After yesterday’s ordeal, I was tired and not looking forward too much to another 108km / 67 miles in the saddle today. The tiredness also did not help in the early morning with me getting anxious about leaving on time and Liz wanting more time to wake up. The following argument ruined the otherwise nice cycling morning. A talk over a Cappucino and a Fanta in Capranica helped, though, and we were friends again. This tour is also a big team-building event.
After our argument, we cycled 50m to the bar that is run by the husband of one of the two sisters running the hotel we stayed at. We both asked for a sandwich and two pastries with our cappuccini to prepare us for the ride ahead. Thanks to a deal with the hotel, we got it all free/included in the hotel room. Very nice!
We were on the road by six, and we enjoyed more Tuscan farmland views on our way to Viterbo. I really like hay bales in the dawn light. In Viterbo, we cycled along the large fortification walls of the medieval city. On the SR2 leading out of Viterbo, traffic was already increasing and quite a few large trucks passing us made for some uncomfortable riding.
After a while of this, we got a nice break from traffic on a short offroad section through woods.
Around 11.00, we conquered the last major climb of the day up the crater ridge of the volcanic Lago Bracciano. My slight early morning anxiety about the ride ahead proved to be unnecessary, as our legs were good and we felt that the last 48km, mostly flat, would be manageable.
The overcast sky helped keeping temperatures reasonable, even though there were the occasional raindrops. So we decided to stop for a nap and lunch at the lake. And we even got in a swim before the nap on a tiny beach at a local pizzeria. At lunch, we were the only people in the pizzeria, but the food was excellent, so it must have been a slow day due to the rain clouds.
After lunch, we only had 35km left to our AirBnB near the center of Rome. We took it easy and rolled into town around three, following a very nice and empty cycle path along the Tiber river.
The AirBnB check-in would not be until 15.30, so we stopped at an ice-cream stand at a summer-fest booth along the river. It was both the most expensive and the worst ice cream I had so far in Italy. The fact that they were also selling bubble tea should have been warning enough.
As a last effort, we had to carry up our bikes up the stairs from the bike path to the street above to reach the AirBnB. Federico who was checking us in was 20min late, but the place is amazing, and at 70€ a night a very good deal.
After a well-deserved nap, we went to a craft beer bar for an apéro, after which rather heavy rain set in. We bought an umbrella (10€) from the random salesmen magically appearing everywhere and started walking toward home, looking for a restaurant along the way. The places with nice Google reviews were full and we were running out of patience, so we ended up in a tourist restaurant. My pizza was dry, the starter fried zucchini flower smelled like fish, and the wine was meh. Liz’ pasta was not bad, though. “I would give it 2 out of 5 stars”, Liz said.
After dinner, a thunderstorm brought torrential rain and we sought shelter in a small bar with what seemed to be a mix of locals and Colombian tourists. After a grappa, the rain stopped and I was tipsy. The Roman sewer system was getting a bit overwhelmed with the amount of water the storm brought, so walking home was a lot of circumnavigating large puddles. Close to home, we ran into a huge, deep puddle that smelled not very inviting to walk through. Thankfully, a nice Roman man gave us a lift on his scooter. We turned off all 4.30 alarms and are planning to sleep well into the rest-day tomorrow.
Total distance/elevation to date: 3901km/30’895m
Rest days: 13
Route and Stats
Relive Video
The 1948 Tour 
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