Day 15 – Tuesday 7th June 2011
So much for leaving Rome today! With a rough night’s sleep (people talking loudly until 2am and a dog that kept barking... seriously, if you want a pet dog, at least have the decency – or compassion – to train it), I manage to prolong getting up until 9.30am.I have a bike to fix and trains to sort out.
I get Ol’ Betsy’s rear wheel off (again) and succeed in the struggle to get the tyre off – seriously, it’s a tight fit. (I was going to take a photo of Ol’ Betsy in maintenance this time since usually I just want to get the job done quick... but got distracted by a bug that clung to the wheel!) Inner tube out and I set to fixing the puncture. I also check the tyre to make sure there’s nothing sticking into it... and there is. It’s like a metal staple, wedged firmly in the rubber, requiring a few minutes wrestle with a pair of pliers. So that’s why the puncture repair didn’t work last night... well, that’s what I can tell myself to avoid having to accept my stunning inability to repair them. Even with today’s puncture being a seeming success, I decide to put one of the 700x23c inner tubes in as I know for sure that it’s fine.
The campsite has a little tourist information point along with an internet café which I make use of. I know I said this trip was about not being reliant on technology, but I was also trying to arrange seeing some friends who live in places along the way and it’d help to let them know when I’ll be near them. Also, my parents did ask me to drop them an email with a brief update whenever I could. And that’s just it: it’s “whenever I can,” as opposed to having to find one every day. Plus, I said to myself that if I use the internet, I’ll have a few days without it after.
The information guy was good to chat to. He looked up the trains to Bari for me and said that there were direct trains. “With a bicycle?” He said it didn’t say. Now, from what the people at various stations have said, if it doesn’t specifically state that bikes are allowed, then they’re not. But this guy said, “It’s unclear. I think you can. If you can get the bike on the train with no one stopping you, keep it out of the way and have the bicycle supplement ticket, it should be ok.” It’s so not right, but it’s a chance to get to Bari. He prints me a list of the times and I think I’ll get a late train – 11.58pm – so that there are fewer people and hopefully fewer questions asked.
So, with everything packed up, I hit the road by 2.30pm. Plenty of time.
As I get further into Rome, on all the horrid cobbled road, I get to the ruins of the Roman Forum. Here’s where I do something a little silly: there are quite a few police about and an overloaded bicycle attracts attention, especially when cycled on cobbled road. So I walk across the street and prop it up next to a wall, hopefully just out of sight of the police... as long as they don’t move to their left. I must have been gone a good hour and a half.
The Roman Forum was good. I don’t know if it costs any money to actually get inside, but from where I was I had a good view anyway. A guy in a little kiosk charges me €4 for a coke, which I’m not happy about (I’m going to haggle with them if it happens again... I’m sure they see I’m a tourist and charge extra), then I find a museum and get the free entry into the bookshop. There I find an interesting item called “Rome Reconstructed” and it had photos of Rome overlayed with what it would have been like at the time. Very interesting, and I find the “Circo Maximo” where they would have chariot races, quite similar to that in the film Ben Hur. It’s actually not too far from where I am, so I decide to head over.
Well, Ol’ Betsy is still there, but there’s a yellow piece of paper wedged between the frame and the rear brake cable. I take a quick look. It reads (as best as I can make out) something like:
“Hallo Henk!! Succes met je vis!! Dre’ en Tineke (7/6/2011) (groetjes von Jan en Joke)”
It’s written in pencil and the reverse is a charge for €36. Well, I’m leaving Rome, so I hop on the bike and cycle off. But is it a ticket? What language is it written in? It seems more like German than anything else I know... why would an Italian policeman write a ticket in German?
I get to the Circo Maximo which I think looks impressive. It’s a huge stretch of grass with sloped sides and a raised middle. There are a few trees and it looks much like a park – a nice place for a picnic. But start to imagine a chariot race... It’s over 100 metres wide and over 600 metres long. I think it’s impressive.
I take this yellow piece of paper out again. The charge for €36 actually looks more like a restaurant bill, and even has yesterday’s date at the top. I still don’t understand the message... maybe I’ll work it out later.
I stop off at a little restaurant to cool off and have a coke... for €6!! Ok, it’s in sight of the Colosseum, but really?? Well, at least I make use of the free toilet so I don’t have to pay €1 at the station.
So I get to the station and decide to avoid the long queues, using a “fast ticket” machine instead. I’m not quite sure what I’m doing so I take a break and head over to the Tourist Information to ask about bikes on trains which don’t specifically mention it. I know I can get a single ticket to Bari from the fast ticket machine, but I don’t see how to get the bike ticket. Being careful how I phrase my question so as not to give the game away of what I’m about to do, I wait for the information lady to finish with her previous customers. They’re taking their time and she pretends to fall asleep. Eventually she moves them on. I ask if it’s ok to be on a train and buy the ticket there rather than at the station. She says yes, but there’s a fine. I ask how much, thinking that €10 for my bike to be on a train it shouldn’t be on is worth it. She says, “It could be up to €100. Even worse, they could kick you off! So you have a fine and a hurt bottom from them kicking you, BAM! Why do you want to make life hard for yourself?”
She’s a good laugh, and I explain what happened yesterday and that I didn’t want to wait in a long queue only to get someone who is not very helpful. She writes a note and says to say it to them and it should be ok: “I want a train from Rome to Bari with a bicycle. Thank you.” I thank her and decide what to do.
As I look at the departures board, I see a train to Ancona which allows bikes. Ancona also has ferries to Greece (more importantly, to Patras) so I decide to got for it. I get the single ticket and wait in the “Customer Care” queue (which is much shorter) to ask about getting the bike supplement. The lady there says it should be possible from the machines and to try again... but to be warned that the train might be cancelled because of a strike.
Finding out how to get the bike supplement from the machine, I decide to have a little nosey... is it possible to buy a bike ticket to Bari? The answer is yes! And it even shows which trains I should get! I already have the ticket to Ancona, so at least I have a backup plan.
The train to Ancona is cancelled. Great. The train to Bari doesn’t leave until 10.49am. There’s another train to Ancona a bit later so I wait some more. That train gets cancelled as well and I decide to head back to the campsite for the night. It seems to have been a bit of a waste of the day, and if I can’t get to Bari or Ancona, I might have to cut out the Greek part of the trip because I just won’t be able to afford it.
Stats
Mileage = 17.31 miles
Riding time = 2 hours 15 minutes
Average speed = 7.6 mph
Top speed = 26.0 mph
Total mileage since start = 765.9
So much for leaving Rome today! With a rough night’s sleep (people talking loudly until 2am and a dog that kept barking... seriously, if you want a pet dog, at least have the decency – or compassion – to train it), I manage to prolong getting up until 9.30am.I have a bike to fix and trains to sort out.
I get Ol’ Betsy’s rear wheel off (again) and succeed in the struggle to get the tyre off – seriously, it’s a tight fit. (I was going to take a photo of Ol’ Betsy in maintenance this time since usually I just want to get the job done quick... but got distracted by a bug that clung to the wheel!) Inner tube out and I set to fixing the puncture. I also check the tyre to make sure there’s nothing sticking into it... and there is. It’s like a metal staple, wedged firmly in the rubber, requiring a few minutes wrestle with a pair of pliers. So that’s why the puncture repair didn’t work last night... well, that’s what I can tell myself to avoid having to accept my stunning inability to repair them. Even with today’s puncture being a seeming success, I decide to put one of the 700x23c inner tubes in as I know for sure that it’s fine.The campsite has a little tourist information point along with an internet café which I make use of. I know I said this trip was about not being reliant on technology, but I was also trying to arrange seeing some friends who live in places along the way and it’d help to let them know when I’ll be near them. Also, my parents did ask me to drop them an email with a brief update whenever I could. And that’s just it: it’s “whenever I can,” as opposed to having to find one every day. Plus, I said to myself that if I use the internet, I’ll have a few days without it after.
The information guy was good to chat to. He looked up the trains to Bari for me and said that there were direct trains. “With a bicycle?” He said it didn’t say. Now, from what the people at various stations have said, if it doesn’t specifically state that bikes are allowed, then they’re not. But this guy said, “It’s unclear. I think you can. If you can get the bike on the train with no one stopping you, keep it out of the way and have the bicycle supplement ticket, it should be ok.” It’s so not right, but it’s a chance to get to Bari. He prints me a list of the times and I think I’ll get a late train – 11.58pm – so that there are fewer people and hopefully fewer questions asked.
So, with everything packed up, I hit the road by 2.30pm. Plenty of time.As I get further into Rome, on all the horrid cobbled road, I get to the ruins of the Roman Forum. Here’s where I do something a little silly: there are quite a few police about and an overloaded bicycle attracts attention, especially when cycled on cobbled road. So I walk across the street and prop it up next to a wall, hopefully just out of sight of the police... as long as they don’t move to their left. I must have been gone a good hour and a half.
The Roman Forum was good. I don’t know if it costs any money to actually get inside, but from where I was I had a good view anyway. A guy in a little kiosk charges me €4 for a coke, which I’m not happy about (I’m going to haggle with them if it happens again... I’m sure they see I’m a tourist and charge extra), then I find a museum and get the free entry into the bookshop. There I find an interesting item called “Rome Reconstructed” and it had photos of Rome overlayed with what it would have been like at the time. Very interesting, and I find the “Circo Maximo” where they would have chariot races, quite similar to that in the film Ben Hur. It’s actually not too far from where I am, so I decide to head over.
Well, Ol’ Betsy is still there, but there’s a yellow piece of paper wedged between the frame and the rear brake cable. I take a quick look. It reads (as best as I can make out) something like:
“Hallo Henk!! Succes met je vis!! Dre’ en Tineke (7/6/2011) (groetjes von Jan en Joke)”
It’s written in pencil and the reverse is a charge for €36. Well, I’m leaving Rome, so I hop on the bike and cycle off. But is it a ticket? What language is it written in? It seems more like German than anything else I know... why would an Italian policeman write a ticket in German?
I get to the Circo Maximo which I think looks impressive. It’s a huge stretch of grass with sloped sides and a raised middle. There are a few trees and it looks much like a park – a nice place for a picnic. But start to imagine a chariot race... It’s over 100 metres wide and over 600 metres long. I think it’s impressive.I take this yellow piece of paper out again. The charge for €36 actually looks more like a restaurant bill, and even has yesterday’s date at the top. I still don’t understand the message... maybe I’ll work it out later.
I stop off at a little restaurant to cool off and have a coke... for €6!! Ok, it’s in sight of the Colosseum, but really?? Well, at least I make use of the free toilet so I don’t have to pay €1 at the station.
So I get to the station and decide to avoid the long queues, using a “fast ticket” machine instead. I’m not quite sure what I’m doing so I take a break and head over to the Tourist Information to ask about bikes on trains which don’t specifically mention it. I know I can get a single ticket to Bari from the fast ticket machine, but I don’t see how to get the bike ticket. Being careful how I phrase my question so as not to give the game away of what I’m about to do, I wait for the information lady to finish with her previous customers. They’re taking their time and she pretends to fall asleep. Eventually she moves them on. I ask if it’s ok to be on a train and buy the ticket there rather than at the station. She says yes, but there’s a fine. I ask how much, thinking that €10 for my bike to be on a train it shouldn’t be on is worth it. She says, “It could be up to €100. Even worse, they could kick you off! So you have a fine and a hurt bottom from them kicking you, BAM! Why do you want to make life hard for yourself?”
She’s a good laugh, and I explain what happened yesterday and that I didn’t want to wait in a long queue only to get someone who is not very helpful. She writes a note and says to say it to them and it should be ok: “I want a train from Rome to Bari with a bicycle. Thank you.” I thank her and decide what to do.
As I look at the departures board, I see a train to Ancona which allows bikes. Ancona also has ferries to Greece (more importantly, to Patras) so I decide to got for it. I get the single ticket and wait in the “Customer Care” queue (which is much shorter) to ask about getting the bike supplement. The lady there says it should be possible from the machines and to try again... but to be warned that the train might be cancelled because of a strike.Finding out how to get the bike supplement from the machine, I decide to have a little nosey... is it possible to buy a bike ticket to Bari? The answer is yes! And it even shows which trains I should get! I already have the ticket to Ancona, so at least I have a backup plan.
The train to Ancona is cancelled. Great. The train to Bari doesn’t leave until 10.49am. There’s another train to Ancona a bit later so I wait some more. That train gets cancelled as well and I decide to head back to the campsite for the night. It seems to have been a bit of a waste of the day, and if I can’t get to Bari or Ancona, I might have to cut out the Greek part of the trip because I just won’t be able to afford it.
Stats
Mileage = 17.31 miles
Riding time = 2 hours 15 minutes
Average speed = 7.6 mph
Top speed = 26.0 mph
Total mileage since start = 765.9
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