Closing the book - In the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies - CycleBlaze

June 21, 2019

Closing the book

So we’ve been home for a few days now.  We’re settled into our new temporary housing, jet lag is thankfully slipping into the past, and the most urgent return tasks have been checked off the list.  Both of my bicycles are in the shop today - the Rodriguez, to tune it up for a short local tour coming up soon; and both Bike Fridays are getting a thorough and badly needed  overhaul to prepare them for this autumn’s tour of western Spain and Portugal.  Since I can’t go riding today anyway, it’s a good day to linger around the coffee shop and tie up loose ends - starting with completing the journal.

Our home for the next few weeks. It’s in a reasonably convenient location, but is quite cramped. I’m sure we’ll be ready for a change in the few weeks.
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It’s pleasant to check in at Cafe Ponte again, enjoy an almond croissant and coffee (they’re featuring Calabrian roast today - how cool is that?) and see a familiar face. Nice that Kiara remembers who I am, where I’ve been, and asks about the tour.
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So, with the benefit of four days of reflection, it’s time to close out the book here.  Is there anything left to say?  How do we answer the usual questions - how did it go, what went well, what was your favorite spot, did you have any flat tires, how hard was it, are you glad to be home, and where are you going next?

I’ll get there, but first I want to thank all of our readers - especially those that dropped a line along the way.  It’s great to have the encouragement and moral support, and to feel like part of a virtual community.  Among other things, your support makes it much easier for us to make the effort and find the time to keep the journal going.  Years from now we’ll still be thanking you for this, as we reread this ourselves and relive memories that would doubtless have been lost to us if we hadn’t recorded them here.

And thanks again to Jeff for giving us this platform so that we can share our experiences with each other.  If you’re not a supporter of the website already, we encourage you to sign up and make a contribution.

So, on to the twenty questions:

  • It was a great tour.  We loved the entire region.  It was wonderful to see Sicily again of course, but we especially enjoyed parts of the southern mainland.  If/when we return to southern Italy, I’m sure that Puglia in particular will find its way into the plan.  And, we might go to Sicily again some year.  I was a bit surprised at the end of the tour to return to Palermo and feel this way.  I would love to return, but there are many other places to get to before then.
  • We didn’t have any one favorite place, although Matera and Monreale Cathedral felt the most like unmissable destinations.  I’d say that the places we enjoyed the most are the dozen or so smallish towns that don’t get that much tourism (or not in this season at least), have a unique character and just enough tourism infrastructure so that we could find a good restaurant and maybe even someone that spoke a bit of our language.  
  • I’m not sure we’d plan a trip quite this way in the future, putting a full three months into a fairly small region.  The main issue is weather.  We know were very lucky with weather this spring, especially compared to folks further north that saw much more rain, wind and cold than we did.  Still, it felt like we were pushing the season a bit at both ends - a bit cold at first, and more than a bit hot at the end.   It might have been better to move north with the season instead of doubling back south again.
  • We had two flats (or maybe 3?  I’ve lost track and am too lazy to look back to be sure).  But you already knew that.  What you didn’t know though was that we were down to our last spare, and it had a hole in it.  For the last six weeks of the tour I carried it that way, regularly saying that I should really patch it some evening rather than waiting until we had another flat at an unpleasant time.  I’m an incorrigible procrastinator.
  • It was a challenging tour, but not a terribly hard one.  I’d say that for where we are in our lives it was about right.  It wasn’t the French Alps or the Pyrenees, but we saw plenty of inspiring contour in our days and felt like we earned our dinners.  Year by year we’re gradually going slower and easier, but there is still some  life left in the legs on Team Anderson.  One of these years we’ll be ready for the flat countries, but not quite yet.
  • Our health in general was great.  No illnesses that lasted over 24 hours, no significant injuries.  What more can you hope for in three months on the road at our ages?   We both feel so fortunate in our health.  I’m especially pleased about the state of my mildly arthritic knees, which are definitely doing better under such a regular exercise regimen.
  • So what’s next?  Patience - you’ll know soon enough.

Finally, because after three months in a steel box Rodriguez is anxious to get back into the action again, here are a few things we saw on our way to his appointment at the LBS yesterday.

Old paint, new paint - they’re restoring the old Victorian across the street from our apartment.
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Old honkers, and new (most of these photos are also targeted at the Cycle365 monthly challenge).
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Old school, and new. Portland’s streets are full of e-scooters, their helmetless riders courageously zipping down our streets and sidewalks.
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Old signs, and new.
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Old bricks, and new. I like this especially because it stitches both of the last two monthly themes (bricks, and old/new).
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Just another green wall shot.
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Suzanne GibsonNo common denominator for ivy and bike? Is that a carbon frame, older form of vegetation perhaps?
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4 years ago
Scott AndersonTo Suzanne GibsonNope, just boring old steel. Not much of a hidden message here, other than a hint about next month’s challenge.
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4 years ago
Jen RahnOh, I really like that photo!

I'm not sure who looks happier, Rodriguez - because he's out and about again?

Or the foliage - sporting its very healthy-looking fullness and green-ness(is that a word?)
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4 years ago
Scott AndersonTo Jen RahnGreeniness is the correct term, I think. I like it too - if the Ivy were just. Bit thicker Roddy could have been half concealed in it.
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4 years ago
A new mural that I think just showed up this spring.
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Thanks again for following along!  I hope we made it worth your time, and that you’ll come back and join us down the road.

Rate this entry's writing Heart 8
Comment on this entry Comment 28
Bill ShaneyfeltEnjoyed the journey!
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4 years ago
Scott AndersonTo Bill ShaneyfeltThanks for coming along, Bill. Sorry I didn’t find more for you on this tour. Thousands of lizards, but all the same.
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4 years ago
Suzanne GibsonNow what am I going to read with my morning cuppa? Loved your tour and looked forward to each new installment. Photos, videos, narrative - all over the top.
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4 years ago
Scott AndersonTo Suzanne GibsonThanks so much, Suzanne. Readers like yourself really make the effort feel worthwhile. Rachael especially appreciates the feedback on her videos. That Suzanne - she’s my favorite person, she often says.
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4 years ago
Jen RahnThis was yet another excellent and captivating journal. And I think I've said before .. a highlight of my days.

Thank you both for the time, thought, creativity, and humor that you put into it!

I showed my mom Rachael's singing/galloping horse video yesterday and she loved it. :0)
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4 years ago
Gregory Garceau"Long live the wildcards, misfits and dabblers." Add in "adventurers" and it would make a nice epitaph to your excellent tour and journal.

P.S. Suzanne is really awesome and all, but I want to be Rocky's favorite person.
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4 years ago
Scott AndersonTo Gregory GarceauYou’re jealous of Suzanne too? How do you think I feel?
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4 years ago
Rachael AndersonTo Scott AndersonYou both can also be my favorites if you like my videos!
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4 years ago
Gregory GarceauTo Scott AndersonYes, good point.
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4 years ago
Gregory GarceauTo Rachael AndersonRocky, I liked your videos better than any Hollywood movie ever produced.
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4 years ago
Rachael AndersonTo Gregory GarceauThanks so much! You go to the top of my list of favorites.
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4 years ago
Suzanne GibsonTo Rachael AndersonHey, wait a minute! I was there first. That Greg, always thinking of clever things to say. G-2 knows what I mean.
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4 years ago
Rachael AndersonTo Suzanne GibsonOops! I’m sorry. You’ve been so loyal. Your still the best but Greg is next.
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4 years ago
Suzanne GibsonTo Rachael Anderson😀😀😀
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4 years ago
Suzanne GibsonHi Rachael, me again! I was wondering which Go Pro you have. I feel so tempted and have a birthday coming up! Any advice you could give based on your experience? I'm thinking of going for a used cam from an earlier series, is there anything I should watch out for?
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4 years ago
Rachael AndersonI have the gopro 7 black and previously had the gopro hero session 5. I absolutely love my new one for the following reasons. It has a removable battery so I can carry an extra battery and also because I had to replace my hero 5 because it froze up and I couldn’t remove the battery so it would reboot. I now can remove the battery if it freezes which did happen when I did something strange. It has hyper smooth image stabilization which is great on non smooth roads. I also like the feature for recording time lapse video that’s called time warp. If you look at the 2nd video for our last ride in Palermo you can see what it looks like. Another feature I had in both my cameras was voice commands which I use in traffic and going downhill. Good luck in finding a camera. You will enjoy it a lot. I’m always surprised what I see in the film that I didn’t notice while I was cycling because of traffic or other distractions.
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4 years ago
Suzanne GibsonTo Rachael AndersonThanks for all the good info, Rachael! Somehow I didn't have the courage to plunk down the money for the GoPro7 and am going for a second hand, bargain priced GoPro4. Hope I don't regret it and want desparately to upgrade later on. The very smooth image stabilization and voice commands are very convincing features. We'll see. Hope I end up with some videos or stills that are worth posting.
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4 years ago
Scott AndersonTo Suzanne GibsonProbably a good idea to start this way to see if you even like it. Also, there’s the choice of a handlebar mount to consider. The one we have is the ‘GoPro Handlebar/Seatpost/Pole Mount (GoPro Official Mount)’, about 30 USD. A bit speedier than some alternatives, but lighter, more stable, and much better than other choices in my opinion.
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4 years ago
Rachael AndersonTo Suzanne GibsonThat makes a lot of sense. I got my first video camera as a retirement present and got a chance to see if I liked it. The only reason I got the gopro 7 is that my gopro hero 5 froze up at the beginning of a tour and the gopro 7 was the only camera available to purchase overseas. I had already had other tours where I couldn’t use my camera in the past so I decided to get it. One word of warning that has caused issues is forgetting some piece of the mount. We’ve had to order mount overseas a couple of times. Hope you enjoy the camera!
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4 years ago
Suzanne GibsonI'll try not to forget the mount! My panniers are already full with electronic equipment, almost.
Tomorrow the GoPro will be delivered, with a lot of extras it said. 😀 I wonder if a mount is included. I wonder if I still have room on my handle bars. 😵
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4 years ago
Rachael AndersonTo Suzanne GibsonHow exciting. It’s likely to have some kind of mount but not necessarily a handlebar mount. Hope you enjoy it. We’ll be following your tour. Where are you going?
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4 years ago
Suzanne GibsonTo Rachael AndersonWe are still procrastinating! We might do a short run in Bavaria, then at the end of August a longer ride, a door-to-door loop through Italy. Since we don't have to reserve flights we can be pretty flexible.
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4 years ago
Rachael AndersonTo Suzanne GibsonSounds fun. I envy you being so close to all the great European destinations.
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4 years ago
Suzanne GibsonTo Rachael AndersonHi Rachel! So, the cam arrived. I have mounts for my head. helmet, chest, wrist, selfie stick, tripod and handle bars...and more! But the handle bar mount doesn't fit my bike so I ordered another one. So far I haven't made any videos worth saving, our soothing scenery is a little monotonous on a video. But making stills is fun, too. I think the 2nd hand cam is fine, until I do something weird and it says error.
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4 years ago
Suzanne GibsonSorry I spelled your name wrong!
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4 years ago
Scott AndersonTo Suzanne GibsonHey Suzanne, congratulations! It’s a very common mistake, but I think this is the first time I can recall anyone noticing and correcting it.
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4 years ago
Suzanne GibsonTo Scott AndersonIt's like when people (Germans) think I'm Susan.
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4 years ago
Rachael AndersonTo Suzanne GibsonGlad to hear it’s working out. Have fun with it!
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4 years ago