After having a lovely time in Tuscany, we had a hairy ride to Pisa yesterday and decided that we were over the emotion and frankly affection of the Italian drivers in sneaking through non existent gaps!
So we packed up, jumped on the autostrada then the autoroute and 670km later are all set up on the banks of the Ardeche. We’ve had a cracking little bbq of chicken drumsticks 🍗 (Andy style) asparagus and potatoes and now enjoying the sound of the cicadas rather than the road that was next to our mega euro camp. Life is sweeeeet 😁👍🍷. Oh and our neighbouring campers described base camp as “magnifique”!
But before we headed this way, we enjoyed our last couple of days on the Tuscan Coast. I did some more d-work and late yesterday afternoon we headed to Pisa as it was only a few km up the road. It was a pretty unpleasant ride on a busy road, and a little way into it, I heard a ping, and then it seemed to be rather hard work to keep up with Andy. It felt a bit like a puncture but I checked both wheels and all was well. We carried on along the road and our first glance of the tower was amongst the light industrial buildings on the outskirts of town. I didn’t have time to stop for a picture as I was struggling to keep up 🤪!
Eventually we make it into town and after passing many many coaches head into the tower plaza. It is clearly marked as pedestrian only and we nonchalantly cycle pass some police folks who take no notice of us. I mention to Andy that my bike is a bit odd and then we join the tourists taking the only photo of the tower that we should…
After our touristing, we looked at my bike and confirmed the real wheel was a bit squiffy…the ping I’d heard was a spoke. Oops! I had a flashback to lejog and a little ride to a bike shop in Redruth. Well, I won’t be riding back on that scary road without a fix methinks. Thankfully so does Mr T.
Thanks to Google we found this shop and through the international language of the bicycle, the lovely gentleman found a sheared spoke nipple, then routed through his box of goodies to find a pretty good, although not perfect match and fixed it up. Phew 😅!
Then after a swift beer / soda (delete as appropriate) and gelato we headed back to camp. And then after swift showers we headed to Viareggio for our last Italian supper (for these hols anyway!). And then I insisted on some sunset admiration.
Then we went to an AMAZING restaurant. Pivot in Viareggio.
We rocked up with our bikes and they let us park them out of sight, behind a locked gate behind the restaurant. Then we went inside. Great decor, great welcome and ambience. After yummy pasta prima plats, Andy had fried fish 🐟 (5 types) and I had a baked Seabass. Nom, nom, nom.
We rode home in the dark but we’re we’ll adorned with lights and it was far less scary than our ride to Pisa earlier in the day. We headed to bed content that our adventures in Italy had been rounded off well. 😎🚴♀️🐟🥂.
Meanderings in Merfyn 