Though sadly not Alan. It isn't Nevada hot but plenty warm enough – probably high 80's in the shade – but very humid. I am still solar powered so very happy but Alan finds the heat difficult.

As you will see from the photo, our waiter (giovani) was a very friendly chap and I got on with him like a house on fire. We had great pizza and six euros worth of red wine and were tucked up in our tents by 9pm.

This morning we got a reasonably early start but lost time sorting out a problem with my bike – the chain was slipping and after a visit to a bike shop and then some independent fiddling we diagnosed a twisted chain link which we fixed with brute force. We also stopped to buy fuel for camping stoves at a petrol station. We got some in our bottles and poured the rest over the forecourt which the nice italian man cleared up with good grace.

Today we had nice but very long straights roads (any would think the Romans had built them) and a few lumpy bits. For the last 20 miles we took the minor country roads through the real Tuscany – more olive trees, vines and hilltop villages than you could shake a stick at. Very pretty.

We arrived at our planned campsite to find it closed, possibly for the season or possibly forever. "Bugger" we said. We headed into the village and I rehearsed my Italian and strode up to the desk of the first hotel we came to. "Eh up chuck" said the receptionist, or something much like it. She was British but also spoke good wop and although she had no spare rooms she phoned around and got us a room in the old town which could even offer secure parking for the bikes.

It is horribly expensive and the secure parking turned out to be leaning them against the wall in full view but we are here, washed and reasonably happy. Alan has greatly enhanced the room by pouring the tomato sauce we had bought for our evening meal all over the carpet.

Tomorrow we head for Rome. As any schoolboy will tell you, this means we can take any road,. We are going to try the main North/South highway but heading North just to prove that it is a load of b******s!

Ciao
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Ok:

1/ I have never heard of the film and
2/ The picture hardly fits

My excuse for the first is that you can't get a much better title for our first, gloriously sunny day in Tuscany. My excuse for the second is that I took all today's pictures on the camera, forgetting that I have no means of uploading them. So this one was hastily taken on the phone at dinner.

Our flight was bang on time and it was wonderful to step off the plane and feel the heat of the sun. It may be late September but in London today would make 'phew what a scorcher' headlines in the Sun.

We popped to the Tower for a photo opportunity and I was a bit gob smacked. Maybe I am a bit of a rube but I was really surprised at how leany it was. Leanier than a leany thing. Although not main tourist season there were lots of people about – though admittedly most wanted to sell us a fake Rolex.

The first 20 miles of our ride were on pretty busy roads but once we hit the coast things quietened down and the scenery was great – lots of pretty bays and houses built mostly on faith clinging to the cliffs.

We did a lazy 40 miles and we are in Cecina, a smallish place but a chuffing big campsite with all amenities. We have a nice shady pitch, power, free showers and all for 4 euros each. We are now in the campsite restaurant where the photo was taken. Quite apart from choosing food we had to choose a drink. 4 euros for a beer or 6 for a bottle of wine….hmmmm, tricky.

Tomorrow we start work.

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So, when you are deperaretly trying to complete all your work so you can bugger off cycling for 10 days what do you most need?  That’s right….Speed Awareness Training.  No I shouldn’t have broken the speed limit, yes it serves me right, but what a futile exercise.  If you ever need to design a 4 hour course on stating the bleeding obvious Essex police have beaten you to it. 

Anyway that is all in the past now.  By getting up at 3:30 I have managed to finish my work and survive SAT; just a few bits of admin and I can head to Alan’s from where we will get a taxi to Hethrow tomorrow morning.  Alan is slightly less prepared.  Late last night he emailed me to say he cannot find his tent.  You might think that when planning a CAMPING trip you would check you have a tent a little ealier than this but welcome to the world of cyle-touring with Alan.  Any minute now I expect an email saying he can’t remember where he put his bike.

Fortunately for Alan the weather for Pisa in the next few days looks like this:

 so he will be comfortable sleeping under the stars.

Assuming Alan knows where his passport is we will hopefully report safe arrival and completion of the first 40 miles tomorrow evening.

Ciao

Less than a week untill we set off.  The photo shows my bike fully loaded before being dismantled and packed in a box.  Britsh Airways now refuses to take bikes unless they are propely boxed and this may present a problem when we fly home from Sicily.  So far Alan’s attempts to locate a bike shop in Catania that can sell or give us a box have been fruitless. 

Although we are only looking at 80 miles per day, Italy is chuffing lumpy and I am starting to worry about fitness.  For various reasons I have hardly ridden in the last month and my super-fitness from the summer is fading fast.  As you can see, the loaded bike is not exactly light and things could get ugly in the mountains. 

Do you think that people who broadcast on the radio at 3am occasionally wonder whether ANYONE is listening?  I know the feeeling 🙁

Steve

We arrived at JOG at 5pm after a lovely day riding up the East coast in glorious sunshine.  Despite the sun it was chilly and we were ‘glad’ of the many hills to keep us warm.

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The hostel in Fort William was exactly what you would expect for 15 quid a night but we were all so tired we slept like babies (woke up with pooey pants).

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No report yesterday because we finished very late and had to rush for showers and food.  We had sun for our first full day in Scotland and it would have been a good day had Stuart not broken a spoke in the late afternoon.  A few weeks ago Stuart had patiently explained how it was perfectly ok to use sport wheels using very few spokes as they were special indestructible ones.

Steve
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Yup – Scotland, and 500 miles done….. though our jubilation is tempered by the thought of another 400 to go. 

Steve
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What should have been an ‘easy’ day was messed up by mechanical issues.  Stuart had a puncture early in the afternoon, then a 2nd and a 3rd.  Eventually he found a split I’m the tire wall through which the tube was escaping and getting ripped so a trip to the bike shop for a new tire was needed.

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