We are in Urbino! Our first true hill town

We have made it to the hill town Urbino. What an adventure this has been. But, let us step back in time:

Last Sunday, 9-14, we were still huddled insinde our leaky tent bailing out water continuously. I succeeded getting money out of the last ATM in Sottomarina. Weather is what we would call a tempest! Supposed to get better tomorrow. I cleaned the bike form the sand, and rust formed on the chain. The rest of the time we read, and sit at the local restaurant sipping "cafe Americano con latte caldo". The papers are full of pictures, and headline about this severe storm with flooded streets all over Italy, but not a mention of two poor cyclists from America shivering in their tent...

Monday, 9-15-08: Sottomarina to Mesola, 104 km

We never planned to ride this long, but with our Micheline map we were forced to ride almost half the distance trying to find our way. Here is the rule: the Micheline map has selected towns listed on it. Not one of the towns they selcted to indicate on the map corrolates to the road signs - not even one! So, each time we are at an intersection, nothing makes sense. On the other hand, the Italian road signs do not indicate distances from and to. This makes it difficult to throw in a wild guess. As the day goes by, we realze that we need to ask as many people as possible who look at us puzzled as we mispronounce the names of their towns. Anyway, if not for our desire for a true adventure, we would have booked a guided tour...

So, we ride the Po valley with bike paths on and off. It is flat, fast and a marvelous view. We had an adventure finding how to get on a ramp leading to a big bridge across the Po. We finally passed over this giant river, and onto another smaller Po. The weather was threatening but we were spared any rain.

As we crossed a small river, just before the town of Loreo, Elaine sees a helmeted guy in a church yard. She tells me he must be looking for a bathroom. As we round the curve we see against the wall at the side of the road a sight we never expected to ever see: a red tandem, Santana no else twing a BOB trailer. A lady was standing next to it, and we stopped in awe. The guy returned form the church yard, and we all started laughing. How incredible could this be? We met Elizabeth from Austria, and Peter from Switzerland. Both about our age, and travelling along the Po Valley all the way from their home country. We were going in opposite directions, they from Ferrera to Venice, us from Venice to Ravenna. There was a nice country-side restaurant next to the churck, and we sat down for a drink and a long friendly chat. This so far is a big highlight for us!

We parted company after posing for photos. Our quest for easy navigation continued with our inadequate map, and the enigmatic towns. It was getting late in the afternoon, and we realized we were going to have to be creative. There were no hotels, no campground - nothing in this area with only a small rural towns. Suddenly, at about 7:30 Mauny spots what looked like a playground, and a picnic area with tables, chairs, and swings. There was a building suggesting a restaurant, but no, it is a small airport. It looked quiet, but two cars were parked in front of the building. Elaine knocked on the door, and two ladies with a young boy came out. Elaine asked if we could camp there. They saied it was. We started pitching our tent, and suddenly one of the ladies came and said we could sleep inside the restaurant, because it was supposed to rain that night. We asked about the morning, all in broken Italian, Spanish, French, and some English. We understood that this is a private airport that was not going to be used for several days. They gave us keys to the restaurant so we could lock ourselves in, and said we could leave the back door unlocked after we left. This was an experience of hospitality at its best! We slept while it rained outside ( We still had our leaky tent, and it would not be fun to have to bail it again).

Tuesday, 9-16-08: On to Marina di Ravenna, 88 km - Surprise no. 3!

We had a good wake up at our little airport dwelling. We didn't mention the friendly, and playful kitten the kept us company through the night. Acutally, we wanted to get it inside, but didn't want to break its habbits in case it was being trained not to enter. So we cuddled, and played but put it outside for the night.

The good news is: no rain! On this ride we are still on flat terrain cruising at 20-25 kph with occasional head wind. We pass a couple of charming towns such as Porto Garibaldi, and Comancchio. Both having a small canal - a slice of Venice, and a busy town center. The new shocking surprise it that most campgrounds closed on the day we departed Sottomarina. This wasn't mentioned clearly in our guidebook. We are now in late afternoon after crossing by ferry into Marina di Ravena to discover that we are tired, and are forced to either continue into Ravenna risking getting lost and riding in the dark. So, we check into a nice hotel at 100 Euros! We start doing the math with our fingers in total shock. We couldn't afford this situation on an ongoing basis. We must find as many SERVAS hosts as possible, and verify that there are some campgrounds open thorughout the year, somewhere in Italy. We had a good hot shower, and cooked a meal inside the hotel (this is something we had mastered many years ago while travelling in Mexico.

Wednesday 9-17-08, 10.2 km - Marina di Ravenna to the City of Ravenna

Up early at our 100 Euro Riviera Hotel. We eat the included breakfast, and pack our panniers for a short ride into town. The bike was stored for the night in the hotel garage, so we pull it out, install the panniers on, and off we go. This session with the panniers takes up to an hour each day when we fold camp regardless whether we camp, or stay at a house or hotel.

Arrived in Ravenna at about 11:00 am to find that the hostel we were going to check into was closed. You see, in Italy most businesses are closed in mid day. Luckily they allowed us to lock our bike in their storgae bin, so that we could walk around town. Ravenna is famouse for its mosaics. Today we are only seeking information regarding where to find good maps, and a rainproof tent. We also acquired information about storing bikes, and internet access. Today ended with information about everything, a purchase of groceries for the next two days. We chacked in, brought the panniers to the third floor where we stayed, and after a shower and dinner, we were in bed.

Thursday, 9-18-08. Zero Km, A Day in the City of Ravenna

We woke up early so that we could visit the museums, and cathedrals with enough time to find maps, and the most important item - a good tent.

Even though Ravenna is a city of cyclists, we decided to do it on foot. We would only walk about 6-8 km, and it would free us from the bike for the day. We visited many fine sites with unbelievable moasaics such as we have never seen before. When we publish pictures after our return, it will become obvious why Ravenna is such a unique town. However, besides the historical sites, we marvelled at the people who ride bikes all over town. There were dressed up ladies riding with high heels, old men going about their business, and grandmothers carrying their granchildren in baskets. Many people do business with store owners without even getting off their bikes! Oh, and we found a tent! Alas, it is bigger than what we hoped for ( 4 people) adding close to 10 lbs to our total load. The good thing is that the poles have shorter links, so that it packs better on our rear saddle. We also found good maps that were recommended to us by our first SERVAS hosts. We have accomplished the most improtant things we set out to do to make our trip more comfortable. We set up our new tent at the hostel's back yard, and I cut out the tub of our leaky tent, discarding the top. This tub would become our bicycle cover for those rainy days. Leaving the bike uncovered proved to be a bad thing. It is in pretty bad shape after a rainy ride as it is, and needs a wiping, and lubricating.

At the hostel, two cyclists from Holand checked in. They rode all the way form Holand along the Rhine, and were enroute to Rome. So far the long distance cyclists we have been meeting were headed to Rome...

Friday, 9-19-08: Ravenna to Rimini - 62 km. A Crappy Rainy Day!

We awoke to a clooudy day with rain in them. We decided to leave no matter what. The reason was that we had made arrangements to visit with a SERVAS host just north of Rimini, and we didn't want to miss our date. As we were packing the bike the rain started. First a drizzle, and then steady rain. We rode a few km to Basilica di S. Apollinare in Classe. We had to get on the main highway for a few kms, but soon we spotted a small and pleasant road to Classe, and arrived at the Basilica. From then on, we kept riding carefully, dodging pot holes, and bad spots. This is when we got our first flat. The rain took a pause, thankfully, just long enough for me to change the tube. We came upon the beautiful coastal town of Casenatico, with its decorated fishing boats, and a nice harbor scene. We stopped for pictures, and a cup of hot coffee. Our rain gear works fine, but it doesn't protect our feet. We called our SERVAS host, Mariolena to let here know we were expected to arrive at her house at 4 pm. We are a bit better at second guessing our Micheline map, and have managed to "outsmart" it on a few occasions...our new maps do not include this area. We arrived at Viserba (just a bit north of Rimini), and knocked on our host's door at around 5pm. We trully felt thankful that our host, Mariolena let two wet cyclists stay the night at her lovely house. We had a tasty Italian dinner, with soup, pasta, and cheese. We drank wine, and herbal tea, and had very interesting conversations. Mariolena is a fine artist who loves watercolors, and has been a photographer for many years. She has exhibited in galleries, and we enjoyed here photo books. We slept like babies!