Summary

Despite the less-than-ideal preparation in the few weeks building up to the trip and a few big hurdles to overcome during my time in Italy the trip was a success and I loved it. Aside from me feeling of accomplishment from completing the Elbaman/cycling to Turin/Turin Marathon I had discovered some beautiful places off the beaten track that I would have never seen had I not have taken on the cycle. My mental strength has improved, I have learnt more about myself and hence my appetite for cycling around the world has increased again. Thanks again to Ben/Colm and the guys at Reading Bicycle Kitchen for helping with the pre-trip move, the woman at the bar, the guy at the hotel in Alba and all the people that made Elbaman and Turin Marathon a success. I've got more trips planned for 2016 so keep your eyes out for the next blog...

The Turin Marathon

The rain had continued during the night but had thankfully eased by morning as forecast - this was a huge relief. Having already got everything packed/laid out and having woken up on time it was a stress-free pre-race morning. After getting dressed/packing the last bits I went down to breakfast (more with the intention of grabbing a few bread rolls and cakes for later rather than eating now). I left the hostel with approx. 90 minutes to spare. It was a delightful clear/sunny morning and I was in a very good place. Making my way to the start was straight-forward (after making my way the majority of the way it was simply a case of following all the other runners to the start). Some of them were rushing like they were going to be late which was slightly alarming - had I incorrectly assumed the correct start time? Upon arrival I checked the start time - it was in fact 9.00am like I thought (in 40 minutes) and not 8.30 as I'd feared - the other runners were clearly nervous and rushing unnecessarily. The baggage area was in a lovely big square surrounded by old architecture. Sorting the bags out was fine and I had a little while to take in the moment before making by way to the start line approx. 400 metres away. After the Italian National Anthem and a speech by who I think was the mayor (language barrier) the race got underway on time. I was thinking 3hrs 30mins as a time to aim for, but wasn't overly concerned - the primary purpose was to enjoy the course. I felt strong early on and was certainly on target for a sub 3.30 - largely thanks to a fast and scenic course. The weather remained beautiful and the two highlights were firstly a long flat straight section of road (probably 6 or 7 miles in) with a lot of support and bands playing live music, and secondly a road leading out of the city slightly further along with a stunning view of snow-capped mountains ahead in the distance - awesome. I went through the halfway point still on-pace still feeling strong and the course remaining fast and flat. The second half of course I was focused more on speed and getting to the end as quickly as possible, trying to stick with certain runners to act as pacers. The fatigue from the last week's relentless cycling started to really kick in towards the end, and it was very much a case of 'hanging on' for the last 6 or 7 miles. Somehow I still had enough left in the tank for a strong finish, and I overtook quite a few runners in the last 3-4 miles. I crossed the finish line in just over 3hr 20mins - well chuffed :) . Pretty much straight after getting my breath back, eating some of the finish-line snacky food and sorting out my stuff was the slow walk back to the hostel to grab the rest of my stuff before making my way to the airport. I'd been saving €20 for the taxi to the airport (after asking the guy at reception how much the taxi would cost). There was now a different guy at reception who informed me after calling the taxi company that it would be €25). I didn't have €25. The only option was to run to the train station down the road where the last train I could get to the airport (so that I could arrive in time for my flight) was leaving in 8 minutes time. This would be very tight, so I ran as fast as I could exhausted lugging my boxed-up-bike and with my large backpack on to the station. I arrived at the station with 2 minutes to spare, asked a member of staff which platform I needed to be on and jumped on board with about a minute to spare. Didn't have time to get a ticket. Then the ticket inspector came along - you've gotta be kidding??? I was visibly exhausted and pretended to be positioning my bike and bag out of the way/breathing heavily and drinking water to try and avoid being confronted. This worked as he walked past and continued his way along the train - result :) . The rest of the train ride and time at the airport went smoothly. I flew home on time that evening and my Italian Adventure was done. 

Cycling Day 6 - Alba to Turin

I was up and very eager for breakfast at 6.30am. I went down to the breakfast area and the owner asked me what I'd like. Being very hungry having skipped dinner last night I replied with 'everything please'. He laughed and went into the kitchen to prepare me something. Being the only guest I was certainly getting the VIP treatment. It wasn't long before I was presented with a plethora of delicious food (bread, jam, cake, eggs, cereal, ham, cheeses and biscuits). I wasn't in any rush having found out that my route to Turin was flat and easy to navigate, so I relaxed and enjoyed slowly ploughing my way through all this delightful food. Whilst eating we had a chat. He got out the map and was showing/telling me about the local regions and how beautiful some particular places are. With him being into mountain biking we got on very well and had a lot to talk about. After 1.5 hours of food and conversation it was finally time to get going. Before leaving I made a point of grabbing his card so that I could look up the hotel on Trip Advisor and give a good review - this along with a B&B in Richmond (Yorkshire) from my Wainwright's Coast to Coast walk a few years earlier ranked as the best hotels I'd ever stayed in. Then it was outside to a cloudy but dry day and on with the easy task of pedalling the final flat 50km to Turin. I was relaxed and in a good place. The way to Turin was as predicted very flat and easy to navigate, not the most scenic but I wasn't expecting it to be. I stopped at a McDonalds just outside the city to check my directions to the hostel. These were straight-forward and I successfully navigated my way to the hostel by approx. 12.30. The guy at reception recognized me from before and I explained that I had a room booked. I was too early to go in yet as the cleaners were still preparing the rooms for the next wave of guests. So I left my bike in the back garden of the hostel and went to the local supermarket to get some food. Once I was back my room was ready so I went up. After a shower and changing into some clean clothes that I'd left in the hotel storage room before I started walking to the Marathon Registration. It was probably about 5km away and easy enough to find. After showing them my passport I was presented with my race pack. Then it was a casual stroll back to the hostel to prepare my running kit for the morning before finding somewhere to get dinner. I opted for a local pizzeria recommended by the guy at reception, where I was hoping there would be a pasta option. It was pouring with rain outside - thankfully I was able to walk virtually the whole way under the cover of overhanging balconies. Upon arrival I discovered there wasn't a pasta option, but decided to stay anyway as was unlikely to be able to find a local pasta place easily. The restaurant was busy and took took a while to be served so I got the ipad out and checked my final race instructions whilst waiting. I'd ordered 2 small pizzas and was pleasantly surprised - they were very tasty and satisfied my appetite. After the meal it was still raining heavily so swiftly made it back to the hostel for an early night.

Cycling Day 5 - Cogoleto to Alba

The weather had been terrible during the night, and when I looked out of the window when I woke up the rain had eased but wind was still there. I certainly wasn't relishing the prospect of the day's ride especially as the rain was predicted to return later on. I managed to get away at a reasonable time (waited until 8.30 for the old couple to open reception so that I could hand back my key and get my passport back). The day started with a short pedal along to the next sizable town of Varazze before I would be heading north inland and onto the smaller roads towards Turin. My aim for the day was to at least get to Alba (a large town only 50-60km shy from where my hostel was in Turin) so that I would have an easier day tomorrow, and would be able to get to the all-important marathon expo where I'd need to collect my race pack before it shut at 6pm. I stopped at a shopping mall briefly just on my way out of Varazze to get water and snacks, and to double check the weather/route. I made some notes of the route/towns that I'd be passing through, snacked up and emptied my bladder before the big push inland. Very soon after setting off it started raining - lightly at first and then becoming heavier and relentless. This combined with the inland mountainous roads I was on made life very difficult, and it wasn't long before I layered up more in an attempt to keep warm. I lasted no more than 2 hours before having to admit defeat and stop. This was in a small and remote little town in the mountains that only really seemed to consist of a hotel and bar. I was tempted with the hotel at this point but went to the bar with the hope of getting warm again and refuelling before battling on some more in the afternoon. I lent my bike outside and walked in like a drowned rat. Getting undressed out of my soaked cycling gear took up loads of space - thankfully the woman working there didn't mind. The woman there didn't speak any English - we relied on hand gestures and using one of the English- speaking locals to translate. I got chatting and amongst the topics of conversation was the road to Alba - it was at least 65km of ups-and-downs and apparently I'd have to watch out for dangerous wild animals. Not having any warm clothes to put on I sat in my sleeping bag drinking the hot chocolate that I'd ordered. It took a good half-hour to warm up sufficiently, but all my clothes were soaked beyond wearable. I needed to think of a way to stay warm enough to continue - it was at least 110 km to my hostel in Turin so going to the local hotel and staying the night here was out of the question. It's not even like I could cheat and get the train or bus either. So I emptied my pannier bags hoping that I'd find something and get an idea of how I'd be able to continue. The wetsuit came out - I suppose I could try and cycle in this. However I'd still have the problem of cold hands and feet. The solution - cut off the ends of the arms and legs from the wetsuit and fudge together some makeshift gloves and socks. I also had some gaffa tape in amongst my panniers (intended for taping my bike box up for the flight home), so borrowed some scissors from the bar and proceeded to cut off the arms and legs. It was fiddly and tedious fudging the gloves getting each finger the right length/space apart and each one up. The socks were much easier - I literally just slid the cut-off bits over my feet and that was it. After approx. 30 minutes my work was done. Meantime the woman who worked there had been super helpful putting on the stove and helping to put all my wet stuff around it in an attempt to dry it out. I'd found out that it was roughly 65km to Alba with more mountainous roads paving the way. I settled my bill (hot chocolate, 2 paninis and a chocolate bar) which came to a very modest amount, so offered the woman a tip but she wouldn't take it. After thanking her I went outside at least 90 minutes after arriving and got going. It was still pissing down but I was keen to test out the wetsuit cycling. The wetsuit and shoes/gloves did the job very well - it generally kept me warm and I even got quite toasty on the ascents. It was an emphatic win keeping the challenge alive when the odds were against me - this was my best/most successful bit of improvisation to date and I was on a high. There were a few minor snags - lack of flexibility (the hip area was noticeably restricted), breathability and the freedom to stop and go for a pee (I had to go whilst riding - not so bad as this happened at the bottom of a long and cold descent so warmed me up). This 65 km or so from the bar to Alba was spectacular and I loved it despite it raining heavily the entire time (if anything this added to the beauty of the surroundings and certainly helped with the freshness of the air). There was no navigating required and I made it to Alba before nightfall. Thankfully no threatening wild animals appeared either :) . I pedalled into the town centre - it was a really nice/rich place which made the task of finding a cheap hotel tricky. There were a few 3/4 star hotels but no 1/2 star budget-friendly ones. I spent a good 30 minutes cycling around before finding somewhere that looked like it might be affordable, so went to investigate. This was fully booked. The staff however were super helpful and called a cheap hotel slightly further out-of-town to see if they had space for me. Thankfully this one did, although it was slightly more than I'd have liked to have paid (€45). I agreed as was tired and definitely not up for looking around any more, so they reserved the room for me and told the owner that I'd be there shortly. The staff then showed me how to get there and wrote down the name of the road for me. Seemed simple enough - just backtrack 1km up the road I'd just come from and take one of the turnings that would lead to the hotel. In my tired state it took a little while to find, but got there in the end. I was welcomed by a guy in his thirties who owned the place. He was really nice and showed me to my room. The room was incredible - beautifully furnished with a massive double bed. The best thing was the heating - I was able to crank up the temperature on the radiators/towel rail and dry out all of my wet stuff. He asked what time I wanted breakfast and was more than happy to serve me at 6.30am after I told him about my trip and having to get to Turin by tomorrow afternoon to register for the Marathon. I didn't have any dinner as there wasn't any nearby restaurants/shops and was too tired and cosy to venture out anywhere far. So after showering and hanging all my clothes out I tucked myself into bed and went to sleep. 

Cycling Day 4 - Levanto to Cogoleto

I didn't have a great night's sleep as struggled to get comfortable and the sea breeze kept blowing sand in my face. It was well worth it though as waking up on the beach as it became light was awesome. After a nice snooze period I hurriedly threw some clothes immediately after getting out of my warm sleeping bag as it was pretty cold. Then it was over to a local shop for some breakfast - this consisted of a massive bit of round bread and yoghurt. I didn't hang around too long as was eager to get going as had a big day ahead of me. The first town of the day was Sestri Levante. The ride between Levanto and here was brilliant. There were some big twisty climbs on small rural roads with the reward of some epic views towards the top. One bit looked like a Giro d'Italia climb with distance markings sprayed on the tarmac letting you know how far it was to get to the top. There were some foresty sections too which were especially nice. The rural road eventually led me to the main SS1 road shortly before Sestri Levante. This was where the long descent into Sestri started - a good 15km of easy coasting. I was very eager to get food asap when I arrived as had pedalled probably 50km without eating anything. So I stopped at the first petrol station that presented itself on the approach to the town centre. There was a little cafe area so sat down for a bit and had some hot chocolate and cake. Then it was the big push to get to Genova. I was very much 'in the zone' for this and maintained a good pace/momentum pretty much all the way. My route continued along the SS1 and it was a lovely ride passing through small old towns and hugging the coastline for large sections. As I neared Genova rain threatened with increased dark cloud and a bit of mist in the air (there had been white cloud up until this point). I entered the city making sure I followed the SS1 road signs not wanting to get lost. Very hungry by now. There weren't any places to eat by the roadside, and I had to get right into the centre before anything presented itself. I stopped at the port area where there appeared to be food options. Upon closer inspection there was in fact a big boat exhibition taking place (tickets were needed). Someone who was on their way out kindly gave me their ticket so I went in to have a look. I didn't have any interest in the boats but there was bound to be food and wifi around. In amongst all the exhibitors' stands there was a temporary restaurant set up. I went in and ordered a burger. They brought me out some pasta (it was very busy and they had got my order mixed up) I ate it anyway as was too hungry to wait any longer. The portion size was small and I was still hungry so showed the waitress my receipt for the burger. After a short wait I was presented with my burger (so got 2 meals for the price of 1). Having consumed the burger my appetite was satisfied and I wandered around in search of a decent wifi signal - this turned out to be a waste of time. I left the exhibition later than intended and continued my way through Genova. It had now started raining. Not far down the road I spotted a McDonalds so went in for a wifi weather/route check. Thankfully the rain looked set to ease off shortly for the rest of the day before reappearing later that night. Once I had finished my wifi session the rain had virtually stopped. My mission was simply push as far as I could until darkness set in in a few hours' time. There was one supermarket stop at the far side of Genova getting snacks for now/breakfast for the morning. Once I'd bought my bits I went into the supermarket's toilet. Once done I went to go out but had been locked in. A brief moment of panic set in and I was banging on the door. Thankfully a few minutes later one of the employees let me out - the person before me must have unwittingly locked the door behind them and given the key back to a member of staff. Anyway free from the toilet I went outside and it was already starting to get dark. I managed to smash out a fair distance stopping at the second town along the SS1 once the lack of light became too much. Next was to find a cheap hotel. The small coastal town of Cogoleto that I'd ended up in didn't appear to have many options. There was one that presented itself straight away but was too expensive for my tight budget. So I pedalled around the streets in the hope of finding a cheaper alternative. I came across this hotel tucked away down a small backstreet owned by an old couple with a cat. She spoke broken English and was happy for me to pay €40 for my room (I bartered her down from the original €50 price). I put my bike in the front room with the cat and went up to my room. A quick shower and change and it was off to find food. There was a kebab restaurant just around the corner so went there not wanting to venture too far in the now heavy rain. This turned out to be a great shout - proper tasty kebabs and very cheap. I ended up getting 2 meals in there and being very full. After a lengthy eating/wifi session in the restaurant it was back to the room and bed. Alarm was set early for another big day tomorrow.

Cycling Day 3 - Pisa to Levanto

I had a terrible nights' sleep due to the fact that I started to feel very thirsty within about an hour of tucking into my sleeping bag (a side effect of consuming the huge pizza). I didn't have adequate water with me, and wasn't able to get any until the morning. The road noise didn't help either. Needless to say I awoke feeling sluggish. Thankfully there turned out to be a supermarket just down the road - as well as 2 litres of water I opted for my standard supermarket cycle touring breakfast (plain yoghurt, squeezy honey, big baguette/jar of jam, bananas and chocolate) and proceeded to consume this outside the entrance. The morning consisted of cycling to the large port town of La Spazia. It was like yesterday (nice sunny day without being to hot, long flat stretches of coastal road and no wind). I arrived in La Spezia at about 1pm, found a supermarket and got more food (this time I went for a tub of ice cream, a pastry and some grapes), and pedalled along to some benches overlooking the port by the water to eat. There were some massive cruise ships moored up, with some of the passengers walking around having clearly been mooching around town. I remember thinking to myself I'm glad I'm not one of them - much better to see everywhere on the bike rather than just see snippets of the big towns going around on the boat. I went into the cruise building waiting area to use their wifi to plan the route for the rest of today. My aim was to get to Sestri Levante which was approx. 55km along the major road, or longer and probably hillier (judging by the wiggly roads on Google maps) if I took the scenic coastal road. After some deliberation I opted for the scenic route, and I'm very glad I did. Unbeknown to me I was heading into the stunning 'Parco Nationale delle Cinque Terre'. This was by far the best cycling that I'd come across in Italy so far (even surpassing Elba), with quality winding roads, incredible scenery and lack of cars. Any hope of making it to Sestri ended pretty soon as all the picture-taking, easy taking-it-all-in pace and hill climbs made progress slow. The weather remained delightful and it really was idyllic cycling (the only places I'd previously cycled that would have been in the same league as this would be Nordkapp and Iceland). As the daylight hours started to drift away I decided that the town of Levanto would be tonight's destination. Upon arrival in Levanto I headed straight down to the beach just in time to catch the sunset - a perfect end to the day. There were these little old Piaggio motorbike tricycles everywhere in Levanto (nearly as many of these as there were cars), and they seemed to park wherever they wanted - brilliant. It was definitely time for dinner now, and I was spoilt for choice with several nice-looking restaurants to choose from. The place I chose was amazing and the steak they served me would rank among the best meals that I've ever had. After the meal it was back to the beach in the dark to set down my sleeping bag for the night (it was clear with no signs of rain and warm enough to sleep out in the open). I picked a relatively hidden spot away from the glare of the streetlights, got comfortable and set my alarm for when the sun was likely to come up.

Cycling Day 2 - Piombino to Pisa

The day's cycling started later than expected.  This was down to a non-existent wifi connection in the hotel, and having to use the very old and slow desktop computer that was in the communal lounge area (I needed to Googlemap my route). Eventually I made sufficient notes on how to get to Pisa and made my way downstairs and got my bike out of the garage ready to set off. I then realised I didn't have the notes I'd just written down. They weren't in any of my bags or pockets. Neither were they in the room - the cleaners had already been in and taken any rubbish away. So I ended up going down to the laundry area in the basement with one of the cleaning ladies and foraging my notes out of a bin bag. The cleaning lady and owner were interested in my trip so had a chat with them about what lay ahead. I finally departed at what must have been at least 11am and made my way out of the town. It was a glorious day - sunny but not too hot and with virtually no wind. The roads were straight and pancake flat making my life as easy as it could have been. Despite having a big supermarket breakfast before leaving it wasn't long before I was hungry - I probably only managed about 20km before stopping at a roadside restaurant for lunch. I remember ordering 2 omlettes and still not being full afterwards. Also there was a traditional 'hole in the floor' toilet - a clear sign that I was off the tourist track. It wasn't long after lunch until I reached  the first town of San Vincenzo. The road was generally pancake flat which made my life as easy as it could have been. Upon arrival in San Vincenzo I cycled around the town following a signpost with the Olympic Rings on. After passing a massive port/boathouse the rings led me to an athletics stadium. The gates were open and nobody seemed to be around. I walked in and there was one guy doing some run training. Leaving the bike by the side I popped on my running shoes and did a nice easy 3-lap recovery jog. This felt pretty good and gave me a confidence boost that I may be able to run the marathon relatively well in Turin in 5 days time. There was a very long road that ran along the coast as I made my way north out of San Vincenzo. This was pancake flat and straight and was lined with endless restaurants as well as the odd surf shop/arcade. The roads remained straight and flat for the rest of the day - the only change was switching from riding along the coast to riding inland. There was a McDonalds wifi session at the second town of Cecina mid-afternoon to check directions (the SS1 road I'd planned on going on turned out to be a motorway, so I had to find an alternative route). I managed to make it to Pisa just as it was getting dark (I had to maintain a decent pace after the McDonalds delay to do this). I found the station in Pisa and retraced my way back to the Leaning Tower in search of a restaurant. My 2 requirements - big portions and wifi access. I went into the first one and ordered a huge pizza. This was meant for at least 2 people and when it came out I could see why. It took a while to devour but I got there in the end. I left the restaurant bloated with the intention of finding the first suitable camp spot out of the city centre and pitching up for the night. 15 minutes later I'd found a reasonable patch of grass set back from the side of the road with a bush that offered me a degree of camouflage. I popped the tent up quietly (it was a residential area) and went to sleep.