May 7, 2012
A Short Hop to Piacenza: Casalpusterlengo to Piacenza
The ride to Piacenza was only 20 km, a short ride that should have been easy. But we were no longer on small country roads, actually not a problem either. Just not as idyllic. As our road approached the bridge over the Po to Piacenza, it all of a sudden turned into a kind of freeway, no bicycles allowed. We took a small exit and landed on a road leading to the river. Dead end. This was somewhat unsettling and our Garmins weren't much help. I think their maps weren't up to date as they didn't seem to correspond to the bridges as we saw them.
Apparently the river bank was an unusual place for cyclists to be hanging out, because soon a police car came. We explained our predicament, and they had an answer. They pointed out there was a bike path from the road we had been on that would take us to another bridge that had a bicycle lane.
Actually, I had seen the bicycle path but since it had no sign I paid no attention to it, just wondered where it went. In Germany, I have become accustomed to all bike paths having signs (almost). Which I guess can make you less self-reliant. Once we got on the bike path, it was smooth sailing into the center of the historic part of town, the Piazza dei Cavalli.
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An elderly gentleman approached us. He said he was also a cyclist and wanted to welcome us to Piacenza since he had experienced so much hospitality in Germany. He gave us some flyers on Piacenza, informed us that there was a youth hostel and was sorry that the tourist information office wasn't open. We were sorry to hear that, too. We wandered around, took a few pictures and wondered where the youth hostel might be. Finally, we walked by the tourist office and it was indeed open. We got the address of the youth hostel, about 15 minutes from the center of town, and could cycle out just in time before its midday closing time. When we checked in, we decided to stay for two nights - the hostel was inexpensive and there was plenty to see in Piacenza.
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We got a large room on the ground floor (always happy not to have to carry our bags up stairs). We had the room to ourselves although there were bunk beds for eight, the bathrooms and showers were down the hall. After we had changed into our city outfits, we cycled back into town for lunch and some more looking around.
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We enquired at the youth hostel if there was a place to eat nearby and the Ristorante Grotta Azzurra was recommended. It was a good tip. Again when we came it was almost empty, and when we left it was just beginning to get lively.
Today's ride: 30 km (19 miles)
Total: 163 km (101 miles)
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