Day 16: Wednesday, 25 May 1983

Start: Europe Gardens campground, Silvi, Italy

End: Campground, outside Rimini, Italy

The day dawns cold and threatening rain. The road, I'm told again, will be crowded and dangerous for bicycles.

I resolve to bite the bullet and catch a train to somewhere farther up the coast, cutting out a few days on the coast road that we never intended to do in the first place until Mike decided he wanted to ferry into Brindisi. I pedal back south to the station in Pescara, make inquiries about times and prices for likely destinations, and decide to go as far as Rimini, which will get me out of this narrow margin between the Appenines and the Adriatic and give me some better choices for roads. Everyone seems helpful and on the ball. They tell me it's a four-hour train ride, so I purchase passage for Bob and me.

I need, I'm told, to remove my gear, because the bike needs to go aboard naked. That's okay, because the Eclipse gear is built for easy on and easy off and the panniers have handy straps. The tent and bag and foam pad are a little tricker, but I've worked out how to bundle them, tie them together, and sling them over my shoulder. It's a handful, but not too bad. The station guys roll Bob away and give me a receipt. I'm gulping about being separated from my better half, but I keep telling myself people around here do this all the time. Maybe.

At 10:30 we pull out and glide up the coast. The ride is uneventful. A few passengers strike up conversations with me when they see my unusual luggage. At 2:30 we arrive in Rimini. I'm a little unclear on which station I want, but somebody guides me. Great! Now, where's Bob? The train clangs off, the platform clears, and there's no sign of a bike.

After querying several agents, it all becomes clear to me. Bob wasn't on my train. I was on the passenger train. Bob's on the freight train, and it won't arrive in Rimini until 5:00.

Damn! I had expected to have plenty of time to change money, hit the post office, find a bike shop, visit a drug store, and stock up on travelling rations. I wander around the nearby area tentatively with a bothersome ankle and all my gear hanging off me, but the services I need don't seem to be in this part of town, and this stuff is too bulky for a long walk. I glumly return to the station and pass the time studying maps, reading, and trying not to think about the possibility of Bob getting lost.

Of course, my fears were groundless. The freight train arrived right on time and I saw Bob being gently unloaded. I rushed toward the platform guy, waved my receipt, and tried to claim the nice blue bike, but the freight handler was having none of it. With a very officious air, making it clear no one messes with bikes when they're in his care, he insisted on rolling Bob carefully over to the agent and dealing with the paperwork. I strolled around to the window, presented my receipt, and Bob was delivered to me without a scratch. (Well, other than ones I've caused.)

Even so, it was after 5:00 and I had already lost a good chunk of the day waiting around the station in Rimini, so I loaded up and rode off to find a campground.

I made a poor choice of camping accommodations. This joint turned out to be crowded with partying vacationers who sound like they're going to keep me up most of the night.

Conditions 

Distance: 25 km plus train 

Weather: Cool and drizzling 

Road: Okay 

Traffic: Better 

Terrain: Rolling 

Mechanical: Saddle and toe clip still broken 

Physical: Flayed ankle aching