I got back on the bike again 3 days after my little mishap – nothing hurts but I still have road rash below my right knee. I’ve started to venture further and further from Papiano, usually going generally west-ish.
On Sunday I took a little trip to Spina and back – we’ve driven through it before but never stopped. It was a nice place, and the cafe/bar on the main road was full of motorcyclists.
Yesterday I rode to Compignano, which is a lovely village we drove to a week or two ago. Just a km or so before the village I saw a dog on the side of the road – I had a hunch that I better boot it so I pumped the assistance up to the max and started pedaling as fast as I could. Sure enough the dog came at me, snarling and snapping at my left foot. I was going pretty fast but he kept up for quite a ways – I was screaming at the top of my lungs, but didn’t dare try to kick at it in case I wiped out. He finally gave up the chase and I continued on to the village.
Since I didn’t want to risk encountering the dog again on the way back I took an alternate route – a small gravel track that led to another village we’d driven through before. Almost right away I came upon a carabinieri (police) car, but they just nodded and passed me by.
The road ended up being quite perilous – very steep up, where even with the highest assistance I had to work very hard, then so steep down there were warning signs about the gradient. After my wipe-out last week I decided to be extra cautious and got off and hoofed it down.
I was going to say that I pushed the bike down, but it was more like I tried to hold it back – it seemed to take a long time to reach the bottom, and felt like I was walking on marbles the entire way.
This morning’s ride was a bit longer than planned – I haven’t bothered to hook my Garmin GPS device up yet – although I had looked at a map – and thus ended up missing a turn and found myself somewhere totally unexpected and confusing just after passing through Villanova.
Rather than compound my problem I just turned around and backtracked home. I did pass through some lovely countryside on the way, however, and just put on a few more miles than planned.
The weather has been very changeable – lots of sun, but also fierce winds as well as pounding downpours. We’ve watched a couple more Clint Eastwood movies, saving the best for last – The Good, The Bad and The Ugly – a classic for sure.
We went up to Deruta one day and got some more clay pots for a nice new succulent and the geraniums – the patio is looking very colourful!
And – I finally have to say…USA – WTF!!!
You can’t solve injustice with hate or violence, and the USA desperately needs a leader that isn’t such an incompetent dickhead!
On Tuesday we took the dogs for a nice walk along the ridge and on the way back we encountered a fellow we’ve seen several times now. He speaks fairly good english and told us that there was going to be an aerial display above Perugia. We kept walking and were just discussing if we should stay on the ridge to wait for it when we looked north towards the city as Colin said he heard something.
Sure enough there was an italian flag appearing in the sky – red white and green smoke from the Italian Air Force Trecce Tricolori Display Team. The wind was blowing fiercely but the flag was visible for some time. It was pretty cool – the display team is flying over every ‘major’ city in the country over a period of 3 or 4 days to boost morale.
That evening Colin met with the owners of the cellar below us – he’s been wanting to buy it ever since he got the house but the old lady that owned it wasn’t interested in selling. Now that she has passed on her three adult children are keen to sell, so Romena, who speaks fluent english, is now the go-between and interpreter. As long as the structural engineer says that all is good we should be able to make a deal. Not only will it make great storage for the bikes, etc, but the ceiling of the cellar can be insulated so the floor of our living room and kitchen won’t be bleeding heat on cold days.
We took another little trip to Trasimeno, this time going to one of our favourite restaurants – Il Ristoro in Monte Buono. They had only outside tables, which were setup all over the lovely lawn under the trees. We had excellent bruschetta to start, then for my main course I got the gnocchi with ragu – it was very good. Another thing to go on my Ikea shopping list will be a potato ricer so I can make my own gnocchi.
I’ve been on a few more nice rides, although I had a mishap yesterday. I was almost home from an 18km ride and was just coming down the very steep gravel lane from the ridge above us when I felt the rear tire sliding out. I wasn’t going very fast as I ride the brakes pretty much the whole way down but there was nothing I could do. I stuck my right leg out thinking I would just stop but because it was so steep there was too much momentum and down I went.
I landed hard on my right knee and shin and barely had time to stick my hands out as I face-planted into the verge on the edge of the track. It smelt faintly of mint, which is a lot better than the dog poo I could have landed in, and was also much softer than gravel or a face full of brambles.
It could have been a lot worse – I picked up my camera case, which had been thrown from the basket, then heaved the bike up and started walking down the hill. I contemplated crying, but decided it wouldn’t help. I didn’t walk far before I climbed back on the bike and slowly and gingerly made my way the last 150 meters home.
This morning the weather had turned ugly, so no bike ride. My leg doesn’t feel too bad, but my muscles and joints are sore and the bridge of my nose throbs – wearing my glasses does not help the pain, but I don’t think the nose is broken.
We’re enjoying the loosening of the lockdown rules, visiting Antonio’s bar daily for a nice cappuccino (or glass of red, depending in the time if day) as well as a trip to a garden centre up near Perugia. We’ve finally been advised that both the owner of the cellar below us and the owner of the empty lot next door are wanting to sell so we had a look at some plants to decorate the expanded terrace area. We also picked up a few hangers for some geraniums Colin had already gotten.
We also went to the large sporting goods store Decathlon so Colin could get some tape to replace the mangled area on his handlebars from his crash – there was a fellow at the entrance taking everyone’s temperature, and several tables with hand sanitizers. Luckily I still have my lovely lavender spray that I brought with me, and also everyone was wearing facemasks.
Mo and Henry had a little kerfluffle one night at bedtime – I think she gets a little jealous of him at times and feels the need to prove her dominance, although she’s barely half his size. She happily spent the night with me in my room to keep the peace.
One of the doctors that changed Colin’s dressings at the clinic actually has a small office in the village, right above the little Conad store – he visited her one day and got all of his prescriptions renewed. When he asked what her fee was she said ‘oh no – we’re friends!’. He did need a second round of antibiotics for the elbow gash, but the stitches were removed a few days later.
I’m still going on lots of lovely rides, although trying to get out a bit earlier in the morning before it gets too hot. Everything is so green and lush looking, and the air is so clear – it’s just beautiful wherever you look – bright, vivid colours and I am just loving being ‘stuck’ here.
There was another gathering of the locals down below us who’ve been helping clear the overgrown brush – our neighbour saw me on the terrace looking out and motioned for us to join them. We brought down some of my tzatziki dip with carrot sticks and a bowl of mixed nuts as our contribution – not quite as impressive as last week’s meatballs, but better than nothing.
There’s also been a nice cleanup of the small park/memorial/fountain in the village square – they painted the benches as well as the inside of the fountain and it really looks smart. It’s got to be one of the nicer village piazzas around.
We took a nice little trip to Lake Trasimeno today and it was just beautiful – the water was a gorgeous green, although the dead fish all along the shore weren’t so nice.
The little ferries aren’t running again yet, and there weren’t that many people about – especially screaming kids. It was quite lovely strolling along the waterside promenade.
Sally McKenzie's European Adventures 