Sutri to Rome, Day 39
Yayyyyyy!!! 2300km, 3 x Everest (27,000m climb, including 7000m in the last few days… Tuscany is as hilly as it is beautiful). A quick 70km today and a wonderful family greeting (with Dannebrog) at St Peters. No Pope to greet me, but many memories.
I followed the walking route for the first 2/3 of the way. The walking route is then tricky for cyclists since there’s quite a bit on the Via Cassia. So I found my own way, following some off-road paths towards the Tiber and then 10-15km along that into the Vatican.
69.2km, 768m climb
4h 27m moving, 6h 44m elapsed
51% off-road, Sun, 19°C average, 30°C max
Highlights
Starting the day with a little loop around the valley. On the backside of the amphitheatre. Very pretty.
The path into Campagno di Roma is steep and very quiet; and just after arriving in this first part of the town there’s a magnificent cafe on the left selling the cheapest coffee and pastries.
Just after Campagno di Roma is the Sorbo park where there’s evidence everywhere of wild boar… most of low leve vegetation seems dug up.
The only assistance I’ve recieved in the last 2300km was from my children pushing me up the Via della Conciliazione. It was just great being met by the family there.
St. Peters is an amazing church; you can really feel how awe inspiring it must have been 200-300 years ago.
Lowlights
You cycle “along the motorway” just after Monterosi… well separated from it. It was quite cool really but a bit odd.
My rear tire was slightly flat when I set out for the day but I thought I could just pump it up and get away with it. However after about a 1/3 of the way it was really giving up and getting dangerous. So time to fix… and I now know that when I upgrade this bike I’ll never use tubless setups. I can’t understand it. Even though I’m using tubes most of the time, the “tubeless ready” concept just means the tires are 10x more difficult to take off and put on than normal tires.
The bike path along the Tiber for the last 10-15km is a bit dull. You’ll see plenty of people exercising and enjoying life but its flat and there’s no real change in scenery. But I’d do this again over having to cycle along any busy roads in Italy.
