Another Man on a Bike

San Giovanni -  Lugo    73.2 kms      134’ascent! (so nearly flat)

Breakfast this morning was a vast improvement on yesterday in terms of food offered, but not nearly so entertaining. It was one of those buffets where you wish you had a huge appetite. We do make an effort but it is a fairly feeble one, even though we are aware of the extra calories we are using.

We did have a route in mind but after ten minutes of pedalling, we realised that we weren’t on it!  Undaunted, we made a u turn. A bit of intelligent guess work and we were on track again. It has to be said this is not a particularly beautiful part of Italy but it does have the advantage of being flat and the disadvantage of being almost without shade. The Italians don’t seem to go in for parking spots or picnic tables.

 We had made the decision yesterday, to just go ‘head down’ for the coast, which on a bike is easier said than done it being important to avoid the very busy main roads. With Master Navigator in charge there was never a problem. We made reasonable speed, even in the heat, and arrived in Lugo in the late afternoon. The town was something of a surprise, in that it had many old buildings and a massive castle in the centre. While in the process of taking a photograph of said castle, we were accosted by a man on a bike. “You are English?!” “Yes.” And then followed the questions of where we had come from etc. Happy to oblige, we answered the questions and our new friend then took us on a bike tour of the town, explaining as he went, the history of the monuments. ( All the while, he exhibited a total disregard for other traffic, which seemed resigned to remain behind the bikes!)

  By this time it was getting latish and we asked if he knew of any hotels locally. Inevitably, he had a friend who owned a very nice hotel and here we are. As we have not had a day off in two weeks an early night will be much appreciated.