2/12/24
We celebrated the new day by having pancakes…again. We just really enjoy them and they’re an ideal way of using up leftover flour if you hadn’t heard! We left the pretty town of Acquapendente by climbing a big hill into the countryside. A gorgeous sunny day once again and we were soon peeling off our layers.
We were now definitely on EV5 otherwise known as the Via Francigena, which has been a route for well, millennia. It’s a pilgrimage much like the more well known route, Santiago de Compostela, but this one follows the route of Sigeric from Canterbury to Rome. It’s now a cycle route too and so we could have followed it from the UK but we wanted to leave from Harwich, follow the Rhein and utilise the flatter route.
Anyway, now we were on the Via Francigena we were hoping for an easy to navigate ride all the way south. We soon left the road for pleasant gravel tracks which were easy to ride and there were numerous signs, coloured blue and white rather than the red and white for the walking route. We dipped back on the road at San Lorenzo Nuovo and as we left the town we caught sight of the incredibly picturesque Lago di Bolsena.
This huge body of water is a volcanic lake, left from the eruption of the Vulsini volcano in 104BC after a collapsing magma chamber. It’s the largest volcanic lake in Europe and is host to a diverse array of different species. This in no small part due to the fact that since 1996 waste has been diverted away and treated.
Although we were expecting to descend all the way to the edge of the lake, we were diverted on the way down onto a gravelly track. The ground was extraordinarily dry and we could feel the wheels slipping on the steep ascent we were flung onto. We stopped at the top and enjoyed the views of the lake with wind turbines spinning in the distance.
The track didn’t let up, we had to work hard to make progress as we were repeatedly on mangled tracks which were also part of the walking route. The dry ground made walking up the unrideable sections precarious as our shoes kept losing traction. Occasionally we were on a short section of road and at Bolsena we saw a wonderful preserved castle, as well as some amusing ‘fighting’ cats!
The route didn’t get any easier, quite the opposite. We went through thick wooded areas that separated the expansive olive orchards, dropping into steep valleys on rutted rocky tracks and then had to push our bikes up and out of them on more than one occasion. The dryness was a blessing and a curse. We finally crossed a small, narrow bridge, hauled our bikes up a steep winding hill and found ourselves on more suitable terrain. It was a relief.
We were back on some kind of road, there were plenty of cars using it but it was terribly maintained. We were headed to a town called Montefiascone. It was laden with beautiful buildings to see and though it was getting late in the day we made sure we took the opportunity to see them despite the most interesting parts being perched right on top of the hill. It had gorgeous city walls to enter the town through and as it was a one way system we walked up to the incredibly ornate cathedral at the top.
Afterwards we were heading down. We dropped off Montefiascone very quickly. Holding onto our brakes hard on the steep road/track. It was enjoyably smooth tarmac and a shallow gradient descent for much of the way before we joined a gravel track. We could see our stop for the night, Viterbo, for a long while but it was one of those times when it took an age to get closer. The Sun gave us beautiful skies as it got lower and we churned our way into the town.
Arriving into an out of town retail park has its perks and there was a Lidl right there in front of us. We stocked up on some food, planning to make pasta for a change. By the time we were finished shopping it was completely dark. We had to ride through the busy streets with our lights on. It must have been rush hour as the whole place was heaving with traffic. Fortunately we were able to whizz past stationary traffic for some of the way.
This place also had nice city walls with porta to pass through onto narrow cobbled streets. We were soon outside our accommodation and once again took the bikes up, but only a short flight of stairs this time. It was quite a big flat and we felt very lucky to be able to relax there with its minimum 50” television.
As we ate dinner and discussed the ridiculousness of the ride we also found out that Viterbo was a wonderfully preserved city of old. Perhaps we should stay here an extra night?
Surly They Won't Make It 