October 2nd: Writing from Pitigliano

Wed. 9-24-08 FORTONE TO GUBBIO - 46km

Today, we popped four tubes due to overheated wheels. I will elaborate later.

We left Fortone toward the ancient monestary of Fonte Avellana which is situated at 700 meter. After doing our compulsory "get-lost 10k", we got on the right road to begin an ascent into pristine countryside. The climbs were tolerable, and we managed a steady clip. The more challenging feat was the steep descents. They were winding switchbacks without any leveling to give the hands a break from the brakes. Mt. Catria looming to our right with building thunderheads we hoped were going to spare us (and they did). At the monestary we chained the bike to a guard rail on the main road, and descended on foot on a gravel road to visit the site. It is, as usual for monestaries, situated on prime real estate. We cycled through beautiful roads cutting through canyons with pleasant winding roads. The final part of the trip today was the extremely steep descent into the hill town of Gubbio. I knew the wheels could not take the constant braking, so I stopped the bike to cool off the wheels. As soon as we stopped the rear tube popped. What is one to do? Had I continued it would most likely blow. Once stopped the spinning and forward motion caused the wheel to heat up even more. Since there was no way to coast, I did the right thing. So, I changed a tube. On we went. No more than 2 km, and it popped again. I couldn't believe it, since I was very careful this time pumping the brakes. Luckily I found a small widening in the road to lay down the bike for the change. Twice more the tube blew as soon as I pumped it. I scratched my head, and discovered the real problem. We melted the inner rim liner during the first descent. The material bubbled deeply into the sprocket holes, one actually burst open. With the last good tube avalable, I decided to offset the holes. This worked, except for one hole. I put a tire patch to cover this hole, and we were finally cruising without incident. As we were finishing our descent we realized we were only 2 km from town! We could have walked if needed. Anyway, walking the bike with all the weight, on a flat tire would not be a good idea. We had one more hour before dark, so all ended up well. We will need to find a bike shop for tubes, and tape for the wheels.

As a result of this misshap, we cancelled our visit with SERVAS host and checked into a hotel near the center of town.

9-25-08 GUBBIO TO MANGARA - 15 km

Last night when we called from Gubbio to cancel our visit with SERVAS hosts, we discussed the possibility of staying with them tonight instead. Tim, and Marie, who lived just outside of town on a small farm up the hill, suggested they would meet with us in mid morning. Last night we had a chance to visit the town for a bit. The most amazing thing in this town is the huge palace which dominates the town no matter where you might stand. The winding streets, and ancient buildings are a marvel to the eye.
When Tim, and Marie showed up, Elaine left with Marie to the library, and Mauny left with Tim to look for parts for the bike. Tim was very kind in taking the time to drive around to two bike shops for parts. Luckily, the second shop had everything we needed for the bike. Mauny decided to schedule a tune-up as well. Tim dropped Mauny off at one end of town with enough time to walk through some of the neighborhoods before the scheduled meeting with Elaine and Marie for lunch in a popular local pizzeria which is underground. This by far was the best pizza we had so far (oh, there was to be yet another best pizza we were going to eat in the near future...). The arrangement was made for us to meet Tim, and Marie at their house early evening. We took the bike out of the hotel, packed our bags and rode to the neighboring town - 4 km away - to the bike shop for a tuneup. After the tuneup, we rode the rest of the distance to Tim, and Marie's house. The steepness of the hill, accompanied by the rough road defeated us on a couple of occasions, and we were forced to walk the bike. We arrived early, and parked the bike against the house. While waiting for our hosts' arrival, we walked around a bit. The place was beautiful, with a view of Gubbio in the distance. It got a bit cold, and late. We didn't know what to think. Finally, at dark, while walking downhill to warm up - cat in tow - they arrived. The reason for the delay was medical. Marie got some cactus stickers in her hand, and needed medical attention while in town. The house is without running water, but they keep making trips to fill containers of water. Water for drinking, for washing, for flushing, etc. Makes one appreciate how precious water is. We had a fantastic dinner, and a well deserved sleep.

Fri. 9-26-08 MANGARA TO PERUGIA - 37km

It rained at night, but cleared in the morning. Early in the morning we had a brief breakfast, as Marie was leaving for Rome, and Tim needed to drive her to the station. We liked both of our hosts, and felt sad we couldn't spend more time with them. We said our goodbyes, and mounted our tandem for the next let to Perugia. We rode in the kind of weather you know was going to get you: strong wind and a bank of clouds moving from the northwest. We hoped we could outrun this incoming cloud. As we put miles behind us, climbing, descending, and climbing again. The scenery dramatic, and just perfect for any cyclist - we felt that we did get lucky: except for a couple of sprinkles, we were spared the rain. In Perugia we were to visit Pierre Luiggie, and Sonia. These SERVAS hosts are true adventurers. They have travelled by van to places like Iran, Georgia, and Syria. They have fantastic pictures from their trips. Pierre Luiggi is an avid cyclist himself, and he had a place to store the tandem. They live in the heart of town in a building several hundred years old. We couldn't have spent three days in a better location with better people. We arrived in the early afternnon and Sonnia had to go teach and Pierreluigi had to go check his grapes crop, so we went up to the main square and visited the Cathedral and an overview of Perugia. The dinner we had the first night was a true Italian delight with rissotto, and other casserole dishes with fish, and vegetables. We were accompanied by a few of their friends who happen to be also SERVAS hosts. The atmosphere was cosy, amicable, and we felt we could live in such a town, and socialize with these interesting people.

Sat. 9-27-08: STAYING PUT IN PERUGIA - 0 km
Today we spent the day wandering around Perugia which is full of charm with multi-layered old housing, walkways, etc. Every turn is a treat. We saw the Etruscan arch, went to several churches (where weddings were also taking place). However, we found the Medieval Gardens closed. Just walking around this lustrous city was entertaining enough. We stopped for chocolate desserts and coffee, went to the antique market, shopped and then back to the apt. Sonnia and Pierreluigi had other plans with friends (to which were invited), but we opted to rest.

Sun. 9-28-08: ASSISI AND SPELLO

We got up early and had croissants and coffee at a cafe overlooking Perugia before walking to the bus station from which we went to Assisi. We were not that impressed with Assisi as it was overloaded with tourists and was quite a trap. It was also very pristine, and in spite of its antiquity and spiritual premise, seemed without a soul. We saw a couple Basilicas, but the tourists ran us out. So we hopped the train and took a 10-minute ride to Spello, which is a quaint little town built on a hillside. You walk up going through it and down coming back. Little cobblestone alleys. We just walked around there and had coffee. We took the train back to Perugia, but got off at the wrong Perugia station. Our books failed to tell us there were two. So we put out 18 Euros for the ride back to our hosts home. Live and learn. We took Sonnia and Pierreluigi out for pizza and had good scotch back at their apartment and shared pix of our separate travels before retiring.


Tues. 9/29/08 PERUGIA TO ORVIETO - 79 km

Just like the Wizard of Oz, after saying goodbye to Sonia, Pierreluigi lead us out of Perugia by bike about 15 k to where we met the Yellow Brick Road that would take us on the back roads to Orvieta. Today we had our longst climb. The climb was followed by our longest descent yet, but no blowups this time since there was enough time to cool off the brakes when grade softened periodically. Mauny's hands though, suffered the consequences of prolonged pressure on the break handles. Orvieto is like a cake carved out of a rock outcropping. It has the prettiest cathedral we have ever seen. We just loved it. Of course, as usual with these hill towns, there is the final painful ascent after a pleasant glide. Regardless, the 4 km climb was baby food as compared to the long gradual climb we had just completed, and what a treat! We checked into a hotel run by nuns. It was clean, and quiet. The room had a large balcony overlooking the valley below. Next door, a British cyclist who is riding solo, headed to Rome.

Tue. 9-30-08 ORVIETO - 0 km

We spent the entire day enjoying what this town has to offer. It is a rather small town, but it has enough to fill a day, or more. We first walked around the perimeter admiring the steep walls it is built on. These walls are tufa rock outcrops that are in themselves a natural fortress. We then proceeded to enter the famous 52 meter deep well. This is a storybook well with internal corkscrew staircases. Yes, two staircases, one for going down, the other for climbing out. It is an impressive enginnering feat of middle ages when the citizens prepared for a long siege by the Imperial army (Rome was sacked at this period - one needs to read more history books on the subject). The climax was the large cathedral. This is by far the most impressive cathedral we have ever seen. Photos will not do it any justice. One must see it in person. But, we will have photos in the future, nevertheless. We crossed the plazza in front of the cathedral to visit the Etruscan Museum. Now, we know ( we think) who these people were...We tucked in for the night after more latte, chocolate, and other Italian delights. We ended the day with a room-cooked dinner.