The day surprises us when we wake up in Rome this morning. Weather again! The streak continues! Even better, the weather is fair. We’d come to the Eternal City as the best place to sit out an expected string of rainy days, but instead there’s all of this sun streaming in our window. Monuments and … Continue reading "The streak continues"
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Well, this is good news! When we open up Weather.com today it shows that there will be weather on a daily basis for the next two weeks! It’s too soon to say what will occur beyond that, but if things go well we can expect weather for the rest of the month. So, odds are … Continue reading ""
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Nope, it’s not November yet. You must have set your clocks ahead by a day when you meant to set it back an hour. Easy to do, a rookie mistake. So here, still back in Octoberland, we have one final offering in the Dress Up Your Bike Challenge: a Jolly Roger in Portoferraio, Napoleon’s home … Continue reading ""
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OK,Greg. Now I feel really bad. Here’s one last post for the October challenge, to help bring the team up to quota. PLEASE DON’t GO! Today’s post is from a ride from two weeks ago, our ride to Acqui Terme, an interesting hot spring spa in the Italian Piedmont region. The decorated bike shot is … Continue reading "Guide bikes"
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So, good so far. Our challengemaster is grudgingly cool with posts about someone else’s bike, and with toon bikes. How about implied bikes? This submission of a brown marmorated stink bug that hopped on the back of my bike during our lunch break on our ride to Bassano del Grappa surely will be greeted with … Continue reading "An implied bike?"
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So let’s test this slippery slope a bit further and see how far we can slide. A decorated bike but not your own squeaked past the judge’s table without getting the hook. How about toon bikes? You’d think this particular judge would look approvingly on this, but one never knows. Who knows why these fish … Continue reading "Fish on bikes!"
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Thanks to Suzanne for slapping me beside the head and pointing out that I could post submissions for this month without decorating my own bike, something that’s not quite in my comfort zone for some reason. So today, from the Italian Piedmont region, I can offer up this wonderful vegetable stand we passed by on a … Continue reading "Vegetable stand"
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As some of you know already, we’re cutting our tour short and heading home tomorrow. The Covid situation is becoming alarming in Europe, so there’s that of course – but then it’s plenty alarming back home too. There are a couple of other things on our mind calling us back now also, and it’s just … Continue reading "Europe, at the vanishing point"
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Well, let’s see. So far, Rachael has disappeared in the distance into a mirage, at the end of a long, non-winding road, and into the fog. Somehow though she keeps reappearing, only to disappear again. Today she’s escaped once more, this time crossing the scary bridge over the Po when entering Ferrara. What next?
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I’m starting to feel insecure. Day after day, my companion ditches me the first chance she gets. She always comes back, eventually – typically just in time for dinner, because I’m carrying the cash. Today we weren’t even on the road for a mile before she disappeared into the fog.
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On my last challenge post, we lost Rocky at the vanishing point. Some of you comforted me by assuring me that she’d return, and you were right! But now, sadly she’s disappeared in the distance again, in the Valleys of Cormacchio. Where’s Rachael?
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We aren’t riding our own bikes in this post, so it’s not a challenge entry. There are plenty of bikes in the picture though, so that’s something. Think of this more as a PSA about Pesaro, a place you may not have heard of but should know about: it’s the self-declared City of Bicycles.
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I’d say these were old and new rocks, but I’m confident someone would quibble that they both look pretty old to them. So, old and not as old. I’m not even sure which are the older ones either – for all I know they’ve folded over on themselves and the oldest are on top. The … Continue reading "Older rocks, newer rocks"
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Finally, it all comes together. I’ve seen several old/new combos, but at the wrong time – wrong month, or when we’re on foot and there’s no bike nearby to yank into the frame. Not the most inspiring subject, but there’s still time in the month to come up with something better. While you wait for … Continue reading "Old wall, new wall"
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So is there a proper term for roadside distance markers in metric countries? It’s impossible to not just think of them as milestones. Whatever you call them, they’ve provided my initial submission for the June challenge. As soon as I started seeing old stone markers on the Gargano promontory I’ve had my eye out for … Continue reading "Old and new: kilometerstones?"
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Matera is renowned for many things, including its claim to being the third oldest continuously inhabited city in the world. Less well known though is its use of brick. Most people associate the city with its famous caves, which many of the city’s residents lived in until the 1950’s, when they were forcibly relocated for … Continue reading "The famous bricks of Matera"
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This is not, I repeat not, a monthly challenge ride. If it were, I’d have to disqualify myself because there’s no photo with both bricks and bikes to show you. There is a very nice brick tier along the base of the featured arched bridge crossing the Lao River in Calabria, but we didn’t stage … Continue reading "In Pollino NationalPark: Bricks without bikes"
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Ashlar! That’s my new word for the day. I’ve been staring at ashlar walls and streets for much of my adult life, but I don’t remember even seeing the word before now. It took a lowly brick to bring it to my attention. Thanks, Brick! Ashlar is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that … Continue reading "Bricks over ashlar"
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It’s the last day of March, so I can just fit in one last submission. Today’s ride took us to Zingaro Nature Preseve on the northwest tip of Sicily. The first designated nature preserve on the island, it seemed like a natural for a final flora/fauna post. The preserve is a roadless area, so we didn’t … Continue reading "One last set of flora and fauna"
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I like this. I like Saluzzo, I like Dolcetto, and I like the musical sound of the two of them together. And, I liked a lot of today’s ride, on what I suspect will be the last warm sunny day of autumn over here this year. After an amazing string of gorgeous late fall days, … Continue reading "Vinouring 2018: Dolcetto in Saluzzo"
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Discerning viewers will note that this isn’t a standard half bottle. It’s a half liter, which is just a sip or two larger. It was all that was available though, and will have to do. It just seemed to fitting to have a Barbera in Asti, so I bent my own rules a bit. before … Continue reading "Vinouring 2018: Barbera d’Asti in Asti"
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Well, actually time for two. One is the featured image, because I like it best. You won’t see a bicycle in it though, because despite some intense wheedling the hotel manager wouldn’t let me bring the bike up the hotel stairwell for this shot. There is a qualifying photo though, reflecting TWO bikers and their … Continue reading "Time for one last October selfie"
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It’s not all that easy, finding restaurants that serve half bottles. I’ve had my eyes out all week, and finally scored again last night. Nice that they had a variety I like too, but the main thing was diversity. I’m starting to wonder how hard it’s going to be to meet my goal and find … Continue reading "Vinouring 2018: Pinot Grigio in OSG"
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Being on tour, I’m a bit constrained in how to approach Coffeeneuring this fall. In the past I’ve taken solo day rides to beverage outlets about town, but that doesn’t really work that well when we’re on tour. I don’t really want to take off on my own that often, as it cramps how we … Continue reading "Vinouring 2018: Valpolicella in Varenna"
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The Navigator will likely be amused to hear that I thought the Italian city of Brescia was the source of the name for a type of conglomerate. I even took a photo of a block of rock in one of the city squares, thinking it was an example of the rock, until I researched … Continue reading "Reflecting on Brescia"
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I have some reservations about this October Challenge submission. I have a terrible record at complying with the Challenge rules, so I’m doubtful. The rules this month are precise: the selfie must include the biker, and the bike. My submission pushes the definition though, and in fact is a selfie for the ENTIRE Anderson Team … Continue reading "Team selfies: OK or not OK?"
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I’ve been holding off on this post, thinking I’d find just the right sign to park a bike next to before the month is over. I’m sure m just not observant enough, but it didn’t happen. So, here’s the next best thing: a sign with a biker (featured), and a sign by bikers (the notorious … Continue reading "Signing out for September"
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On day 9 of our trip, we crossed the border into Italy. And there began the most spectacular part of the journey, although the previous days hadn’t been bad – a rail trail going through the mountains with numerous bridges and tunnels, and fantastic vistas. I cycled as slowly as I could to savor this … Continue reading "Border Sign to Italy"
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