October 30, 2018
Layover in Genoa: Tuesday
We got in a bit of biking today, so I guess I should blog it. First, we biked about a half mile from our apartment to the Torino train station, for the train to Genoa. Later in the day, we biked a mile and a half from the Genoa Brignole station to our new hotel, in Genoa. Neither of the rides was that noteworthy, really - flat, urban, mixed surface, the usual. Dry, which was especially nice. Not worth posting a map for, even. Still, a tidy two miles to add to the trip total.
So, that’s the ride. As long as you’re here anyway, you might as well hear how the rest of the day went and see a few pics.
The big story for the day was the weather. Last night an intense storm terrorized Italy from Rome north to the mountains, creating havoc everywhere. Venice had its worst ‘Aqua Alta’ event in a decade, and most of the city is under water this morning. Liguria, the coastal region that includes Genoa, experienced almost unheard of 110 mph winds. Several deaths from such incidents as fallen trees. Train lines temporarily closed due to wind damage. Crushed cars, swamped boats.
It had all blown over by the time we left the room, but one lingering effect was on the train schedule. Most of the arrivals were experiencing length delays, and some trains were cancelled. Ours was fortunately a go but we were held up by about a half hour for track repairs. We feel very lucky on the timing.
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It’s actually quite nice when we arrive in Genoa, and stays that way until late afternoon when the rains returned. Partly sunny, and nearly fifteen degrees warmer here at the coast than in the Piemonte. After stopping at a cafe for paninis, we checked in to our hotel in early afternoon. We’re staying in the very elegant (but surprisingly inexpensive - they have a special rate on) Bristol Palace, in a great location in the old city. It’s a nice, welcoming place that was very accommodating of our bikes. We wheeled them in to the front desk, and they carted them off to the storage room without question. A beautiful place, with the a impressive six story spiral staircase.
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Immediately after checking in, we both went off to explore the city in our own way. Rachael is antsy for some real exercise - the two mile bike ride just didn’t cut it for her - so she went on an uphill hike at a good clip, logging seven miles and 1,400’ of elevation gain by the time she returned. I went sideways, into the old town, randomly poking around to see what popped up. A lot popped up, because Genoa is a phenomenal place. I’d like to have put in my own seven mile hike too, but my Panasonic kept insisting that I slow down and look around once or twice per block. It’s a much more interesting destination than I expected, really - I’ve got a much outdated image of it as a big, sprawling, dirty port town. And it is all of that, but much more. The city is really investing in cleaning up its act, and it has an amazing amount to show and tell you about.
Pretty tough city for bicycling in though, at least along the coastal strip. We’re still discussing whether to bike out of here when we leave on Friday or catch another train to get us past the sprawl.
And don’t ask me why I’m naming it Genoa here, rather than its Italian name, Génova. Why Turino, but not Génova? Who knows; but just so you know, I know the difference. My blog, my rules.
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6 years ago
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Today's ride: 2 miles (3 km)
Total: 2,023 miles (3,256 km)
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Comment on this entry | Comment | 4 |
6 years ago
The list of places I would love to cycle to is getting longer and longer with each of your journals. My husband must be getting sick of me shoving my ipad with your photos under his nose constantly.
If you were willing to share the information, I would love to know what your daily average euro spend would have been on this tour. It would be great to figure out for our own planning. Our style of touring would be similar to yours with Airbnb's, B&B's, having one decent meal a day etc.
How is the mapping going for Andalucia? Would be great to have a look when you've finished. I changed our route from Baena to Cordoba after reading your entry. It sounded more interesting going through the parque sierra subbeticas via Cabra rather than over the top which was the way Komoot was taking us. So far I'm trusting Komoot to be picking out the best roads for bike touring, but won't know if this is the case until tested! This app is specifically for cycling and walking.
Another question I have is how safe it is to be locking up bikes when leaving them temporarily. Is there much in the way of bike theft? Do you use a very heavy duty bike lock?
5 years ago
Yes, we’re well along in planning the route for this fall’s tour. I’ve got daily rides mapped for the entire three months, which we’ll follow unless something comes up to change our plans along the way, as of course it will. I imagine we’ll stay pretty close to it though.
Here’s a sketch of our route through Andalucia, although it isn’t accurate for the specific roads: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/30583642.
I created it for you, and just connected the towns we’ll go through along the way so I’m sure it shows us following many more highways than we actually will.
One comment about your own plan, and Baena: I’d forgotten about Zuheros until I put up the journal of our first tour recently. Baena is nice, but nearby Zuheros is spectacular - and almost right on the via verde that skirts the western side of the Subbetica. We plan on staying in Zuheros this fall.
We may be picking your brain for ideas too, FYI. It’s looking like we’re coming back to NZ next winter, for the first time in almost 3 years.
5 years ago
Your tour of Andalucia looks wonderful! I did want to stay in Zuheros particularly after what you wrote but I couldn't find any accommodation. We have compromised with plans to spend a good chunk of the afternoon in Zuheros including a long late lunch that will tide us over and then head to a promising looking airbnb in Baena for the night.
We were in Malaga early December last year (not cycling) and it was very mild. I didn't know what to expect thinking it was more of an English package holiday resort but the old town is really lovely. Seeing that part of Spain very briefly (only 3 days) is what started the idea of the cycling trip there. And I know we'll be wanting more than the week we only have. I envy the thought of your 3 months!
We were planning to pick up our bikes in Seville and take a train to Granada to begin the tour. I looked up the trains yesterday and discovered only the AVE trains do that run which don't take bikes. I've ended up booking the Alsa bus which requires a box or bag for the bikes. They sell bags at the ticket office, but I might just look for some kind of rain cover on Amazon. I think the main concern is dirty marks damaging suitcases.
Touring NZ next winter! Fabulous! I don't know if you've decided when but the best month would be March and a month either side of that. The weather is still too unpredictable and wet in December as you discovered last time! Our summers have been starting later and and going for much longer.
5 years ago