Milan Bergamo on the 23rd May will see me hiring a car, throwing my bike into the boot and making my way to Lake Garda, to wait for the final stage of the Giro - Riese Pio X to Brescia. Originally I intended to drive the 250 miles from the airport to the mountainous Silandro Schlanders - but there's a reason for the change of plan. I have never driven on mainline Europe (cycled but not driven) and what put me off is a combination of narrow winding mountain passes and lunatic Italian Ferrari drivers with latino charged road rage. I was either going to end up sliding down a valley wall, or getting arrested.
Now this may sound like I'm stereotyping an entire nation but I have this from a expat Italian who comes from the Lake Garda area. Plus I am a little concerned with perhaps my ADHD kicking in while driving on the wrong side of the road - this happened when we did the London to Paris ride a couple of years ago when I found an articulated lorry bearing down on me. The outcome was a bale out into a french hedge amid Gaelic obscenities and honking horns.
Yep the 25 mile pancake flat route to Brescia will do me nicely, although I am going to try and get some miles in on the bike in the mountains in the preceding days. "This is the Self Preservation Society" to quote a previous Italian adventure.
No comments:
Post a Comment