recent posts
- First nights in Bosnia
- Croatia by numbers
- Day of food – Croatia
- Camp Croatia
- 5000 kilometre photo
- Greeting to the Croatian sun
- Italy by numbers
- Surreal ride up coast to Ancona
- Road to Piano Grande
- Day of food – Italy
random images
archives
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- July 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- December 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- January 2008
- October 2007
Website updates
June 24th, 2010
When we have time we try to add new features and content to our website on top of the blog posts and photos we try to regularly update. Some of the recent things we have added (and fixed) are described in this post. – Posted by Justin
Hill climbing thoughts
June 23rd, 2010
Why is that we seem to enjoy climbing hills on our fully loaded bikes so much? While slowly pedalling uphill I have had time to think about this and ponder if my aching legs are really worth any or all of; the beautiful view, the long downhill, a stop for snacks at the top. – Posted by Justin
The easy life in Tuscany
June 21st, 2010
After two weeks of rigorous testing I can confirm that spending your holiday-time with a car, firm mattress and washing machine is vastly more comfortable than cycle touring through the summer heat. We were lucky to spend two weeks in relative luxury with my parents Bruce and Judy who had flown over from New Zealand for a couple of weeks with us. – Posted by Emma
Italian gear drop
June 8th, 2010
Most of our gear is holding up pretty well so far but with May and June birthdays in mind and a few repair parts needed, we got some bits and pieces ordered to reach us in mid-June. If you’re planning an extended cycle-touring trip you might find the following interesting. – Posted by Emma
4000 kilometre photo
June 3rd, 2010
After speeding across the flat argenes alongside the Po river we have made it to 4000 kilometres very quickly. This photo was taken on 03 June as we headed East towards Sassoleone through the Appennino hills, climbing just outside Bisano. Unlike the previous 1000km mark on this occasion we weren’t stinky.
– Posted by Emma
Cherries at Casa Nova
June 3rd, 2010
Back in Alba we had made contact with a few Warm Showers hosts in Bologna to see if they had room for us to stay for a few days while were were trying to arrange the delivery of our new sleeping mats. One of these hosts, Kersten, responded that she had moved to a small town called Sassoleone in the hills north of Florence. After leaving the Po River valley and still with no campsites (or showers) in sight we decided to head towards Sassoleone for a few days with Kersten. – Posted by Justin
Po river riding
May 31st, 2010
To get quickly across Italy to Florence we chose to cycle along the pancake flat Po valley for a couple of days. From a campsite at Alba where we ordered replacement sleeping mats to be delivered in Florence, we descended from the last of the vine covered hills with their views of hill-top towns on each peak and into Italy’s agricultural lands. – Posted by Emma
Italian impressions
May 25th, 2010
Our last day in France saw us hoping for an easy ride across the Col de Braus and into Italy through a small pass to the north of Nice. However after a roadside chat with local cyclist Patrick, we were a little more cautious. He said we would never make it on our heavy bikes to Italy on that day as we had 3 passes and at least 15km of climbing ahead. – Posted by Justin
France by numbers
May 23rd, 2010
Entering France to sunny skies and 24km of downhill we thought our endless summer of cycling had truly begun. It quickly turned unseasonably cold, but camping in the snow, cycling through prehistoric gorges and learning how to make bread were all things that made us forget the weather. – Posted by Emma + Justin
3000 kilometre photo
May 21st, 2010
Make sure you turn off ‘smell-o-vision’ and put away your ‘real-life-touch’ pads if you’re viewing this from the future. This photo documents 3000 kilometres in the saddle, taken on 21st May in Val de Chavagne, France just before the second downpour of the afternoon. – Posted by Emma