Final Thoughts and Ride Summary Map - Sicilian Circuit - CycleBlaze

June 9, 2023

Final Thoughts and Ride Summary Map

We've been home now for six weeks so it's about time to wrap this up!  At least I didn't leave off before finishing the actual cycling, as I did on our first European cycle tour in 1992.

The route we rode, quite similar to our plans.
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Did we enjoy the trip?  Absolutely.  Would we go to Sicily again?  Probably not.  We crammed in a lot of the island and don't feel we missed anything we'd need to go back for.  There are so many other places in the world we haven't been to yet and others I'd like to revisit more than Sicily.

As for our gear:  our bikes performed admirably, as they always have.  We used everything we took except the first aid and repair kits, which we are always pleased to leave in our panniers.  Oh yeah, we didn't use our swimsuits.  We wore our puffy down jackets almost every evening so they are well worth carrying, as are flip-flops for cold stone floors.

For others who have or are thinking of electronic shifting:  I carry a small (10,000 mAh) power bank which can charge a phone or Garmin if needed but, on this trip, it served to charge my Di2 battery.  It was much easier than trying to run a cord from an outlet to my bike.  I really only needed to charge it once during the six weeks, though I topped up the battery again a couple of days before the end of the tour.  Al's bike is eTap, so he takes the derailleur batteries off to charge them in our room.  I think he charged them two or three times during the trip.  He also had to replace the button battery in his right shifter in Adrano but that had more to do with not starting the trip with fresh batteries and discovering that the unopened spare he carried was dead.

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Anita WoodWonderful photos and descriptions! Thank you for sharing!
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2 months ago
Jacquie GaudetTo Anita WoodThanks , Anita. We enjoyed the trip!
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2 months ago