Basel

Yet again a sunny day for my 95km ride north-west to Basel. There is one minor pass of 750m to climb, but it is a relatively easy day. I am going to Basel to meet my friend Patryk, so we can catch up with a large bike touring group called Green Riders. This group started the Eurovelo 6 (on the coast of France) at the start of June and plan to ride the full route of 4500km to the Black Sea in two months. They will visit interesting environmental and social projects on the way and attempt to stealth camp with up to 20 people for the majority of the nights. However, they have a 300km head start on Patryk and I, so the initial few days on the Rhine will be longer than usual.
Having recieved many offers of accomodation on CouchSurfing in Basel, I eventually stay with Anil in the city centre

Luzern Lucerne so good they named it twice

Some of the most stunning scenery I have ever experienced is on today's ride to Luzern. Skirting the edge of two large lakes makes for an magnificent introduction to the pretty town of 100,000 inhabitants. The old part of town is simply full of day tourists and everything is extremely expensive. In the evening I head to the nearby town of Rothenburg, where my friend Sabrina lives in a WG (Wohngemeinschaft) - where you share a living space with one or several others. It is a large, old, wooden farm house and Sabrina shares the house with five others. They prepare meals together, play music and generally hang out together whether possible. There is nobody there when I first reach the house and Sabrina has told me the house is always open. I had observed that security of personal possessions in Switzerland is rather lax; expensive bicycles locked with feeble or no locks, no security walls around houses, etc. This is something I could definitely get used to. It makes you feel that you can relax more and nobody will take advantage.
I stay the nights in this farmhouse surrounded by her wonderful housemates. I spend the first day helping out in a food co-op that Sabrina helps organise and the second cycling about town, exploring the more alternative spots of the city. Each evening gather together to prepare delicious dinners, with some of the ingredients fresh from the garden.
Unfortunately this slice of Elysium will be destroyed in November, when the house is destined to be demolished to make way for a new housing development. The desperate search for a rare bat to make the house it's home continues.

Altdorf

We're on the road for 9am and somehow we take different roads to the 2100m pass. Adrien takes the cycle path with plenty of switchbacks and a higher gradient and I take the main road with multiple tunnels and little traffic. There is a tunnel for the cars to avoid the pass. This means it is really only tourists who take the pass, usually by motorbike, RV or car. It is a long climb but it only takes 100 minutes and my legs feel overworked at the top. We're actually very lucky as this pass was only opened five days previously, evidenced by the snow walls pushed to the side of the road and the still frozen lakes. We wrap up in our warmest clothes for the decent. My top speed is just over 60km/hr and the rest of the day is effortless riding into the German part of Switzerland.
Sonya and Pirmin are my Warm Shower hosts for the evening. They have ridden for nine months as far as Azerbaijan and then the east coast of Australia. Hats off to you both.

Airolo (photos soon)

A rainy start to the day has us taking breakfast under a bridge and deciding how far to travel today. As it is raining and overcast, we decide to just cycle to Airolo at 1100m and take on the pass tomorrow. This means an embarrassing 23km day and plenty of time to chill out in the afternoon.

Faida (photos soon)

I start on the road west to the Guardino Pass (2100m). I have not looked for hosts in this Ticino area so that I can get in full biking days and can stop any time I want. Stealth camping is more flexible than CouchSurfing/ Warm Showers. I take a long lunch break in the pretty city of Bellinzona and continue on to Faida at 700m. As there are many cyclists who ride this pass and its Switzerland, there are dedicated, isolated cycle ways for most of the pass. I camp near a waterfall which successfully acts as white noise for the nearby highway. It is here, at my impromptu campground, that I meet a fellow cyclist tackling the pass. Adrien comes from Eastern France and it's riding from Portugal to Norway. We decide to ride together for a few days.

Lugano (photos soon)

Today's international ride to Lugano (Switzerland) will involve some hills. Not easy to cross all the highways that ring Milan. I have done this same ride last year in the opposite direction. I device to try another road that avoids all the traffic of Como, of Lake Como fame. This is a good decision and it's a quick, but a little boring ride, to Lugano.
Lugano is famous for being one of the wealthiest cities of Switzerland, due to its special banking practices. This is bounlrne out by the abundant luxury shops and sports cars. CouchSurfing tonight with Marco means that I get to see some of the city with a local and have not need to find a place to pitch the ol' tent. I really don't see why so many tourists visit here. Sure the lake is nice and there are nice views from the tall nearby mountains, but the general atmosphere is destroyed by high rise apartments and excessive traffic. To be fair, they have drastically increased the bicycle infrastructure in the last eight months. Still, there are far nicer cities in Switzerland.

Milan (pictures coming soon)

Extending my ride to just over 100km today, in order to take the fantastic bike paths that run along the canals from the east of Milan. Its the weekend and there are plenty of bike riders of all ages and styles. I reach Milan in the late afternoon and meet Carlo, a friend from Berlin. We head out for the night to the afters of a design workshop, where we catch up and meet some of Carlo's numerous friends.
The next day we spend working the fields.  We reduce the shade of on the trees of forest we planted three months ago. Its thirsty and hungry work. Thankfully there is a simple but tasty lunch organised for us in the late afternoon. We spend the evening, once again, at the design workshop, but as we go there earlier, we get to hear live music and there's more atmosphere than the previous night.

Cerreto Grue

The ride is pretty hard to Cerreto Grue and there are a few hills north of Genoa. In spite of this, I am fresh from my rest days and make good time.
I had planned to do into Giulia and Americo for a coffee at lunchtime and then head north to Milan, but with a stuffed belly and plenty to chat about (if only in Italian), I am convinced to stay the night. Also meet two other guests who have been invited by Francesco to stay at his parents' place for the night.

Genoa

After a 20 hour get crossing from Palermo, I am glad to find Xavi and his couch waiting for my arrival. We head out for the evening and grab some pizza and eat it near Giardini Di Babilonia. The weather is great for hanging around all evening chatting and u device to stay another day in Genoa and visit the Music for Peace festival the following day. The entrance fee for this festival is any donation of non-perishable food, which will be delivered by the organisation to certain at-risk countries in Africa. There is music, workshops and plenty of interesting stalls.

Sicily

Typical looking Sicilian village

After an uneventful sailing from Cagliari (Sardinia) to Palermo, I meet up with Berndt at the port. I had planned to cycle down to Ispica (350km away) but glad that he decided to collect me in his Citroen 2CV from 1954. We attach the bike onto the roof and head off into the hills for a brief car repair at his friend's place.

Travelling by car through the centre of Sicily gives me a sense of relief, as, although there are no monstrous mountains, it is very hilly terrain. My previous estimation of three days to reach Ispica looks doubtful in face of this new knowledge.

2CV from 1964 (bicycle is an optional accessory)

After one night on the farm and Berndt giving the knocked up jeep a needed face lift, using the most primitive of tools (inclined plane), we're on the road again; destination, Ispica, in the on the South east coast.

I am here to look after Berndt's menagerie of animals, his garden and home, which just so happens to be a series of caves. Seemed like a good arrangement - I get to take a break from the cycling whilst Berndt gets to visit Germany.

The specifics of such a troglodite existence are not new to me, as I've spent many months here previously.

After being reunited with the dogs and updated on new developments in the caves, I settle in to this more sedate pace of life. Waking up with sun has never been easy for me, but when that same sun blasts her first heat rays directly into your eyes as she likes over the horizon each morning, you tend to take a bit more notice of nature's rhythms and comply. 



Thinkin' like MacGyver - using the inclined plane

My tasks to look after the four dogs (Camilla, Ugo, Chico and Ara), feed the chickens, tortoises and canaries, water the garden and basically keep an eye on things. This early rising pattern and very light chore routine means there is plenty of time to do whatever the hell I want. This mostly comprises of reading, going to the nearby beach, watching movies, listening to music, audiobooks and podcasts and trying to beat Strava times.   For those of you unfamiliar with Strava, it's an app that monitors your bike rides and ranks your performance against other users. Its like a time trial with strangers  and fun you don't get too competitive.
 



The original plan was to stay here for weeks until the middle of May, but Berndt asks me to stay until the end of May. As it's a pretty good life here, no arm twisting is required for me to acquiesce to this request. I dare not stay longer than that though as the summer temperatures are creeping upwards and I want to be heading north come June.

 

Initially there is no WiFi in the caves and this means that the lack of things to do cannot be relieved by simply staring at the black mirror. My reading time during the day spikes to six hours - the kobo ebook reader proves a godsend - and gives me plenty of time to improve my Italian. All the daytime is spent in the garden overlooking the Cava di Ispica. This contrasts strongly with the hustle of the bubbling Berlin  metropolis and is welcomed, at least initially.
 

Cava d'Aglia

Emi joins me for a week long stay and it is definitely more fun when you have someone with whom to share this experience. We visit the nearby catacombs, take long bike rides to Modica, ragusa, Noto, Pachino (who knew that you should pronounce Al Pacino as "Al Pakkino") and the nearby beach. Neither of us is convinced that the electric bike is a real cycling experience, but it is handy if someone gets tired on the hilly terrain. Disappointingly, the water temperatures in May do not exceed 17C, which means its only a toes-in affair. Also overdoing the pizza experience at Forno a Legna, a thing I barely thought possible, by hitting the pizzeria four times in a week.
 

Its the final two weeks where things start to drag. The daily routines, once providing charming simplicity, become like repetitive chores and I long for the diversity of Berlin or bike trekking, where there is a high chance of spontaneity. I want to be able to fall in step with the natural rhythms of nature, but I wish that someone stepped on my toes sometimes. A little disruption or at least more social interaction. 



Easter proceedings in Ispica

And so it is that I decide to join join a group of cyclists who are cycling the Eurovelo 6 (from western France to eastern Romania - 4500km). The tour aims to visit environmental and social projects en route. I plan to meet them near Basel (Switzerland) and then take it from there. To get me back to the mainland, I will take a ferry from Palermo to Genoa. The beauty about the ferries and handling on a bike is that you can make a booking any time. 







Average day solving palm transportation problems

Beam me up Scotty



Modica - probably the most impressive example of baroque architecture

(even brought an architect along to get a second opinion)

A lesser known catacomb

Witnesses at a wedding in Noto

Ispica's graveyard



Wind tunnel pose on the beach

Emi going electric

Around Sardinia in five days

Due to limited sailing dates during lie season, the ferry companies still only one weekly between Sardinia and Sicily. This has the consequence that I will be cycling from the very top of Sardinia to the very south in 4.5 days. I had planned all this, as I wanted to spend more days in Corsica where I was told there were fewer inhabitants and more nature. This ride of approximately 400km would usually be the proverbial walk in the park type affair, but there be hills on Sardinia and this means more strenuous days lie ahead.

After an early bike ride down to Bonifacio port, I catch the morning ferry to Santa Lucia Di Galuria; a journey of only one hour, but suffers often from cancelled sailings due to the high winds funneled between the tips of both Islands.

Finding hosts on CouchSurfing or WarmShowers proved practically impossible, meaning that I will be stealth camping my way down the east coast. This also accords with my plan to maximise the number of kilometres I travel each day, as I automatically will be starting my day with the sunrise and don't need to be anywhere at any specific time.

And so it is, that I spend my first night in Sardinia in small field next to a village 100km from the port, having put in a reasonable first day's ride of 130km. It's not that hilly compared to Corsica, and it must be said, not as spectacular or beautiful too, especially with the tendancy of rubbish to be fly-tipped on the roadsides. As forewarned, there are more people here and less nature, with a distinct  lack of forests. It does also have less of a touristy vibe, with fewer hotels and a more rural, country feeling.

The next day I ride on towards Nuoro, which is a detour of about 50km. Cristina, practically the only person to even reply to my requests on CouchSurfing, has offered me accommodation in her house for the night. The hills start to kick in, but so do the panoramic views. Cristina has two children and she prepares a meal in the evening for us, completed with wine, cheese and traditional Sardinian bread - is a thin wafer of toasted bread about as large as a pizza. It's the access to a shower that one misses the most when stealth camping for any length of time, especially when its too cold to throw yourself into the nearest river. Other welcome amenities are a chance to wash sweaty clothes, warm meals and social interaction.

Following the SS125 down the coast it's a magical ride. There is very little traffic as the main highway snakes towards the west coast after Nuoro. Yes, its hilly but with stunning vistas that make today's ride one of the most epic yet encountered. Here there is natural forest and practically no villages. With the sun reigning high above, I feel no need to stop and take my time pushing up hills at an elegant pace. I sleep in a field next to a stream close to the town of Cardedu.

The next day promises rain from the get go, so I spend most of the morning in a cafe bar enjoying the coffee and ambiance. The locals while away the morning hours in this cafe and the photos on the walls depict their hunting prowess; foxes, wild pigs other animals displayed before them. The rain abates only toward midday, at which time I make my way further south. Having completed more distance than expected over the past three days, I can take it easy and decide to spend some time at the beach near Muravera. I get talking to a curious Swiss couple as I wait for some of my clothes to dry. Seeing that there are few people around and heeding not the no camping signs, I tuck myself away in my tent on the dunes at sunset. Its gonna be a rainy evening but the sounds of nearby waves lullaby me to sleep.

My ferry leaves from Cagliari (why do people pronounce it "Calgari"?) in the evening but it's only a 65km ride so no rush, especially with a morning start. In spite of rain persisting through the day, the snaking SS125 road once again is magnificent.