A funny thing happened on the way to the laundromat.

I got abducted by a biker gang. I just went down the street to do laundry. I didn't bother putting on my leathers. It was a beautiful warm day. Well, on my way back, since you can't just go around the block in Italy, I had to get on the main boulevard by the sea. Just then, a group of ~50 bikes, almost all Harleys, rode up beside me. One turns to me and says, in English, "You ride with us now." It's funny, just a couple of hours earlier, I read an email from a good travelling friend which said never turn down an invite when you're traveling. How could I say no? Falling into line, it became obvious these guys were going for a ride. Well organised, there was a ride captain and flankers who stopped other traffic from breaking up the group. We rode like Italians do, laws be damned. Cars may have been stopped and dead in traffic, but we just cruised up the middle of the road. Eventually we reached the Marina de Pisa at the mouth of the Arno River, about 10 miles up the coast. A sag wagon unloaded cases of beer, bread and a huge slab of beef for sandwiches. The ride was organised by the Golden Drakes, but I saw a bunch of other colors - the Roadrunners, Malaria, and some I can't remember. It was a good party, Low key, but fun. And on the way back, I got to practice riding like an Italian. I think I'm getting the hang of it. Two-wheelers really do rule in Italy. They go to the head of the line, park anywhere, break just about all the rules of traffic as long as no one gets hurt it seems to be OK. I can live with that.

Tuscany may not have the spectacular beauty of the Alps, but it sure is pretty. And the roads are just as much fun. I made my way down to Monte Argentario, an island connected to the west coast by 3 spits of land. I can't imagine the Riviera is any more beautiful. Funny, but the only place the road got near the water was at the port, and that wasn't conducive to swimming. hmmm. While enjoying spaghetti with mixed seafood, I watched a nice Alfa pull up and park right smack dab in the middle of a red and white pedestrian crossing. 3 guys got out and walked away. They were gone for perhaps 15-20 minutes, during which 2 traffic cops walked around the car and talked to other drivers, but didn't cite the parked car. Another car knocked over 3 scooters, causing some damage, but nobody seemed to care. Life is different here.

http://www.mapmyride.com/route/it/cortona/484127455881013609

 After Argentenio, I headed up to Livornio to catch the ferry. I needed a rest day, so I'll take the ferry Sunday morning.

http://www.mapmyride.com/route/it/monte%20argentario/998127455937738885

The ADAC plug

This trip wouldn't have been half as much fun without the ADAC maps. ADAC is the German Auto Club, and they put out a series of maps for motorcyclists. The maps show great roads, merely excellent roads, and good connecting roads. They also show moto museums, racetracks, and other places of interest. They don't show a lot of detail, which is nice when you're trying to find a destination name in a hurry. Some maps, ie, Marco Polo, are impossible to read at a glance. It means you really need additional maps, but the roads on the ADAC maps are guaranteed to be fun. And they're free.

I don't know who found them, or how, but the roads can be simply amazing. Take yesterday, for example. I joined the ADAC green line between Balze and Verghereto, East of San Marino. (I tried to buy some new boots at a duty free Motostore there, but they're closed Wednesday afternoons.) The green line on the map ostensibly went from north-east to south-west across the country. It wound around Lago di Montedoglio, then entered Arezzo from the north. Then it headed back _north-east_ again to San Polo, San Severo and back down to Cortona. Heh. there had to be a reason ADAC wanted me to go out of the way.

It only took 4 stops to ask directions to get to San Polo. The first 2 times, the person I asked turned to another local with a quizzical look on their face and asked, "How do I tell someone how to get to San Polo?" They all said it was difficult to find. Well, yeah. That's because it's a one-lane twisty road in the boonies to a podunk village of ten houses. I found it, though, and it was fun doing it. In San Polo, when I asked about San Severo, his eyes lit up. He pointed and said something about "no asphalt" and motioned take a sharp turn down to the right. OK, and off I went. But the sharp turn where the pavement ended went to three homes and stopped. I asked another woamn on the road, and she said, yes, it's a long way down the dirt road. (I know, I'm not supposed to do dirt any more, but it was a good dirt road.) 5 miles later, after climbing up the mountain into some incredible views, the paving started and there was the sharp right turn.

And the fun really began. That road made me laugh out loud. I've often compared good roads to good surf. It's all about lines and trajectories. Sure, the surface counts, and other traffic, and a few other variables, but for me, the most important thing, whether it's riding waves or roads, is the line you take. Is it interesting? The road from San Polo through San Severo to Castiglion de Fiorentino has great lines. It swoops and dives, zigs, zags, bends and blasts its way through forests of pine and (I think) oak. I had so much fun, I went back and did part of it again. That's when I took the pics of the church at San Severo. Cool building. It has a bell from the year 1031.

After that, the green line took me to Cortona, an ancient Etruscan town on a hill top. I found a place to stay in the Institute de Santa Margaita, run by nuns, where I am typing this. I can't wait to see where ADAC sends me tomorrow Now I have to go get breakfast and take more pix of another beautifully quaint and romantic old town.


http://www.mapmyride.com/route/it/rimini/507127452391533662

Claudio is the cool guy who owns the JamminHostel in Rimini. This is his daughter.

The church at San Severo

A shop front in Cortano.

San Leo vs San Marino

San Leo wins by a knockout. No question. San Marino is the big name, the famous tourist destination, but San Leo is the real thing. You can see each other from their separate mountain perches, being only a few miles apart. San Marino is an independant country, dating from the time when Italy was just a collection of city states. It is now a tourist attraction and duty free area, so the place is flooded with tourists from all over the globe. And I do mean flooded. I was there on a Tuesday in the off-season, and the place was packed. And every doorway is either a museum, a restaurant, or a shop. Tijuana is not this bad. Nice view, though.
San Leo, on the other hand, is a quiet village with a fortress perched on a craggy peak. There are a few tourist shops and some nice quiet restaurants, but it has none of the hype and pressure of S.M. And it has nice views, too.

I tried to see a couple of museums yesterday. both were closed. The National Motorcycle Museum is tucked away in a farmhouse in thee middle of nowhere, and the Ferrari museum is really just a marketing shop in an industrial center. Strange how all thee museums I want to see are very difficult to find. Or maybe that isn't surprising, in Italy.

 http://www.mapmyride.com/route/it/rimini/759127425609157942

 This dog would have torn my throat out if the fence wasn't there. And all I wanted was a pic of San Marino.

This is San Marino.

This is San Leo.

 San Marino from San Leo

 Traffic stopper in San Marino.

You can't get there from here.

This is how I got from Verona to Rimini - more or less. One thing I've found, in Italy, you can NEVER just go around the block. If you miss a turn, or make a wrong turn, it will take you a kilometer and 20 more turns to get back to where you were. It is an insidious and perverse strategy to confuse any invader. Most of the routes I post are pretty accurate. In Verona, Ravenna, and Rimini, I have gone places I have no idea how to find again, and I have no idea where they are on a map. I pride myself on not getting lost, on knowing where I am, always. The Italians have got me beat. I've reached the point where I just wander for a while, having fun just going, until I'm far enough gone to ask where I am and how to get to my destination. Thank God I have no schedule and no plan, or it would drive me crazy. I'm just laughing at the chaos of it all.

http://www.mapmyride.com/route/us/ca/san%20diego/218127425361685110

 Rimini harbor. The light was flashing on and off. Dunno how I caught it on.

Rimini beach.

FOOD

I know some of you are far more interested in the food than what route I take. Harumpf. OK, here's the scoop:

The food has been hit or miss. Not what I expected. I remember from years back how good the bread and beer were in Europe. Well, life has gotten much better in the States, I guess.
The beer is universally good, but I haven't found many outstanding darker (porter) beers, and the paler beers aren't any better than many American microbrews. More powerful, of course, butt I'm looking for the great flavor that I remember. Maybe my taste buds are getting old, or maybe I prefer the Northern European brews. I'll keep looking. Wine - I've had a couple of mediocre glasses, but most has been excellent. I mean, cheap house wines that are great. Whites and reds, I don't bother looking for labels. There are far too many to keep track of, and besides, I have no idea what I'm drinking, but the local stuff is delicious. I think I paid 4E for a half liter carafe in a restaurant.
Bread - another shock. I think I start too late in the morning. By the time I get to the shop, all they have left is bland white bread. It's all better than typical American bread, but I'm used to the French Gourmet baguettes and country bread and Whole Foods loaves. I KNOW there's great bread to be had, and I've got to look harder.
I'm going to forget the fried fish basket I had last night in Rimini. I should have known - a tourist spot by the pier, and the fried fish basket with grilled veggies was overcooked, bland and poorly served. There have been enough other good meals to remember. I had the BEST ravioli in my life - in Germany. Chervil, padano cheese, pine nuts and mushrooms. Wow! And the pizza and spaghetti is outstanding. I had an asparagus pizza that was amazing. And the broiled shrimp and calamari skewers I had a couple of days ago were pretty damn tasty. Then there was the "blue" trout I had in Switzerland. I don't know what it means to cook something "blue," but it was sure tasty.
As for the sweet tooth - yeah. Pastries are the best. And the best local meeting spots are gelatarias. Yum.

Ok. That'll have to tide you over til I eat more. Oh, except for brekkie. Breakfast in the youth hostels is great. A buffet of yoghurt, cereal, bread, cheese, butter, jam, coffee, juice, fruit, and more. heh heh heh. Yeah, food's OK here.

Sunday's scare

I got scared today. Once was because of a road. I'm not normally scared of heights, but this thing, this ridiculous thread of a road, this microfiber glued to the side of a wall, really spooked me. It was barely wide enough for two bikes to pass each other, certainly not two cars. A sheer rocky precipice for hundreds of feet, and barely any railing. There were a few tiny tunnels, 2.5m wide by 2.5m high, where they couldn't scratch a turn on the surface of the cliff. I'm glad I can say I did it, but I don't need to do it again. Well, except that the rest of the road was pretty damn incredible riding.


The 2nd time I got scared was serious. It was only an instant, but I thought my trip was over. And it wasn't on a mountain road. I'd just entered a village square. It wasn't huge, but there were 5 roads converging, and the main thoroughfare made an ess curve. It was perhaps 75 meters from side to side. The plaza was empty, except for a man standing there hitch-hiking. He was the first person I've seen hitching in many months, in Europe or the States. I was traversing the square when a woman entered from the other side, driving a small car. She must have been distracted by the hitcher, because she did the first part of the ess through the square, but not the 2nd. as we passed, she kept veeering toward me. She was less that 30' away when I saw she was aiming right at me, about to T-bone my bike. At the last instant she jerked away and missed my leg by less than a foot. That got me so nervous, I had to stop for a sandwich and a beer.

http://www.mapmyride.com/route/it/agordo/455127417575724742

She was very kind in helping me calm down after that last scare.

The easy road.