May 3, 2009
Sovigliana - Empoli ...
We wake up to a beautiful sunny day but the air is cool, perfect for today's ride. We are headed for San Giminagno and this will be our first real encounter with the hills of Tuscany. We have enough time for the distance plus hills and are feeling confident.
After breakfast, again at our favorite cafe, we sail out of town on empty roads. Janos always likes me to ride ahead. As is often the case, he calls something. I don't understand exactly what, but figure he's telling me he's stopping to snap a photo and I pedal on. When I see he's not coming, I stop and backtrack. Uh oh, looks like a puncture. He's taken the bags off the rack and upturned the bike.
If it had only been a puncture - but he has a cracked rim! We can't believe it. We stand there speechless, staring at the rim. We have no plan B and aren't getting any ideas fast. Obviously we can't cycle any further. When we recover from the shock, we are first of all thankful that it didn't happen on a downhill run. Then we also realize we are lucky that we are hardly out of town and can walk back.
Should we try to get a new rim tomorrow when the shops open? Theoretically, we could get a replacement for the 20-inch rim of the Bike Friday. But if a high-quality rim cracked, we decide not to risk it with a rim intended for a child's bike. This should not have happened. Bike Fridays are custom made and Janos's bike was upgraded for his weight.
It's a sad walk with our bikes to the train station. Again we are aware of our good fortune that Empoli has a train station. We have about a 30-second wait and the train to Florence pulls in, no time to buy tickets but the conductor says never mind, just get on. So instead of working our way through the hills of Tuscany, we find ourselves sitting in a train headed for Florence.
After arriving in Florence, we first enquire about train tickets to Munich. There is nothing for today or tonight, but we are able to reserve a sleeper for tomorrow. We now have one and a half days for the city. The tourist information office at the train station is efficient and we soon have a room around the corner in a lovely hotel for a last-minute price. And they have space for our bikes indoors. And an elevator which makes bringing the bikes upstairs very easy. Little things to cheer us up.
Our spirits are dampened but we still manage to enjoy our remaining time in Florence. We stroll through the city, get to see the Fra Angelico frescos that we had missed on previous visits, take a bus to Fiesoli and a long walk in the hills on the other side of the Arno. We enjoy our last glass of wine in Italy, a last pizza. It was a good trip - up to a certain point.
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Many people have asked how we like our Bike Fridays and I've waited until now to give an answer. Keeping in mind that a rim shouldn't crack, the Bike Fridays were a joy to ride. They handled well and the gearing was excellent for the hills. Since they are custom made, the sitting position was the same as on our previous bikes - all told I had no complaints. If I had to choose just one bike from my three (a mountain bike, a touring bike and the BF) I think I would choose the Bike Friday as being the most versatile.
Back home our Bike Friday dealer contacted the Bike Friday people in Oregon. Janos got a new rim but had to pay for the tire and tube which were also damaged and for the bike mechanic's time installling the new rim. The new rim is one used for tandems (sorry I don't know the brand) and we're hoping it will do the job.
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