one; Totty, Veron, Cafu, Nesta and the rest, all proceeded to the centre circle, wearing not only their famous maroon and sky blue shirts, but what else? Bike helmets. For a moment, could they possibly have thought they were gladiators, entering that other great Roman arena, the Colluseum, or had these Italians finally gone too far in their shyness of the airiel game known so well in England? No not quite, the helmet parade in this Rome derby was in fact part of a campaign launched by the star-men of Serie A, to help save young Italians from the frenetic roads of Italy, by making such protective wear more fashionable. And considering I had come to Italy to bicycle around watching football without such an item, as an omen for my trip, it did not bode well.
After the Lazio fans' outperformed their Roma rivals in the traditional bout of pre-match taunting, the men in blue and white proved equal to their supporters and left the Roma fans collectively banging their helmet-less heads against a brick wall, as they suffered their fourth successive defeat. A devastating 25-yard free-kick from that man Veron, ensured their season was now to be fruitless. For Lazio however, it was game on, and their mission simple; to catch Juventus.
Before the pedalling commenced some alterations to my schedule would be required, as due to Champions League matches the following week, the mouth-watering top of the table clash between Juventus and Lazio was brought forward. Furthermore, after arriving at the train station at 8a.m Sunday to get the specially designated bike train North at 8.15, I was alarmed to see the station clock at 9.00am. After much deliberation over what had gone wrong I soon realised it was the time of year that the clocks change. A trip on the train would now be necessary, and with only five cycling days left to reach Turin for the next game, it seemed there was now another race running alongside the pursuit for the Italian championship.
Even with all the maniacs driving around, Rome itself was a very enjoyable city to cycle around. However, I was to soon discover that the famous saying of "all roads lead to Rome" should be accompanied by another one mentioning that when you get there, "all roads in Rome are bumpy as hell", as I managed to get a buckled tire cycling around all the cobbled streets. After a few days in Rome however I was itching to get out and couldn't wait to get started.
The Roma fans in the Olympic Stadium
.After successfully catching the train North today I arrived at Chuisi station at about 10.30am having no trouble atall taking my bike on the excellent and efficient Italian rail system. However, my first days cycling wasn't to run as smoothly. Finally beginning my journey, I left the train station and set of for the hills of Tuscany, with the weather fine but a bit cloudy. After about 20km I encountered my first rural hilltop town when passing through the town of Montepulciano, the first of many that I would see which typify the lanscape in Tuscany. Next stop for a bite to eat was the quaint village of S Quirico d'Orcia. With not a soul on the streets and every shop closed, I soon found what seemed like the whole town gathered in a bar off the main square. I refuelled with a croissaint and coke, then with the sun shining on my back I set of for Siena.
Now bearing in mind that it quite literally hadn't rained in these parts for 3 months, I thought it would be a good idea to reduce the weight on my bike by leaving my waterproofs behind. However, it would quickly dawn on me that cycle touring without such equipment during a mediterranean Spring is not the wisest thing to do. Soon after leaving S Quirco d'Oricio I spotted the black clouds lurking and before I knew it, it was raining. And with the rain came the torrential rain and then the thunder and lightening, and with the thunder and lightening came the giant hail stones. So, after shivering under a bush for an hour I carried on, with my trainers filled with water and clothes soaking wet through, ironically now making me probably half a stone heavier. 20km later, I followed a sign to Siena too many, and wandered on to a stretch of motorway or autostrada as they call it. It seemed to be a bit of a white elephant construction project and with only a few cars on it I decided to take my chances and pedalled like mad. It lasted for about 10km but I soon realised that I was ok though as a police car zoomed past me with little fuss.
While looking for the youth hostel in Siena bad luck struck again when the screw attachment on my bike light came loose, making it drop to the ground via my spokes, smashing into a million pieces on the way. Luckily my bike was ok but now without a light, I was grateful for that extra hour of sunlight in the evening now that the clocks had been set back an hour. During todays experience I had quickly learned that although cycle touring is hard work, there is never a dull moment and my first day was rounded off nicely when I shared a room with an insane Palestinian called Ortha who wanted my sister's address because he liked London, and wanted to visit her ,and then later went on to demand why I had never been to Palestine.
Set off for San Gimignano today, another historical hilltop town nicknamed a medieval New York because of its stone skyscrapers which dominate its skyline. On the way though, I took a detour through the famous wine growing region of Chianti, getting soaked again! The hills of Tuscany to my surprise were as wild and rugged as Wales, but with a few vineyards thrown in too, however with the weather bad and no wet weather gear, I couldn't wait to get out of these hills. A few cafes, hedges and garage forecorts later I approached the town of San Gimignano on a steeply winding road and unfortunately could not get a glimpse of the skyline, as there always seemed to be something in my way. Once I was there though, I was very impressed by the stone towers rising from the town centre.
The medievil skyscrapers of San Gimagnano
With plastic supermarket bags now covering my socks and fastened to my feet (a tip of a website), I set off for Pisa from San Gimignano with the weather cloudy but little sign of rain. However, after only 30 minutes cycling they were soon back to their swimming pool state of the previous two days, as sure enough, the heavens opened and another monster thunderstorm had arrived. Furthermore, on a particularly cold and windy day my top of the range "windbloc" fleece was prooving to be as resistant to wind as a tea bag is to water. As I sat shivering with my feet turning to iceblocks, I sheltered under some trees and began to think the same storm was following me around. About an hour later though, I was thankfully rescued by a kind man in a three wheel Piaggio truck.
With the guy knowing no English, I threw my two wheeler into the back and then told him I'd go to any town or anywhere he was going. He gave me a lift to the town hall in the small village of Montaiano about 20km away and then explained my plight to the staff. They kindly offered me the keys to the youth hostel, which was conveniently attached to the back of the town hall. Needing to dry off, the offer was to good to refuse, and when watching the TV in the youth hostel later that night I noticed the storms making big stories on the nightly news due to the drought since December. I was now very grateful to be back indoors, warm and dry.
The leaning tower of Pisa
After just finishing loading up my pannier bags for the days ride, I met another cycle tourer from New Zealand outside the youth hostel, who had cycled all the way from Singapore. As Nigel was going the same way he decided to ride along with me. Unfortunately though as I wanted to get to Turin tommorow for the Lazio/Juventus championship clash, I would have to get the train from La Spezia to Genoa tonight and miss out on the Cinque Terre and cycling along the Riviera di Levante , which was a bit disappointing. While cycling along the easy, flat coastal road to La Spezia I began to realise just how big a sport cycling is in Italy (second only to football), as hundreds of cycle racers passed in both directions all on expensive bikes and kitted out in the latest lycra wear. Riding with Nigel for the day also made me realise how much of a lightweight I was in the world of cycle touring. With tent, sleeping bag, stove and kitchen sink all in tow, his bike weighed a ton and he was averaging 120km a day ( to my leisuerly 60km ). One day he had actually managed to clock up a massive 160km while heading through Pakistan. I Arrived in La Spezia at about three and then bid farewell to Nigel who carried on up the coast. I wished I could have carried on cycling but the Stadio delle Alpi beckoned and I caught my train to Genoa.
My initial idea for today was to cycle upto Mantova and then onto Verona but my plans were scuppered once again by the rain and also my new determination not to get wet. This ment standing around underneath, well anything that kept the rain off my bonce and while waiting underneath a museum entrance I met a very nice Italian couple who invited me to their house in Bergamo, a town just outside Milan. Today though, instead of carrying on cycling and hoping it would just be a shower, my plan was to wait for the rain to go off. So I waited, and waited and waited. And it quite literally didn't stop raining all day, so in the end I headed back into Parma and jumped on the train to Verona, where I knew there was a youth hostel.
Verona looked like another great city but regrettfully I had little time to look around, as the weather was fine and Lake Garda was now only 20km away on my map. I eagerly set of from Verona, avoiding the main road and cycling along the banks of the River Adige. I was soon back in the traffic though, and it wasn't long before the busy roads had led me to a steep winding decent towards the misted Lake and into its namesake town Garda. The lake itself was huge and a magnificent site, so I sat and ate a packet of biscuits for lunch admiring the calm waters and surrounding cliffs. With a tail wind and an adrenalin rush from cycling alongside the shores of the lake, I zoomed up the lake and was in the town of Riva in no time. Riva, a nice little town right at the northern most tip of the Lake, probably had more designer shops than Knightsbridge and after trying a few things out myself I dished out 150,000 Lire for a tracksuit top.
The spectacular scenery of Lake Garda
Woke up this morning to fantastic clear blue skies for the first time, and it was a hugely welcoming sight after all the thunderstorms last week. I took some photographs and then set off for the days ride. I decided to head into the mountains up to Trento, home of the Trento Bike Pages, and then would head back this way on Thursday. After mainly cycling on flattish roads and doing a few hills in Tuscany, today would be a real ascent into the mountains surrounding the lake, and it was to prove an exhilarating experience. I headed north out of Riva onto one of the mountain roads and was immediately confronted by much steeper roads than what I had been used to. Looking up, and not quite sure through which path the mountains the road was taking me through, I tackled at least 30 hairpins as the road continued to rise above the town of Riva with the lake stretching out behind me. After nearly two hours of slow cycling, continually checking back on myself on each turn, I passed Lake Tenno and arrived at a tiny town called Ballino. I stopped here for a well deserved lasagne and coke and then continued on my way for a thrilling downhill towards Trento, weaving between some daunting steep gorges and passing through some good sized tunnels. At about the half way point to Trento I noticed some monster black clouds creeping over the mountains I had just cycled through, so I stepped up a gear, and luckily just as I was entering the tunnel complex that leads down into Trento, I began to hear the thunder go off.
Feeling rather lazy after yesterdays tough climb, I was originally going to get the train. I changed my mind though and decided to follow the River Adige down to Rovereto and then cut across to Riva again. With the weather pleasant, mountains towering either side of the river and a relaxing short distance to ride infront of me, this was one of my best days cycling as I found a cycle track running along the river all the way from Trento to Rovereto stretching a good 25km.
Before leaving Riva I visited a bike shop 1 mile down the coast in Torbole to get my spokes tightened, as the bike light smashing in them had the effect of gradually loosening them over the last week. This job cost about £5, which was quite reasonable, but note, it involved removing my wheel and innertube. After waiting until one in the afternoon for the road along the west coast of Lake Garda to open, I proceeded along the more scenic and spectacular side of Lake Garda, where the views were breathtaking. For the first 10km however it was tunnels all the way, some of which had no lights in and as I had no front lights either, this provided for some pretty hairy moments. In complete pitch black I had to literally guess where the road was, often cutting across to the other side on bends so I wouldn't ride into the curb and at the same time hoping no cars were coming the other way.
Glad to be past the majority of tunnels it was 1km outside the town of Limone when I got my first puncture, just 1 hours cycling done after having my spokes done and tube removed from the wheel. I set to the task at hand and knowing that my pump would fail to attach itself to the punctured inner tube, I immediately checked to see if the spare tubes nozzle would. This one fitted perfectly, and even inflated too!!!!! However with a futher twist of fate I was to be done twice in a day by two different bike shop owners, as the nozzle for the ready to use inner tube was too wide to even fit through the hole in the wheel rim. This, after going into the bike shop were I bought my bike (with my bike)and specifically asking him what tube I needed.
Dejected and down I walked about 6 km before I found a scooter hire centre which also did a few mountain bikes. Here I explained my problem to the owner who gladly sold me a spare and fitted it too. When I finally got going it was about 4 o'clock, thankfully still giving me about 4 hours daylight to get to Brescia, which was 60km away. With a strong headwind coming up the lake, a topsy turvy road leading along its shores, and a limited amount of time to get there, this was by far my toughest day cycling. I was relieved to get to Brescia for about 7 but with no youth hostels I had to dish out for a hotel for the second time.
After having a wander around Brescias fine historical city centre I made off for Milan knowing I had an easy but long days ride across the flat agricultural land, which spans across the whole of Northern Italy between the Alps and Appenines. The cycling today was very monotonous, with long straight roads dissapearing over the horizon making the journey all that more tedious. After stopping in a little town called Solo I had a coke and sandwich bought for me by the owners of a local bar after I told them about my trip. I had to refuse an offer for drinks in their bar though and plod onto Milan, but after promising them I would come back next time I was in Italy, I rode of quite happy. However, disaster struck again!!!. About a further 10km down the road (20km outside Milan) to my great dismay the front tire went again by a village called Truccazano. With no big town near, pump still useless and the inner tube installed yesterday being of the racing bike type, I headed for the train line which was North and then caught the rattler from Trecalla. Once in Milan I knew the hostel was close to the San Siro so now walking again, I headed in that direction and after a few hours I found it conveniently just a couple of miles from the great stadium.
Sunday was to be a well earned rest day and included a visit to the San Siro to watch AC Milan v Fiorentina. The game itself was pretty disappointing with Fiorentiona holding Milan to a 1-1 draw without the help of their two best players, Gabriel Batistuta and Rui Costa. However, my first visit to the San Siro was on the whole, a fantastic experience, as this time I made sure I was behind the goal with all the Ultra supporters. Before the game I had a few beers with three fellow Liverpool lads and two from Birmingham, who I had met in the youth hostel, and had also come over for the match. In the ground though I struggled to find my seat in an already packed stadium, so I ended up asking a Milanese fan where I should be. In typical Italian hospitality he said just stay here with us, and so I ended up standing at the front of the second tier. Unfortunateley though when one chap, Massimo, asked me where I was from I unwittingly replied Liverpool. Being an avid Everton fan ( city rivals of Liverpool ) it was a nightmare to hear ten Italian fans suddenly break into a chorus of Liverpool!!!, Liverpool!!!, Liverpool!!!.
Fireworks in the San Siro
After getting my bike seen to yesterday I left for Como with some trepidation concerning my jinxed front wheel. Only 60km, the days ride was pretty unspectacular, almost wishing I got another puncture to liven things up.
Booking another night in Como youth hostel for the night, I cycled for the first time without my pannier bags and it really was like having an extra pair of legs. As it was close by, I dropped in on Inter Milans training ground at Appiano Gentile, but unfortunately there was no training session open to the public that day.
A typical town on the shores of Lake Como
Today was much more entertaining though, with a ride alongside Lake Como providing a great days cycling in a picture postcard environment. Wooded hills lead up to snow capped mountains while further dowm, stretching along the tranquil lake, palm trees and tropical plants lay in quaint little towns with a diverse array of architecture. I cycled along the West coast to Menaggio about half way up the full length of the lake, then caught the ferry across to Bellagio to cycle back on the other side.
Feeling rather lazy and already knowing that their was a drab road infront of me leading me back to Milan, I had now finished my cycle tour. The day before I left though, I climbed the peak overlooking Como with my Aussie mate Nige and ended up higher than Mt Snowdon. Admittedley we got a cable car half way up, but that was to be my last exercise of the trip and the bike was now made redundant.
Now back in Milan, all that was left was the "Derby of Italy" between Juventus and Inter Milan at the San Siro, and when queing up outside the youth hostel I met a Mexican lad who was also going to the game. After already buying our tickets off the many touts outside the staduim on the Saturday, we now had piece of mind about gaining entry to what would be close to a 85,000 sell out. This time in the top tier, we walked for what must have been close to a mile up one of the grey spiralled staircases that make the San Siro such a distinctive looking stadium. Although the view was poorer than the last time, up in the third tier you really got an appreciation of how enormous the stadium is compared to the middle. The game itself was won 2-1 by Juventus, who silenced the San Siro crowd in the second half with two goals by the striker Kovacevic. Seedorf struck back late on but without Ronaldo (broke leg 4 days ago in comeback-bloody typical!!!) or Vieri, Inter Milan looked toothless.. Juventus toppled Inter in that game and once again widened the gap at the top as Lazio stalled in Florence. The title was Juve's too loose, and my, did they do a good job of it. It seemed fitting that a few weeks after my rain washed football/cycle tour of Italy had finished, Lazio should claim their first Scuddetto in 22 years, while Juventus would fail to overcome the elements in that final waterlogged day of the season in Perugia.
I was going home very satisfied though, with nearly 785km cycled, 5 big matches attended, and thankfully, no crash helmet needed, and before leaving I had already started thinking up a trip for next year. Next time, I would hope to have more equipment though, including a cycle computer, tent, sleeping bag and ofcourse some waterproof clothing.
