Author: bengarbutt

Sunshine and thunder

Who knew Cremona was so beautiful? 40km into my ride today I peddled into the city and took a small detour to the breathtaking historical centre. One small square was full of staggering buildings.

Of course the locals just went about their business, having seen this every day. It reminded me of how whenever I hustle through Oxford I rarely appreciate it.

Speaking of which, a podcast I listened to as I rode through the agricultural flatlands mentioned a poem. Specifically, it talked about how the oft-quoted last two lines of the poem didn’t make sense unless the full poem was read. So here it is:

I was riding through miles of tracks with no sign of life when I heard the first crack of thunder. I looked back. On my shoulder, a storm fast approaching.

I put my foot down. 90km in, legs tiring, but perhaps, maybe, there was some form of shelter up ahead? A densely leaved tree? A farm building, maybe.

I was in luck. As the storm caught me I entered a village with a castle, and therefore on some kind of tourist route, and therefore with open trattoria. I did what anyone would do, sitting down in the nearest bar with a beer, thoroughly smug.

Hubris caught me later in the day, mind. Having found my B&B 2km south of Lake Garda, I had to head out for food. Following my rapid Aldi smash and grab, I was hit by an absolute cloudburst on the five minute cycle back! Since the weather gods were laughing at me I just had to laugh back.

Tomorrow I begin my journey across the north of Italy on the via Postumia. It’s an ancient pilgrimage route (one of the many to link with the Camino Santiago) that true to form I’m taking in the opposite direction. I don’t know how good it’ll be, but the joy is in the finding out!

Quick GPS update. Still frustratingly misbehaving. However, my stepbrother Ed kindly sent me an article indicating it was a worldwide problem for users of the same device I have. The manufacturers are apparently working on a software update that frankly can’t come soon enough. At least I know that’s coming so I will persevere for now. I came very close to throwing it on a canal in frustration, but Ed has saved it.