53km and 850 meters of climbing ( for those in Victoria that's 2.5 Malahats )Gord: Today we left the rice paddies of the Po valley and climbed into the Appennine mountains towards Tuscany. Like the meseta on the Camino many pilgrims skip the Po valley. While I am glad that we are covering the entire Via Francigena under our own steam, and there were interesting ... Read More
I think we might actually make it to Rome. The signs are certainly indicating that we are going the right way. Perhaps the oldest surviving road sign, however is the on on the Cathedral in Fidenza. A statue of Simon Peter faces Rome holding an inscription that says, "Here lies the way to Rome."We are staying at the Cappuccini Monastery in Fidenza, each of us ... Read More
Ruth: 85 km with the additional 10 added in.Crossing the Po RiverThe very very flat Po Valley.My needs are simple and, I suspect, not that different from other pilgrims on the Via Francigena or any pilgrimage route. At the end of a long hot day there needs to be a shower, some food and a bed. It is amazing how much I warm to a ... Read More
One thousand year old crucifix in the Cathedral in Vercelli.In preparation for this trip Gord and I started watching the popular Italian sitcom, Che Dio Ci Aiuti ( God Help Us) on line to improve our Italian. It takes place in a convent that has fallen on tough financial times and must rent rooms to a colourful and very beautiful collection of female university students. ... Read More
Ruth: The Aosta valley is a beautiful, lush area ringed by some of the highest peaks in the Alps. It is also a bilingual area where greetings are done simultaneously in Italian and French. Cycling down out of Aosta was a treat, with castles on almost every strategic promontory and Roman bridges in many towns. The the last of these was a magnificent arch built ... Read More
Ruth: It was time for a rest day and Aosta is a perfect place to spend it. We are staying at the lovely Narbussion B&B with our own 17th century studio suite right in the historic core of Aosta. The courtyard comes equipped with cats and much appreciated shade. The pace of our trip so far has been a little to fast for living in ... Read More
29km & 1700 meters of climbing. The road was well graded although it averaged 10% in the last 10 km. The traffic was not a problem and it was lovely when we parted company with the main road which goes through a tunnel to Italy. This was the biggest climb I have ever done, and for those at home it was almost 5 Malahats!We were ... Read More
Montbovon - Lausanne 78km no trains no buses just pedalling.Ruth: Today was all about closing the gap and returning to Lausanne where we stopped last year. It was a strange feeling arriving at the lake and heading away from Rome, but we are making sure that we complete every kilometre between Canterbury and Rome. Our ride started high up in the mountains,passed through the hilltop town of Gruyere ... Read More
Spiez to Montbovon: 82 km Ruth: We had a beautiful but long ride today. I decided to take a train over the pass cutting 17 km and 350 meters of steep climbing. We are now relaxing at a beautiful farm that breeds Bernese mountain dogs. One of them has befriended us and I think she is bilingual. About 20 km back we entered the Canton of Vaud, which ... Read More
Brienzwiler to Spiez: 42 kmThis was supposed to be our easy ride, but the Lakes Route 9 chose the very scenic but cliff climbing route rather than the flat side of the lake to Interlaken. Legend has it that when the clouds move into the mountains and threaten rain, one might just catch a glimpse of the elusive Goat King. We were warned that during mating ... Read More