Florence, Italy to Viareggio, Italy
Today was a great way to ease my way back into riding after a 2 day break. There were no climbs and no surprises making for a very straightforward day. I planned to get from Florence to either Pisa or Massa and ended up splitting the difference by finishing in Viareggio.
Continue reading “Europe Day 6: 65 Miles”Florence, Italy
Everyone I’ve talked to about Florence has described it as beautiful. For now I will only know Florence in the rain. Today was an interesting day but mainly filled with indoor activities. On the positive side, it’s better for the rain to be falling on a day I’m off the bike.
Continue reading “Europe Day 5: 0 Miles”Siena, Italy to Florence, Italy
I woke up this morning to strong downpours and rain in the forecast for the entire day. The weather was moving north in the direction I would be traveling and was forecast to intensify mid-day. Luckily there is a train from Siena directly to Florence where I planned to end my day anyway. It is supposed to rain on and off for the next few days, so taking a train to Florence was an easy decision. It was better to make forward progress while staying dry and warm than to wait out a storm in Siena.
Continue reading “Europe Day 4: 0 Miles”Radicofani, Italy to Siena, Italy
Today was another beautiful day of riding. I started at 2,500 feet in Radicofani and enjoyed some quick downhill sections for most of the morning. As I was taking pictures of the castle at the highest point of town and the scenic view below, I noticed the road I was about to head down was lined with people cheering and taking pictures. It would be like that the whole day.
Continue reading “Europe Day 3: 47 Miles”Viterbo, Italy to Radicofani, Italy
The ride out of Viterbo was much easier than getting out of Rome and after a few miles I was back on SR2 heading north. Today’s ride consisted of 3 large climbs with 2 nice downhills in between. The weather was perfect; mid-60s and no rain in the forecast. I couldn’t have asked for a better day which was a nice reward for riding through the rain yesterday.
Continue reading “Europe Day 2: 50 Miles”Rome, Italy to Viterbo, Italy
The first day of a bike tour is always difficult, even under the best conditions. Nearly 7 hours in the saddle was a shock to my body having not logged many long rides prior to this trip. That shock was amplified by some poor weather conditions and rookie mistakes. Overall it was a challenging day, but I’m proud of what I was able to accomplish given the circumstances.
Continue reading “Europe Day 1: 67 Miles”Here we go again. It’s been 2 years since I’ve written a post here and I welcome back the readers who followed along as I crossed the United States in 2017. I received great feedback on the blog the last time around and hope to improve my writing and content for this trip. If you like what you’re reading or have suggestions please let me know in the comments section of each post. I love the feedback.
Continue reading “Europe Prologue: NYC to Rome”Florence, OR to Newport, OR
Today was officially my last day of riding. Yesterday I made it to the ocean, but today I made it to my final destination on the bicycle. I was hoping for some good views of the Oregon coast and ocean after being totally underwhelmed yesterday. The views we’re stunning but did not come easy. There were some decent climbs along with a strong headwind that I battled the entire day.
Eugene, OR to Florence, OR
The goal for today was simple, pedal for as long as it took to get to the Pacific Ocean. I left the motel around 7:30 and got onto a bike path that took me from the center of Eugene to the outskirts of the city. It was a nicely paved bike path, but nothing great it terms of scenery until I got back onto a real road. I headed north for a few miles and saw some hills to the west. Getting over those hills was my last obstacle to reaching the coast.
Blue River, OR to Eugene, OR
Sticking to my normal schedule, I was the last one awake and packed up this morning. I rolled out of my tent a little after 6:00. After packing up my tent and eating some food I started riding just after 7:00. Everyone else had a head start on me today, but we were all planning to stop 20 miles down the road to grab breakfast at a cafe in the town of Vida.
Bend, OR to Blue River, OR
My plan for today was to get over McKenzie Pass and then determine the best place to stop. It is about 125 miles from Bend to Eugene and I wanted to get as close as possible to Eugene today. The ride started out with 24 miles from Bend to Sisters. My trip into Bend was off route, so the 24 miles to Sisters just got me back on route. Luckily the ride from Bend to Sisters was mostly downhill on smooth, freshly paved road. I had a nice view of the snow covered mountains on my left the whole morning.
Redmond, OR to Bend, OR
I had a late start to the day this morning, which was a nice change of pace. It was only 20 miles from Redmond to Bend and I was in no rush to get to Bend early. Although I covered 26 miles today, the day was really a rest day.
Mitchell, OR to Redmond, OR
I had a great night of sleep at the Spoke’n Hostel last night. When we got back from the Painted Hills trip, we walked back into the bunk room to find all of the privacy curtains closed around our beds with individual reading lights turned on over each bed. Pat and Jalet, the owners of the hostel, knew how to add all the small touches to make our stay great.
Dayville, OR to Mitchell, OR
I woke up to the smell of pancakes this morning. Joe was up first and had started to make breakfast with the pancake mix provided by the church. I had a couple of pancakes and a PB&J sandwich and then got my stuff together. I was on the road just before 7:30 for a short 38 mile ride to Mitchell, OR.
Mt. Vernon, OR to Dayville, OR
I woke up late this morning knowing I was in for a short day. It felt nice to sleep in and not worry about spending 6 hours on the bike today. Since leaving Yellowstone I have put in some big mileage days, including 5 days of 80+ miles. Prior to Yellowstone I had only done 2 days of 80+ miles. Now that I have a flight booked to head back to the east coast, I know what my schedule is and have some flexibility in taking a couple short days.
Ramblin' Dan: Bike Touring Adventures 