Well to cut a long story short we made it. All four of us this time, and again it was very wet. Arriving in a downpour is not how I’d ever imagined it, but being Friday 13th was bound to result in something unfortunate. Not as wet as yesterday in truth, although we did sit out the worst of it for about an hour in a cafe attached to a service station outside Treviso.
Mel tried but failed to become the first major casualty of the ride by attempting a bunny hop onto the pavement at the end of the causeway from the mainland. She took a nasty bang to the elbow, but she thinks she will live.
Had to leave the bikes locked up in the public bike store in Piazale Roma at the other end of Venice from where I am now. I wish I was more confident that they will be there in the morning. Then a damp water bus ride to our hotel near the Arsenal just along from St Marks square. I’ have a wonderful view across the lagoon from where I am sitting.
Well that’s it then. Tomorrow it’s time to repack the car (also at the opposite and of Venice, and with my spectacles in it, which is why there may be some strange typing in these last two posts), and head North over the Brenner pass and West through Germany.
A bit soon for final thoughts so I’ll start thinking some and blog them when I have.
Day 27 Conegliano to Venice
Day 26 Alleghe to Conegliano
The rain gods returned today, and compared to these all the previous one were amateurs. For the first half of the ride it absolutely threw it down. A shame as it is an incredibly scenic ride down from the Dolomites along the valley floor of a very steep valley, almost a canyon in parts.
Frankie started off but gave it up after getting very cold and wet when he still wasn’t feeling so good. Later on the rain stopped fortunately and Mike, Mel and I then managed to dry out a bit. A lot of downhill thereafter with wonderful views. It’s very impressive how they’ve threaded the autostrada through. Huge elevated sections on massive piers.
By the time we got to Conegliano it was my turn to feel unwell. I don’t know if it was a bug, dehydration, something I ate, or just that European non-alcoholic beer has more alcohol than ours, but I was getting very painful stomach cramps. This is why this blog is a day late – I hit my bed as soon as we finished riding.
Conegliano is famed for its prosecco and is very attractive, but do not believe it has a campsite. It wasn’t. It was some sort of camper van park for the Italian Caravan club in an industrial estate. It was also very shut with just a number to ring if you wanted to get in. We unanimously decided not to ring it. In the end we had a warm and friendly welcome from the Hotel Christallo which given the state we were all in seemed a much more reasonable proposition.
Big thunderstorm in the night. Not good portents for our last day.
