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  • Italy 2022
    • The process before leaving town...
    • About
    • Annie Hart Cool
  • Life as it appears to me

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Ditch your pride and enjoy the ride...you cheater, you

5/6/2015

1 Comment

 

Ditch your pride and enjoy the ride!

 

96 miles in 4 days!  


The weather threatened hurricane force winds and driving rain.  35 miles from port to port.  


Rain gear a must!  


Mark volunteered to sweep.   No, not the deck of the barge but the riders.   His job was to pedal behind and keep track of the flock. He was the "border collie" of the trip.


How could I not go?  So many were opting for a canal cruise.  Remembering the driving rain of 2 days earlier and the chill to the bone that even a hot shower could not suppress.  I was tempted to stay behind and enjoy the other passengers...but how could I?  My husband is the sweep!


The morning of the trip, I saw Mark sitting at day break having coffee alone in the salon and as I sat I ran thru the litany of reasons we should opt to stay on the barge.  


He quietly looked up and just before he sipped his coffee he said..."do what you want, but we came here to ride..."


The gauntlet was thrown!  


I recoiled to my room.  Pulling on the wicking bike shorts and the multilayers of shirts, I wondered if I could do this.   What's the worst that would happen?   I'd spend the whole day being told by my husband to catch up...


I needed an intervention.


I went to Jack, our guide.  I slipped him 20 Euros and rented an electric bike!   


Oh, how I struggled.  Days earlier I judged the elderly Germans for their electric bikes...and here I was choosing this alternative.


Cheater!


18 folks chose to ride.  6 chose electric bikes!   I say ditch your pride and enjoy the ride.  14 people stayed on the barge...


So I had to be given some credit for attempting the next wet and windy 35 miles regardless of the electric bike...right?


First let me explain one thing.   You still have to peddle. This is not a moped or scooter.   I was told to keep it in economy mode by Jack.  I hardly felt a difference.   I was still peddling to keep up with my group but suddenly the hills were easier and the knees hurt less.


So I still peddled those 35 miles but had an economic assist.  


The Wind!  Oh the wind...I heard the music from the Wizard of Oz when the witch is caught in the tornado....  Trees were uprooted...debris all over the bike paths...


Head down, hands clenched, legs in slow motion churning the peddles...I was determined not to let the wind win.  One of the other women on an electric bike suggested I change the setting to standard.  I pondered this.  She said "it makes the riding so much easier..."  


I gave this thought and decided it was too early in this 8 hour day to waste the battery... I kept my bike in Econ until the wind started to push me back...


"Standard" allowed me to push thru the wind.  As I passed an Ausie rider I heard him say "cheater"...


Briefly, I winced.  


Then I heard "set aside the pride and enjoy the ride" inside my head.  The way I figure it, I'm a 56 year old woman, 100 pounds over weight and 3 weeks recovering from major surgery...its a blessing I'm on this bike...or any bike.  


Cheating, for me, would have been staying on the boat!


In the final stretch to the boat, all 18 riders were windburned and wasted by the turbulent blowing of an angry Mother Nature.  We turned each corner anticipating the boat just around the bend...it seemed out of reach. 


Jack told me to go full steam on High electricity to the boat to wear the battery down... Woot woot...


This was music to my ears!


The electric bikes who were in standard had run out of energy 8 miles from the boat...these are the toughest 8 miles out of 35...


The Sweep, Mark said it was a tough day!  He felt beat up.  


He gave me a high five and said "I'm proud of you."


"Even if you cheated..."



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1 Comment
Charles Sheehan
5/6/2015 11:47:03 pm

Good for you. I am glad that you were able to get one of the electric bikes as Moira said that they were all taken. See anything resembling tulips yet?
Try Kwak. It will ease the soreness.

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Our Bike and Barge Itinerary!

Day 1: Individual arrival in Mantova


Day 2: Mantova, 21 mi. (35 km)


Day 3: Mantova - Governolo - Zelo, 32 mi. (50 km)

Day 4: Zelo - Ferrara - Adria, 31 mi. by bike + 37 mi. by bus (50 + 60 km)

Day 5: Adria - Po Delta Nature Reserve - Pellestrina Island, 25 mi. (40 km)

Day 6: Pellestrina Island - Venice, 19 mi. (30 km)

Day 7: Venice, free day

Day 8: Venice,
​departure following breakfast
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Mantova is one of the most beautiful towns in Northern Italy as many worldwide know artists have left their masterpieces for us to enjoy, thanks to the famous Gonzaga family! Benvenuti a Mantova!
Day 2: Mantova - round trip tour - 21 mi. (35 km)


This entire day is dedicated to the discovery of this wonderful city and its surroundings, dominated by the wealth and influences left by the Gonzaga family, who owned the city for over 400 years.

Mantova was considered one of the most important cultural cities in the Renaissance and it still maintains a lot of the landscapes and the building that made it famous during that period.

​ In the late afternoon, a local guide will lead you through the most known highlights of the town.

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Day 3: Mantova - Governolo - Zelo, 32 mi. (50 km)

After breakfast, on board, you navigate from the "lakes" of Mantova and cruise through the lush wetlands that lead to Governolo Lock, where Mantova's Mincio River flows into the Po.

​ From here, by bike, you follow the broad sweeps of the levee towards Ostiglia, renowned for its medieval fortress and fierce fighting in 1945, as the Allies drove Hitler's forces back.
Bergantino, home of the distinctive Museum of Fairground Rides and its collection of street organs, all expertly restored (and thunderous!).


This village is also in the heartland of Grana Padano, the arch-rival of Parmesan. A visit to the local cheese factory, sampling some well seasoned Grana, is a must-do.

​You meet the barge in Zelo, a sleepy village on the Canal Bianco, the waterway which runs parallel to the Po.
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Day 4: Zelo - Ferrara - Adria, 31 mi. by bike + 37 mi. by bus (50 km by bike + 60 km by bus)
Following breakfast, you will start cycling towards Ferrara. Once you have reached the town, which earned the name of "city of bicycles", you will be enchanted by the historical center, still surrounded by the old city walls.

​You will enjoy a guided town tour. From Ferrara, a short bus transfer will bring you to Adria, an ancient Greek port, famous for trading amber coming from the Baltic. It's a remarkable museum that also bears witness to its Etruscan, Roman, and Venetian Heritage.
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​Day 5: Adria - Po Delta Nature Reserve - Pellestrina Island, 25 mi. (40 km)
After a short ride on board, you cycle into the delta of the life-giving Po. This unique wetland is the prime reserve in Europe for herons and home to a sizeable colony of flamingos. Weather permitting, as you continue towards Chioggia, you can also enjoy a stop at a beach and a dip in the Adriatic - not forgetting a hot savory piadina! Chioggia is also known as "Little Venice", a colorful fishing hub. The overnight takes place on the island of  Pellestrina, just in front of Chioggia.
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Day 6: Pellestrina Island - Venice, 19 mi. (30 km)
Venice beckons, but first another world altogether: Pellestrina, the first of two islands you traverse today – a humble and tranquil fishing backwater, picturesque as ever with its cottages, boats, and nets. A short island-hop by ferry transfers to Lido. Fashionable in high society ever since the Belle Époque, the Lido di Venezia is now home to the International Venice Film Festival and its galaxy of stars.

​ After rejoining the barge, you will enjoy a leisure cruise in front of St Mark’s square to the final destination. After dinner, you can savor Venice at night, now free of the crowds and at her most romantic: Benvenuti a Venezia!
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Day 7: Venice, guided walking tour and free time
A guided walking tour of Venice begins around 11 am and lasts approximately 1.5 hours. It begins in St. Mark square and continues towards the bigger "sestiere" of the city, Castello.

You will visit Campo Santa Maria Formosa where you can experience a characteristic market and then a city hospital and large gothic church in Campo dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo. Later, you will go to Campo Santa Marina and to the Rialto Bridge. During this tour, the guide will explain these sites from the outside, no entrances are planned. 
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I guess I always knew this… but forgot?

As we prepare to leave on vacation the energy in the house is a mix between excitement and dread. You know the anticipation? The expectation ! And all the things you forgot.

I take a breath and lean in to my suitcase. I don’t know why I fret. The few things I pack can be washed and reworn!

If Covid taught us nothing it taught us sweat pants can last a week if handled carefully! Two weeks in Italy requires comfort clothes and something a little stylish… but wait, I live on Cape Cod!

We have completed most of the requisites. The note to the Dog sitter, the walk about with the gardener, the cleaned out refrigerator… but then it dawns on us…
what about the storage on our phones?

​TONIGHT. Tonight we will be deleting everything. Sorry, but it’s true.
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