Day 33 September 17th

Rimini to Fano 30 miles in 5 hours

A pleasant though cool day. Breeze is keeping the temperature down in the mid teens. So much for having taken swimsuits to have a dip in the Adriatic! Duvets in bed! An easy going day along the sea. Initially along a cycle path and then the coast road which is very busy with lorries. Flattish topography. Edith’s ribs are still hurting but lots of Nurofen are improving things. Locals who see them don’t believe that they have come all the way from England.

The duo sounded much more relaxed and pleased to have had an uneventful day after the drama of the last few days. No doubt helped by the delicious turbot they ate in the evening, and by some of the local white wine. Turbot was regarded as the king of fishes by the ancient Romans where it used to fetch high prices.

Day 32 September 16th

Rimini

They decided to have another rest day, unscheduled this time. It was still chucking it down with rain in the morning with more thunder and lightening – so much for the sunny Adriatic!! Edith now is fairly certain she has a severely bruised or cracked rib from her fall in the Alps and is on painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs. Gerard is recovering from scrapes and bruises.

They took a local bus up to the independent republic of San Marino, one of those wonderful anomalies of European politics. It’s a boring 19^th century pastiche of a medieval town, though it looks good from a distance. A nice lunch. It cleared in the afternoon and they had a pleasant walk from the station at Rimini to the hotel.

I also attach the first photo of the intrepid duo taken earlier in the trip. They managed to get a friendly internet cafe to email the picture through.

Day 30 & 31 September 14th-15th

Ravenna

Sunday was a quiet day resting from their toils. Mass in Ravenna Cathedral with an Archbishop celebrating Dante’s anniversary. The city is very beautiful with some great churches, including the Basilica of Casse which is just outside the city.

Ravenna to Rimini 45 miles

BLACK Monday

Terrible day on Monday 15^th pounding with rain and lightning. It was suggested to them that they take a special cycle path but it turned out to be for mountain bikes and totally unsuitable for their on-road tandem they had to turn back onto the main road. There they suffered from heavy spray from lorries and cars. Gerard scraped his leg and Edith is still suffering from her fall. They finally gave up after doing 30 miles in this terrible weather and took a local train for the last fifteen miles to Rimini. However, the conditions on the train were cramped and not suitable for carrying a tandem but at least they were dry and out of danger from Italian lorries.

Arrived in Rimini on the Adriatic coast. Not the delight of sun and sea but cold (14 Celsius) and still raining. They quickly found a restaurant at 4pm and promptly drank a bottle of red wine and ate a steak. Feeling better after that! They stayed in the hotel and warmed up and had an early night.

Day 29 13th September

Ferrara to Ravenna 40 miles in 4 hours

A stormy morning, the main outcome being that it cooled off. They therefore left late at 11 am and arrived in Ravenna in mid afternoon.

On leaving Ferrara from its eastern side they admired the large ancient fortifications. Still in the flat valley of the Po among rice fields the went along the main road but it being Saturday there were few lorries on the road so a pleasant ride. They are now in Ravenna and their usual Sunday rest day. Ravenna is the last capital of the Western Roman Empire and the last toehold of the Byzantines in Italy, thus filled with churches with beautiful mosaics. It is also the birthplace and burial site of Dante, author of the Divine Comedy. Sunday is the 650^th anniversary of his death which is celebrated with a service in the cathedral.

On Monday the continue and will hit the coast. The warm waters of the Adriatic!

Day 29 - 12th September

Mantua to Ferrara, 65 miles

Your other reporter is back from business travels. Gerard & Edith are now in Ferrara. As they left Mantua at the first village outside the city they were hailed by a local (the Italians continue to be very friendly) and when he heard the route they were planning to take along the main road he pointed them to a minor road. Ths went along the top of the 15m high levee (flood bank) along the length of the Po River (the major river down the centre of Lombardy from the Alps to the Adriatic) all the way to Ferrara. It gave them a spectacular view all the way across the flat plains. The weather was scorching. They left Mantua at 8.30, had to stop from 12.30 to 2.00 because of the heat and arrived at their final destination at 4.00. So riding for six hours in serious heat. The forecast is for cooling rain tomorrow.

Ferrara is a lovely city. However, it gets seriously flooded on a regular basis. There is a chart in the centre of town showing the height and dates of floods. Because of climate change they are getting more frequent. Also like in Mantua and Cremona at least half the population go around on bicycles – something we should emulate in Britain!!

Both are tired because of the heat. Edith still has a niggling rib injury from their fall in the Alps and is on painkillers. I told her to go and see a doctor if it gets worse.

Day 27, 11th September

Cremona to Mantua 50 miles

They left Cremona in good time this morning to make use of the cooler weather and it paid off with a smooth ride. It's still fairly flat but they are plagued by lorries still. They tried some side roads and although these proved less hazardous it does add considerable mileage. I'm afraid it's a trade off.

They are in the land of Italian hams now and all the countryside is planted with maize to feed the pigs. Quite a lot of prosciutto has actually been eaten I'm glad to report. They arrived in Mantua and then went on a site seeing trip, visiting the Ducal Palace of the Gonzagas with all it's priceless treasures. They also found the Church of San Lorenzo, a round structure, undiscovered for 700 years which was amazing. Tomorrow stormy weather is predicted but they are now within sniffing distance of the Adriatic coast and the road south.