We did a lap on the walls of Lucca before departing this beautiful town. It was fresh but amazing riding around the town, with no cars and great views of the town and the outskirts. For me, the walls are the highlight of Lucca.
Pretty soon, we were heading south west to Pisa, on a bike path through the suburbs. We followed two old gents as the talked their way along the path. Jackets on, knees going in all directions on their squeaking, rattling old bikes that were as much in need of maintenance as the riders. It was great to see them riding their bikes.
We hit a large supermarket for some lunch supplies and headed off. After finding some nice cheese, prosciutto and bread, I tend to get hungry very quickly and today was the same.
We endured a busy road until we could turn off into the immediate silence of small back streets which then turned into forest and canal side paths. It was some of the quietest, nicest riding we’d done since we’d left Florence.
We stopped for lunch and got out our camp chairs, set up in the sun, ate and waved as people rode by. What followed was some relaxed riding but soon enough, we were on the easy roads into Pisa, with the famous tower ahead of us.
I love the precinct by the tower. I find the buildings remarkable and the setting amazing. Usually, at major tourist sites I don’t get that sort of vibe. It’s more often the opposite.
After some photos, we headed off to our accommodation and the journey would become drawn out and extremely exasperating. We needed to take a tunnel, but it was closed in our direction, so I navigated via the station and carried the bikes up and down stairs and through a subway. We’d then have to ride a circuitous route to make it to the place. It took ages, and as we arrived, we noticed pedestrians and bikes ignoring the closed road and heading around the barriers. If only we’d seen this before !
The bikes had to be locked behind trees in the front garden for the night unfortunately so by the time we were set up, I was a pretty frustrated cyclist. Nevertheless, we walked through the tunnel and into town for a nice meal. It’s very close when you know how to go !
