7/12/24
The route out of Roma wasn’t particularly clear. While the EuroVelo appeared to show it using a busy road called Via Palestrina, there was also a suggestion that the metro would be a better option. On the Bicitalia website it helpfully shows an alternative though of course it can’t be guaranteed to be a complete, unbroken, route.
We left around 9am and headed back to the river. We wanted to cycle along the safe riverside path again. There was supposedly construction work happening, and it was ‘shut’ but we could see people using the path down below. It’s at least fifteen metres below street level in a human built gorge. We asked a policewoman but she had no idea where the nearest ramp was and considered it to be closed.
There were hoardings blocking all the entrances and exits but down below the barriers had been forcibly moved. Presumably these ‘works’ are taking their time. We gave up and cycled on the pavement in the correct direction. We ended up crossing the river early, walking the bikes up a one way street past a temple, and then joining a cycle path at Circus Maximus. They were putting an ice rink in some of it, but it’s the remains of a huge arena.
We were pleased to be seeing so many additional parts of ancient Roma. We rode past the remains of the baths of Caracalla and onto a cobbled street. The cobbles continued for a while, and took us past numerous interesting buildings. You could explore Roma for weeks it seemed. We passed through an impressive Porta in the Aurelian walls and onto the cobbles of Via Appia Antica.
After a short while we left the jolting cobbled road to enter a large park on a dirt track where there were numerous runners. There was a gap to the next park bridged by city streets, and we were then riding next to the remains of not one but two aqueducts in the aptly named Parco degli Acquedotti. The Sun was powering down on us and we gladly sat on a bench to contemplate the meaning of life. Leaving Roma still left us with a large swathe of Italy still left to cover.
After leaving the aqueducts we were riding on a well meaning cycle path by the side of busy roads. Unfortunately it was not only neglected, but absolutely covered in tiny shards of glass. There was a narrow path where it could be avoided but it felt a bit tenuous. The surface was also a yellow substance that seemed to increase rolling resistance.
We were almost out of the city suburbs and just needed to conquer a two mile climb through the northern edge of Frascati. The rest of the journey blurred into one long jaunt in the Sun. We had two long shallow climbs on side streets, combined with multiple stints on fast busy roads that went up and down. At one point we also met a friendly cyclist who joined us for a few miles.
We were headed for a place called Labico. We’d managed to find an Airbnb that we could stay at for two nights, with absolutely nothing of interest nearby. We were both exhausted, and though we’d had two ‘rest’ days in quick succession, we spent them walking around and often up and down hills.
The house we were staying at was about twenty minutes cycling off the route, and twenty minutes walking to the supermarket. After checking in with a friendly old couple who lived above the house we headed to the shop and stocked up. We made pizza and bread and were relieved to be tucked away. Nothing to do the next day at all. The only caveat was the house didn’t have a room with a sofa.
Surly They Won't Make It 