European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - April 23, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                A Calm stretch of the to which runs East and West across Rural life in Italy Hillside Homes clustered around a pitted stories by Kominicki on Road maps of the main routes Are Blue and the secondary roads Are these smaller roads Are threads of quiet dividing open Fields and skirting Bustle whenever Green highways perfect paths for biking across y of tend to forget six months after the its still not very Clear Why we took Money out of the requested a couple of weeks vacation and took off on a 450mile bicycle trek across Northern the rolling Piedmont Countryside in Northern p40914 the stabs and stripes the idea still sounds somewhat my wife and i did not speak we were not in Good we owned bikes but no in my Bicy cling experience was she did not know a derailleur from a hand but we went like i i cant remember exactly we got the route from a Book on bicycle one of the numerous volumes available on the weve since Learned to get information on Tours from bicycle clubs in the country of Choice a listing appears elsewhere in this Section or from the National tourist bicycling books and Are Mother lodes of our plan was to ship bodies and bikes to on Italy Western the european rail systems will ship bikes cheaply if youve got a passenger it Cost us about to ship both from Savona we hoped to climb through the mountains to and then follow the smaller Back roads along the to River across the stopping in Cremona and after it would be on to Ravenna on the East then through the Beach towns of Ric Cione and finally ending in we made it through lots of Rains and what follows Are excerpts from the journal we kept 7 the Long train ride to Italy and then a Transfer at we rail on to the first Aid kit and extra parts All forgotten under a seat to an italian i adds them to his 8 a slightly rundown town that wishes it was part of the italian but great seafood the towering humps of the Piedmont Piedmont mountains stare Down on the Road we Are to take is a thin ribbon wound up the Side of the nearest the As await us at the train station baggage 9 on the Road at the weather is warm and the first is Miles go in one direction this is a Hill clearly designed to break a bicyclists we feel confident at the after we have 10speed bikes thanks to pret rip train Are in reasonably Good Confidence changes to a feeling of As were forced to shift into 10th gear almost at first were merely minutes later were forced to stand up to we have to get off and push fora while the ultimate embarrassment for a Bicy the Road continues its relentless italian motorists seem divided into two groups half Roar by half slow smile and the Mountain affording a look Back at the Way weve the Mediterranean glistens fat the Savona twinkle in the afternoon we pedal into spend another two hours locating the towns Only and collapse in the dining you will eat Spaghetti the Young waitress asks in passable Spaghetti it and lots of irregularly shaped homemade with a sourdough we Start forgetting the 11 the Grimy City of about 3 known for its production of the City has an Industrial but there Are pleasant Back similar to those in some of the smaller villages weve Ridden drinks in an outdoor cafe across from the train the Sun is still but the shadows Are the Day at a similar resting spot in acquit we met two Coll Geage Ameri cans on a nine month Bike tour across we swapped stories for a while and then we were impressed with and they us our first taste of biking our other form of encouragement comes from bikers on the they wave or yell Salute As we at stops for water or Coffee we find that italian men seem to have Only two pastimes staring at my wife and staring at our at least the stares seem appreciative on both we vote to conserve Money and Settle for a but hotel a rough looking woman diva Houseboat sits in the seedy lobby drinking red wine and chewing a bread 12 Early Start weve read that its Best to get the Days Riding Over As Early As by mid morning we reach the to River and then Cross Well be within a couple of Miles of its Banks for the rest of the trip across the were peddling most of the aches Are gone and were beginning to feel in the next we follow the thin Green lines of the map with Only a general direction in we want to get to the next but we dont want to get there too this is Flat open Fields sliced Only by the Road and irrigation ditches full of the pos dark old men with sapling rods Dangle Small squids into the but no fish seem inter occasionally we Glide through a sleepy and the children Stop playing Long enough to watch the villages look much alike a pitted Side Road leads to the inevitable cobbled in rough Stone and faced with shuttered in one such town a Trio of Carabiniero lounging against the Side of a building Call us one Speaks very broken German and asks How far weve where were and where we live in i know he that very close to 1 know Munich very his colleagues Are impressed so we dont Correct its very warm in he hollers As we ride it but pleasantly were Well tanned and expect to be regular knockouts by the time we hit the heading out of my wife throws the Chain on her Bike and jams it Between a 20minute it turns is the biggest mechanical problem of the beginners we skirt pedal past a giant Oil refinery and cruise into Rodogno in Early cards on the hotel Terrace while we drink Campari and using the phrase Book and we manage to replace some of the lost tools and dinner is a noisy the Large dining room is filled with workers from the Oil refinery who eat with ask it Italy mostly empty Back roads proved to be perfect for bicycle obvious relish but few table Mother always said slurping is not the Correct Way to eat but if the refinery workers Are any she was cuisine tip when visiting this part of get a Piemonte Region there slightly yet fruity and very we found the Best italian food is not the stuff on the but the daily specials the waiter reels off verbally at the knowing the italian words for the various foods is a the menu master is a big on my first i insult the waiter by ordering two meat he finally tires of me and sends Over an English speaking Kitchen worker to straighten me despite the language were eating but losing i ultimately drop 14 pounds Dur ing the our meals have developed into a regular routine a Light breakfast of Coffee and Rolls and a lunch break along the Road of cheese and the experts Are split Over some say never eat others say go we find that a Short break and a Light snack suit at night we let it rip the Best italian pastas and a dessert course of and Coffee and 14 the second Day of because we have decided not to ride in wet it is our second Day in once Home to Amati and other bustling main streets and quiet Back alleys full of restaurants and the shops of instrument we finally give up on finding a laundromat and hand Wash All of our clothes in the be cause of the Damp nothing seems to at night we watch a visiting russian team play the Cremona boys in volleyball on a court set up in the famous Piazza Del the italians Are beaten but the and cheer them on Milan Pavia Italy ales acquire me a Savona is the Start of the City affords the easiest crossing into the to River take the Road up the Mountain toward Carcare 15 Miles and then descend to the Plains of Lombardy via Cairo Montenotte 5 Miles and the spa town of acquit terme 30 head North for Alexandria 20 Miles then continue North on the Road to Valenza where youll Cross the to River for the first the next stretch is via any of the Small roads along the to to Pavia 45 Miles then eastward via Rodogno to Cremona 45 outside of Cross the to once More and take the winding Side Road to Parma 45 the route proceeds to Reggio Nell Emilia 30 on to Modena 20 Miles and then to Bologna 30 continue on to Ravenna 50 then Down Italy Eastern coast to Rimini 40 through Bella la and Ruccione to 30 end of the line is Ancona 40 april the Ducal Palace one of Parmas the bikes Are stored in a hotel Utility room for our hotel and restaurant owners along the Way were Happy to lock up the bikes for merely chaining the bikes to a Post or Fence is not Good one hotel manager he insisted on putting them in his 16 we found that its Best to let one person be in charge of the Days ride and make All the navigational right or my wife takes the Lead for the first time and we cover the 50 Miles to Parma in a single i dont mention but i have trouble keeping i read that women Are better suited for Bike touring the layer of fat just under their skin is a ready source of the fat on men is stored proud of the Long we get a Good hotel stroll through the historic City and Sample the famed Parmesan cheese at a restaurant across from the town weve changed our minds about Riding Italy lunch hour of noon to 3 is perfect for the roads Are empty As one person we met along the Way put the Only noise you hear in All of Italy is the sound of knives and Forks scraping peddling steadily and rhythmically is important in con serving All the books so we take advantage of the empty roads to practice peddling at a steady 60 strokes per it never really becomes a natural but we keep working at 20 on Italy Adriatic the weather is but rain never in except for the downpour in Cremona and a similar bout while stopped for a few Days in the weather has favored the coast is easy Riding along service roads at the very Edge of the High Rise hotels stare Down on us from the to the left is the rolling this is tourist a summer Haven for the British and and the cafes and restaurants feature English breakfasts and Becks it being late in the Many of the hotels Are afraid of being stuck without we take a room in a seafront hotel where a British package tour is bad Choice instead of italian the hotel serves English boiled beef and whipped and our plans for sunbathing Are Defeated its just too late in the season and the fall wind makes the beaches Good biking and the swing through Riccione is easy and just Plain for the Jaunt to in in the Lead and set a course along a squiggly line the map notes As exception ally we because its a Mountain the 13mile trek becomes a straining Nightmare of Upa Down Mountain three hours we Crest the last incline and coast the final four Miles into no comment is made about my navigational 24 the end of the a ferry Here could take us to Greece or Yugoslavia if we had the Twe Roar past the City limits signs feeling Young and wed promised ourselves the Best hotel and but it is not to be no one in the Ancona will accept our american express card and were Low on we Pool the last of our lira and take the train Back to Bologna where we know we can Cash Amelco a somewhat inglorious end to a Glori Ous 27 Back in Germany believe it or actually missing the and already planning the next the stars and stripes Page 15