I had a great day yesterday viewing Rome by bike, you can fit so much more in and riding around in the crazy traffic is cool. I took my bike to a bike shop to check out the back wheel. Pedalando I think it was called. The guy pointed out that its wasn’t buckled, the rim had been damaged and warped out slightly. He couldn’t guarantee he could fix it but didn’t seem too worried that it would cause me any trouble.
I fought my way through Rome’s early morning rush hour traffic. It’s exhilarating and terrifying at the same time. In one tunnel I was going downhill and keeping up with the traffic, I felt I could win the race to the front. I passed a dark area under a bridge full of makeshift beds. I guess this is where some homeless must sleep at night. I left as quickly as I could, it didn’t look a happy place.
I’d planned the route to Spoleto out the night before. I knew I had a few small hills to go up and one major one at the end. The small hills were short but steep and there seemed to be a lot more than the GPS was letting on.
I saw a snake sunning itself on the road. It was about 4 foot long, green with black patterns. I don’t know much about snakes but I thought it was dead. As soon as I was close it shot off into the bushes. I almost squealed like a girl.
Just after this I got my first puncture of the trip. It didn’t take me long but was a minor inconvenience. My back tyres are really wearing down now so I guess I’ll have more of these to come unless I replace it. The guys in the bike shop in Rome had showed me a slick tyre they have but slick isn’t what I’m after.
I stopped for dinner at a gorgeous town perched on the edge of a valley called Narni. Before I knew it I was riding through Terni and approaching my final climb before I reached Spoleto. It was a touch climb, made difficult by the hot sunshine and heavy traffic. I had to stop a few times to ring out the padding in my helmet.
After a brief descent I arrived at Spoleto and made my way to its only campsite. Not a soul there so I decided to try and find a hotel. Turns out the 24th June Is the first day of Spoleto’s festival, so no chance there. I made my way back to the campsite. There were a few people there now so I setup camp for the night.
If you ever get chance make sure you visit Narni and Spoleto. They are two absolutely gorgeous towns, I hope to go back someday and spend more time there.