To Viterbo

November 4, 2021

So we’re done with Rome, for this pass through at least. Today we’re off to Viterbo, where our suitcases have supposedly been waiting patiently for us for the past three months. They’d better be there! 4,000 kilometers is a long way to bike just to pick up two used suitcases, and we don’t want all that work to go for naught.

We don’t really know the plan for getting to Viterbo until this morning because we’re waiting to see how the weather develops. It’s only about 55 miles by the most efficient route so theoretically we could bike the whole way. A decent route though that avoids highways would be considerably longer. Following the EV5 the whole way would be 65 miles with 4,500’ of climbing. We wouldn’t be doing that at this time of year with reduced daylight hours, even if weather permitted. So the train will be a part of the picture, or maybe the complete picture if it’s a total rainout.

This morning the weather looks fine. Rain is just tapering off as we have breakfast and is supposed to cease by nine and not return for the rest of the day. So it’s a matter of just picking a train departure and a stop at the right distance for however long we decide we want to ride. I sketch out some alternatives, we go over them together, and pick Vigna di Valle - the last stop south of Bracciano. Regional trains leave roughly hourly all day long, so we pick a 10:30 departure from the Ostiense station, the closest one to our hotel along that line. It’s almost four miles and will take us past the Colosseum. We plan a 9:45 departure from the hotel so that we can take our time and stop for a few photos along the way.

9:45 comes, we pack for departure, Rachael goes downstairs to check out, and at the last minute I discover that I can’t find my parka. Crap. After much checking and rechecking I realize I must have left it at dinner last night. Options are considered - we could scrap the bike ride and catch the evening train; we could contact the restaurant and ask them to mail it to us; or we could write the jacket off as just one more lost object.

Or we could call the restaurant to see if anyone is there, since the restaurant claims to open at midday for lunch. We call, a woman answers, but she speaks no English and we can’t communicate the question to confirm if the jacket’s there and if we can pick it up. All we can glean is that they’re closed until Mezzogiorno (midday); but it’s only three blocks away so I hustle over. She’s there, the jacket’s there, so we’re back on track!

But we’re too late for the 10:30 departure. It’s just past 10 when we leave the hotel so it’s theoretically possible that we could get through three and a half miles of the historical center of Rome, get our tickets and make it to the platform on time, but it’s not bloody likely.

We aren’t even close. Considerable walking on sidewalks through crowds of tourists is involved, plus a smattering of interesting riding in the streets along with a throng of cars, delivery vans, busses, and many scooters. We do well to make it in time for the 12:30 departure, actually. But we at least can take some time for a few snaps along the way.

Rome has many, many scooters. It reminds us somewhat of Taiwan.

Just a drive by shooting. I don’t even know where or what this is. Do you? (Yes! Thanks, Fern. This is the Piazza dell’ Esquilino, and the Basilica Papale di Santa Maria Maggiore.)

I’m pretty sure I know what this pile is though.

Construction of the Colosseum began in 72 AD and was completed 8 years later. Incredible that so much is still standing after all these years.

Looking along the Via Sacra, the primary ceremonial route through Ancient Rome.

The Arch of Constantine, dedicated in 315 AD to celebrate Constantine’s victory at the Battle of Milvian Bridge (Ponte Milvio, which we biked across two days ago) and the start of his reign as the sole emperor of the Roman Empire. 69 feet high, 85 feet wide and 24 feet deep, it is the largest Roman ceremonial arch.

One last look at two millennia of history.

So after all that we arrive at the station in plenty of time, even though the next departure is at 11:22, not 11:30 as we had expected. Rachael watches the bikes while I go to the kiosk to purchase tickets. Easy to do, since the kiosk instructions are clear, let you select your language, and provide for ticketing the bicycles. That’s how we got our tickets to Rome three days earlier, so I’m already up to speed.

Except this machine rejects my visa at the end of the transaction for some reason. So I start over, use a different card, but that one is rejected too. So I go to the ticket window to purchase them from an agent.

There are two windows, one staffed and one not. There’s a single elderly couple at the window, so I shouldn’t have to wait long. There’s still plenty of time.

Five minutes later, they’re still talking and I’m still waiting and starting to get anxious when an agent finally appears at the second window and smiles my way. I buy the tickets from her instead and hurry back to Rachael since we’re now starting to run out of time. As we pass through the station, the elderly couple is still talking at the ticket counter.

Ostiense is a large station, but thankfully fairly modern and has elevators. Our departure is at track 13, so it’s a fairly long walk. It’s comforting to see that there’s an elevator up to every departure gate as we walk past them. We get to the elevator for track 13, are pleased to see that it’s even large enough for two bikes at the same time so we can elevate in one go. We make it to the platform with nearly ten minutes to spare.

Except it doesn’t appear that our train is coming. The next listed departure is at 12:52, not 12:22. Puzzled, I look around, find the comprehensive departure schedule, and confirm we’re at the right place and time. Maybe the next departure listing is just wrong? I find an agent on the train idling on 12 (the track on the other side of the platform), ask about our train, and he points at the train waiting on track 14. That’s your train, he says confidently.

Now we’re really running short of time though. I grab Rachael, we rush to the elevator, descend and move on to the access for track 14. There’s no elevator. It’s the only track in the station with no elevator access. There is an escalator though, so I load my bike on (Have you ever tried riding an escalator with a loaded bike? It’s not so easy.), and yell back to Rachael to follow me so she can come up and find out where the car for bicycles is while I go back down to get her bike as well.

We get up with one bike, and find that two women standing back on track 13 are urgently waving and yelling at us. Come back! They apparently know what train we’re trying to catch, and know we were misinformed. Crap.

So I immediately turn around and catch the escalator down again (even harder with a bike than going up, in my experience), a very harried Rachael following. We take the elevator up to 13, see that the next departure board is now correct, and our train is already here - and won’t be for long, of course. We quickly ask an agent where the bike car is, and he points to the far end of the long train. We hop on our bikes and ride down the platform as quickly as is safe, and load the bikes in as fast as we can. The doors close almost immediately after we’re both on board.

We make the train. This isn’t actually a bike car, even though the train permits bikes. There’s no option other than to lean them against the back of the car like this, hoping they won’t fall over and that people boarding will be able to work around them.

It’s a one hour ride to Vigna di Valle. There are 17 intermediate stops, or one roughly every three minutes. It really feels a lot like riding the MAX back in Portland. The train isn’t in station long, and arrives and departs precisely on schedule - which is terrific, as long as you’re quick about it. And we are, when time comes to depart but just barely - the door starts closing on my rucksack as we’re getting off, and we’re both briefly afraid that the train might start moving with me attached to it. But that doesn’t happen of course, or you might not be reading this.

The train departs, with no vagabond cyclist pinned to its side.

So in all this excitement, one thing that did not happen is for Rachael and I to rethink whether we still had sufficient time in the day to complete this bike ride, given that we’re starting an hour later than planned. The short story is that we very nearly didn’t. The first several miles of the ride go quite slowly and the next ten or fifteen aren’t actually a great ride as we’re on a minor highway with just a bit more traffic than you’d like.

The first few miles were on a very quiet lane, if at times unpaved and puddly. Slow going, but nicer than the highway that follows.

At a not very private roadside loo stop, with an audience wondering where the apples are.

By the midpoint of the ride though we leave this road and the next fifteen are beautiful and scenic; but by this time it has finally sunk in that it gets dark by five now since the time just changed a few days ago, something that we really haven’t factored into our consciousness yet. We’re still 20 miles from Viterbo at three o’clock, so we definitely have to hustle. I allow myself just time for a few quick photographs whizzing through Barbarano Romano and Blera because they’re just too amazing and I can’t help myself, and then race to catch up with Rachael again.

Standing by the road, anxiously checking to see if we actually have the phone number of our host which we’ll need when we get close.

The Roman Gate, the main entrance to Barbarano Romano.

In another life, we’d have time to pass through this enticing gate for a look around.

The back side of Barbarano Romano, where it drops off to the Biedano River. It reminds me of a smaller scale version of Pitigliano, the Etruscan town just north across the regional border in Tuscany.

Descending through walls of tuff to the Biedano River.

Crossing the Biedano, with magical Blera staring us in our faces. Another evocative Etruscan village it kills me to just bike past.

Like Barbarano Romano, Blera lines the cliffs above the river.

The good but much too rushed riding turns nightmarish a few miles from Viterbo, just as the light starts to fade. The traffic entering the city from this direction is horrible, there’s no shoulder, it’s getting dark, we’re dressed darkly and don’t have our lights on. A very bad situation.

As soon as we reach the city walls (Viterbo’s ancient walls are still intact), we cross through the first of its nine gates we come to just to get off of this horrible road and reroute to our hotel through the cobblestone streets and lanes of the old city, dark enough now that our Garmins have their night lights on. Finally we find our street, and our host is anxiously waiting there for us beneath the San Marco Gate that they said they’d look for us at. She shows us to our apartment just a few yards away and then basically just hands us the keys and quickly dashes off, for an appointment with her son at a clinic somewhere.

We survived. And the suitcases are here. All is good.

Oh, and one more thing: Rachael really thinks you should watch this video as well. It’s the last video of the tour!

Video sound track: Big Car, by Susan Werner

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Ride stats today: 41 miles, 2,800’; for the tour: 2,686 miles, 101,600‘

Today's ride: 41 miles (66 km)
Total: 2,686 miles (4,323 km)

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Suzanne GibsonOMG what a harrowing day! But you made it! Time to go home? The weather says so, but I'm sad that your journey is coming to an end. When are you going to get that long visa? Then you can hang out in Andalucia when the weather turns cold further north. Btw, do I detect that Rachael has a new chic hair style? Where are some close ups?
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3 years ago

Susan CarpenterYikes - a heart pounding train experience AND riding in the dark in traffic! So glad you made it safely to Viterbo. Unfortunately, you’ll soon be back in US where it seems all the cars are big. Wishing you a safe and uneventful trip back to Portland
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3 years ago

Rachael AndersonTo Suzanne GibsonNo new hairstyle. I have my hair in a ponytail and my helmet must be on funny. Good to hear it looks chic!
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3 years ago

Rachael AndersonTo Susan CarpenterThe drivers are really crazy here compared to other places in Italy. The last 2 days I’ve gone on some beautiful hikes and it’s been great not to have to deal with traffic. Drivers are definitely better in Portland but the homeless situation is very bad! A lot of the bike routes are filled with homeless people that are dangerous.
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3 years ago

Bill ShaneyfeltWhat a whirlwind!

Our youngest daughter graduated from John Cabot University, about a mile from the Vatican back in.... ummm, maybe '06? We went to her graduation and she drove us all over the place from Venice to Rome. Lots of memories from those 2 weeks were revived. Thanks!
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3 years ago

Bruce LellmanThis post raised my blood pressure. I'm exhausted. I don't know how you guys do it.
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3 years ago

Scott AndersonTo Bruce LellmanNeither do we! Rereading this just stresses us out all over again.
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3 years ago

Rachael AndersonTo Bill ShaneyfeltHow cool to go to college in Rome!
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3 years ago

Scott AndersonTo Suzanne GibsonHarrowing is the word alright, but only the last 20 minutes after we hit the traffic. Before that, it was more ‘interesting’.
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3 years ago

Scott AndersonTo Susan CarpenterSo strange about how confusing the train situation was this time. We give so much forethought to train journeys, allowing plenty of time and mentally gaming things to prepare for the unexpected. And still, time after time they end up as cliffhangers.
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3 years ago

Jen RahnWhew! Another 'glad you made it through in 2 pieces' day!

Hope there was some rest time there.
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3 years ago

Scott AndersonTo Jen RahnYou’re right. We seem to be pushing our luck at the end of the tour. Must be time to come home.
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3 years ago