Day 19: Saturday, 28 May 1983

Start: Hotel, Medicina, Italy

End: Youth hostel, Guastalla, Italy

The sky is overcast. I manage to catch an Italian weather forecast on TV. As best I can understand, they're calling for more rain. Whatever the weather, I'm on the road at 8:00.

A drop or two in the morning. No worries. Making good time. Stopped for tasty picnic lunch in a delightful grove beside a river. Cheese, salami, bread, apples. I'm getting much better at quickly picking up food on the fly from shops along the road and keeping my rations stocked up. Push on.

Met up with an Italian racer who spoke English and graciously slowed down to draft me for awhile. He realized with this load I couldn't take a pull, and he could have dropped me at any moment, but chattered to me about bicycling in Italy. Not a surprise when he mentioned Italian cyclists aren't into touring.

The sun came out and the temp warmed up to about 75. No breeze. Fine riding weather after the last couple of days. Either I misunderstood the forecast on TV this morning, or else the weatherman is as clueless around here as everywhere else.

Ended up at a youth hostel right on the Po River outside Guastalla. Checked in and cleaned up. I met a rather wild-eyed Irishman, the only other person staying at the hostel, but he was heading off to meet a young lady, so I hit town alone for a great fish dinner. Antipasto di mare, fish and rice stew, a plate of shellfish, vino bianco, two fruit cups for desert. Communication was a bit touchy. Unlike Greece, the Italians don't seem to invite diners into the kitchen to select meals. I improvised by pointing to what some of the other diners were eating.

I staggered back to the hostel and had the place to myself as the Irishman never returned. 

Conditions 

Distance: 130 km 

Weather: Turning very nice 

Road: Smooth and nice 

Traffic: Light 

Terrain: Flat 

Mechanical: A-OK 

Physical: Feeling good