1. Italians are used to bikers and as long as you ride predictably you will be safe. Well, mostly safe.
2. Everyone rides in Italy, young old and in-between. Most bikes are clunkers but don’t be fooled, the people riding them can ride fast.
3. Don’t forget: Watch the Road.
a. Rules for a guy: the cute woman you are looking at that is wearing something very revealing, is staring at you because you are about to hit a parked car, a pedestrian, a moped, a bus or some other stationary object.
b. Rules for a woman: the cute shirtless guy with 6-pack abs is looking for you for the same reason.
4. Intersections with traffic flow devices, like yield signs stop lights (you see them in the US a lot) are:
a. Mandatory for cars;
b. Cautionary for mopeds;
c. Optional for bikes; and
d. Invisible to pedestrians.
5. Pedestrians have the right of way except to bicycles then it’s a scrum.
6. Mopeds go wherever and do whatever they want.
7. If you are going 1 way on a street and the cars are all parked against your direction and cars are driving toward you, do not assume that you are going the wrong way on a 1 way street. It seems that in some cases street direction is optional so always be alert.
8. If you are lost and ask for directions make sure you ask some one who waves their arms a lot. That way you can be entertained, as you are not following the conversation.
9. If you use a Garmin or other GPS device:
a. Make sure you know how to up-load maps before you leave the US. Do some dry runs to ensure you have the skill down pat.
b. Always, always double check the rout to make sure the GPS has not put you on a highway or other place you should not be. (In Italy bikes can go a lot of places where bikes can’t go in the US but that does not mean you want to be there.)
c. If at all feasible check out the routs by car first.
10. Biking in Italy is fun, many people ride, find a group and see if you can tag along. I have found being an American can be both helpful and indifferent to a peloton but as long as I can keep up the group is happy to have me.
Riding Venice to Stra.
Today’s ride was supposed to be a ride in the country. I could have done the 2009 Giro TT course on Lido again but I did not want the same boring circuit. Instead I chose to brave the local highways for a ride in the country. I woke early, slathered up with sun block, prepared my fluids, downloaded the rout to the Garmin and then started the long walk to the start. Bikes are not allowed on Venice streets because the streets are narrow and crowded. Venice streets are hectic and I can imagine that a bike would just complicate the matter. My wife and I are staying in the Ghetto so the walk is about 15mn to the only road. I tried to take my bike on a vaperato, the local water-bus, but I quickly learned that bikes are also banned from vaperatos.
The walk went quickly because I left early and the tourists were not out yet. Impressively the locals were going about their daily chores. I passed a small outdoor fish market and a green grocer. I could smell the anchovies and the other fish as they were being displayed for passing shoppers. I quickly passed the market and made my way to the train station where the road began.
Venice is on an island. It was strategically built on an island to help the inhabitants avoid the invading Goths and make it hard for tourists to escape. The road out is a 2k causeway that buses, trucks, mopeds, cars and bikes all share. When I reached the causeway I fired-up the GPS and prepared to leave. But I discovered that the download did not work. So I had to reprogram the stupid thing. AHHHHHHH what a pain. After 10mn the ride was laid in and off I went.
Riding a bike on a highway in Italy is a very different experience from riding on a busy street in the US. An Italian car is much smaller then a US car so there is plenty of room but the ride is still scary. Once I started I could not stop because there was no turnaround point; so I just pressed on. Since I was not able to prescreen the ride I was at the Garmin’s mercy. At the first turn the Garmin tried to put me on, what looked like a highway, so I changed the route; this put the Garmin in various phases of apoplexy. I pressed on with the new road made several wrong turns and finally found a way I deemed safe. The entire time I was looking for a safe ride the Garmin was freaking. (It turned out that if I followed the Garmin I would have had a safe fast ride but who knew?)
I finally found a nice ridable road. The cars, trucks and mopeds buzzed by but there was plenty of room and I felt safe. After 20ks I passed a local market. I pulled off and took a look. The market was very different from the French markets I saw last year. The goods were mostly clothing and the like. There were 2 cheese trucks and a caravan selling fish. All in all it was a nice local market and a fun diversion.
The market was about half way and I decided to turnaround in order to do some serious sightseeing in the afternoon. The ride was fast. It’s nice when everything is mostly flat. I was able to ride at a mid to high submax and enjoy myself. I did miss company and it was hard riding solo for 2 long hours but the countryside was pretty and there was the occasional biker going the other way.
The return went smoothly. I did get lost once or twice sending the Garmin into more convulsions but after extensive therapy it is doing better. The return ride on the causeway was still a nail biter and I was having some tension headaches on the ride. The traffic respected a cyclist but the ride was not fun.
Bottom line, I liked the countryside but riding to and from Venice is best left to races and not the casual ride. Next up are the Dolomites with my VQ buddies. 4 days of great riding preplanned routs. I can’t wait.
