Tour of Italy part 5 (To Naples and Pompeii)

Tour of Italy Part 5

For our final stage we would be heading to Naples. It will be the first time we would have seen the sea on the West coast and, as everyone knows, that no long bicycle ride is complete without a bit of sun, sea and sand. There would, however, be less cultural experiences until we finish with a bang at Pompeii.

Day 16

We woke up to drizzle and the forecast of heavy rain all day. We were now also on a deadline as Mrs Crusaders friend, Catherine, was going to fly out to Naples to meet us with our bike boxes. So we needed to be at the airport on Saturday morning to meet her.

With this in mind I had planned a long 65 mile ride which now looked likely to give us a soaking. We therefore put on all our waterproofs and set off at our regular 9.30 pedals down.

We soon discovered that cycling routes were in short supply on this section of the ride. We spent the first few miles on a busy road getting sprayed by passing lorries. To recover we had an early stop featuring excellent ring doughnuts.

From here it was down to the sea. The early excitement was soon lost as the area was a bit swampy and had swarms of mosquitoes and we all now how that turns out.

We decided to head back to the busy road and skip that section of coast especially as the heavy rain had not materialised and it was now rather hot.

Fortunately the next bit was much more sea sidey and what we had imagined. With the help of a nice cycle path we made it to our hotel. Not surprisingly it was our fastest average speed to date.

The hotel was having an actual Italian wedding so I enquired if I could ask the local godfather for a favour but apparently it wasn’t that sort of a wedding.

Day 17

We set off in bright sunshine by the sea. What could be nicer than fabulous cycle track and views of the beach. 

Unfortunately it only last for a few minutes before we arrived at the SP 213 which was a busy road featuring several scary tunnels. We stayed on it for the next 25 miles and although the views were stunning there was no way I would be stopping to photograph them.

After a few more miles we took a short detour for refreshments in a pretty little costal town. I was fooled by how easily we had found such a place and expected to find lots more every few kilometres along the shore. But how wrong I was.

After we finally got off the busy road we went through miles of deserted holiday accommodation, bars and mini markets as we were now at the start of the closed season. It was all pretty post apocalyptic and I wondered if we had missed something on the news. After awhile we returned to more busy roads and it was clear we hadn't. 

For our final drama the hotel we had booked, a large weeding venue, was also deserted and we wanderer round both inside and out looking for someone to book us in. It appeared we were the only guests there today which was probably why we had got a good rate. The place was very posh and setting up for a huge Italian wedding tomorrow, surely there will be a godfather at this one I can speak to.

Day 18

Although wedding prep was in full swing there was no time for any mafia based action this morning as we had a rendezvous with my bike boxes at Naples airport to make. If you recall Mrs Crusaders friend Catherine had offered to fly out to Naples with the boxes and join us for the rest of the trip in Naples and Pompeii. This was a great relief as we had no idea how we would be getting the bikes home and my suggestion of cycling them had fallen on stony ground.

We left early and it was straight onto busy roads. Whereas other areas in Italy had provided excellent cycling facilities on their stretches of Euro Velo 7 it appeared that once past Rome no one could be arsed and just stuck you on anything that wasn't a motorway. Fortunately we were now used to lorries whizzing past us giving only a few inches space. Mrs Crusader certainly would have hated this 3 weeks ago but now took it in her stride.

The last 15 miles was all built up as we approached Naples. And this was a real adrenaline thrill as we learnt the way of the Italian driver. Basically you just ignore all the other road users and do your own thing and it seems to work. If in doubt honk your horn (or ring your bell) and throw your arms in the air.

Even so progress was very slow as traffic was at a standstill for the final few miles. With heart rates at maximum we eventually made it to the hotel where we jumped in a taxi just in time to find Catherine coming out of the airport wheeling our bikes suitcases for the way home.

The afternoon was spent on a relaxing open top bus ride along the coast but culture was so far hard to find in Naples.

Day 19

There would be no more cycling on this trip but just a final search for culture and history. I was worried that Naples won’t have much to offer on this front, espically when I spotted a Neptune fountain. I had found one in Bologna, Florence and Rome which were all superb (as per the one in Rome below).

But the Naples offering looked like it had been made at an amateur pottery class.

With the success of the coastal bus tour yesterday we had the option, on the same ticket, to go on the city tour and see the famous sites. The experience was bizarre as it turned out there weren’t any and we just sat in a traffic jam for an hour and saw a lot of washing.

After a walk and pizza on the seafront (which was packed) we went on an underground tour of Naples in the old Greek water system (which became an air raid shelter in WWII). It was very interesting and rated as Naples number 1 attraction on trip advisor which wasn’t surprising as there is nothing to visit above ground.

On the plus side Naples is a lively busy city and the drivers are all quite mad. There are also a lot of vesper scooters which whole families travel on and it seems compulsory for the children not to wear helmets.

By the end of the day we quite liked Naples although there are no imminent plans to ever go back.

Day 20

For our final day we headed to the ancient city of Pompeii which had been buried by mount Vesuvius in AD 89 and rediscovered in 1768. It was mainly excavated last century into the huge area it is today (so our guide said anyway).

It had everything you would expect from a ruined Roman city; forum, baths, theatre, auditorium, streets of houses of varying sizes and cobbled streets. Our guide took us round and told us lots of interesting facts none of which I can remember. Mrs Crusader wanted to see more buried dead people and Catherine more mosaics but all in all in provided the historical cultural experience I needed to round of our trip.

In the end we cycled over 800 miles but after 3 weeks what have we learned 

1. Eurovelo 7 is about as consistent as NCR 1 in terms of the range of surfaces and uncycleable bits it provides as well as some fantastic stretches of cycle paths.

2. Virtually every bar in Italy seems to sell excellent cakes.

3. There are a lot of mosquitoes in Italy and once bitten Mrs Crusader can swell up easily

4. Nearly all big cities have an impressive Neptune fountain except at Naples where it is a bit rubbish.

5. All Italian towns and cities have a square with a compulsory big church, bell tower and fountain.

6. There is an awful lot of pizza in Italy (which was invented in Naples) and plenty of culture too (but not in Naples).

7. Don’t take Mrs Crusader on 100 mile detour to see a wonky tower as she won’t think it’s worth it.

8. Italian drivers don’t like to use their brakes but prefer to accelerate past bicycles as if they are not there, surprisingly the system seemed to work.

9.  Michelangelo is my favourite renaissance artist and also my favourite piazza although we both still think David’s hands are too big

10. Mrs Crusader bottom can only last for about a 3 week cycle tour.