0 for 1 on Self-Navigation

Miles from Home - 5499.3 miles
Firsts / Highlights - First pedal strokes in Tuscany. Pumpkin & mushroom Risotto at Guidoricco’s
Miles Ridden - 29.81 miles
Vertical Feet - 2,791 ft
Route - View Today's Route Here.
People - Just me

This post is from May 25, 2009.

Some of you may remember that I nearly got lost on my underwater navigation exam for my SCUBA certification. Getting out of Siena today, I’d have drown if I were underwater. I attempted to locate a bike shop that was only about 1 mile from my hotel, and it took me an hour, 6 miles and 500 vertical feet to do it. When I finally got there, they were closed for the afternoon break.

Such was my first introduction to self-navigated bike travel in Europe. Until now, I have been with bike hotel guides or Experience Plus. I haven’t had to establish or follow my own courses. In my defense, there probably could not be a more confusing city than Siena to get started. Even with the GPS telling me where to turn, it was almost useless due to unmarked streets, incorrectly marked streets, construction, police kicking me off pedestrian-only roads and turns so close together that the GPS cannot differentiate them, particularly with the narrow view of the sky from the little streets. Take a look at the GPS route, and you will see my circles and figure-8’s as I attempted to get out of the maze.

I had hoped to get some route recommendations and tighten my front hub bearings at the bike shop, but the only real success I had was to inflate my tires. While I was waiting for the shop to open, I went in search for some food to get me started on my ride. I didn’t want a full restaurant, just something simple, like, maybe… Pizzaland. Fortunately, there was one just around the corner.

The riding changed dramatically almost as soon as I passed outside the walls of Siena. It became the rolling Tuscan countryside of legend. I can see why this is so popular with cyclists. Quiet country roads, little traffic, rural scenery and the grades are not nearly as fierce as the other locations I have visited before now.

This is certainly the most rural place I have visited yet. Today was just an orientation (apparently needed), but I think I will actually need to plan for food and water on longer rides. At the other places I have ridden so far in Italy, I have never been more than a few kms from the next town and the next sidewalk bar (café). We’re not talking about stretches from Steamboat to Kremmling here, but you could get thirsty if you ran out of water.



My one café stop today happened to be during the magic live-coverage hours for the Giro. Popovich was on a solo break-away on one of the famous white-dirt roads in Italy. There is a special name for those roads, but I don’t remember what it is. Almost immediately after leaving the café, I found myself on one of them. It wasn’t by design. Neither the paper nor the GPS map showed it being unpaved, but having just seen it on the Giro, and because one of the criteria for The Machine was to be able to handle dirt roads, I decided to proceed. As usual, the more difficult path was the more rewarding. I found some beautiful villas and even a castle that most people will never see. Of course, I also found some 16% grades that most won’t find either. It starts to get difficult to keep the rear wheel from slipping on a road bike at 16% on a loose surface. I was able to keep the rubber side down, and overall, it was a good trade-off.

I was startled by how quickly things turn rural outside of Siena. This picture was taken only 1.5 km from the city wall.

There are a number of hill towns I would like to see near here. The recommendations I hear again and again are Volterra, Gimignano, Montalcino, Pienza and Montepulciano. I would still like to do a 2-day tour to pick up a couple of those towns with an overnight out there somewhere. Tomorrow, I think I will go for the train-assist. Ride a train in the general direction of Volterra, then get off and ride the rest of the way there and back to Siena. The train will extend my reach and motivate me to get back if I want to eat and sleep. It also avoids doing an out-and-back route that is sometimes unavoidable on unfamiliar roads.

So far, my experience is that city hotels in Europe are more typical of what you are warned about with European travel. Expensive, noisy and lacking in the amenities the American take for granted. I rarely do this, but I had to ask to be moved to another room last night. Mine was almost in the lobby and next to a marble staircase. Since there is no elevator, the stairs get a lot of traffic and I could hear every step and word said in the lobby. Today, they moved me to the third floor, which seems to be quieter, but is sweltering with no A/C. Fortunately, I have a ceiling fan. That shaved head seems like a good idea right now.

Bathrooms here are a new adventure every day. Today’s has a tile floor and a curtain in the corner. There is no type of shower pan to keep the water in a specific part of the bathroom. There is a drain in the floor on the same side of the room as the showerhead, but that is the only thing that differentiates it from the rest of the bathroom floor. There are also an infinite variety of toilet flush mechanisms. I have not seen a U.S.-style handle yet, but just about everything else. The most common is the two-button system. One for the big flush and the other for the little flush. Choose your flush based on the desperation of your situation.

If you don’t hear from me for a few days, I am probably lost riding around the Tuscan countryside. I will have my credit card, so I can’t imagine being lost could be too bad. I’ll make it back for my luggage eventually.