To Comacchio

October 19, 2020

(Nota bene: today’s video will be posted later, maybe days later. It will have to to wait for a room with stronger WiFi. In the meantime, here’s a link).

The day begins with a scare when I forget that our room has a two step drop to the level of the bathroom. My foot slips off the front end of a step and lands hard with my leg taking the full force of my weight. I catch my balance and don’t fall, but my right knee is definitely unhappy with me. For a moment it brings back the memory of the time I ruptured the quadriceps tendon in my other knee a decade ago running down the stairs in the Trento train station. That didn’t happen this morning, thank god; but I’m definitely slowed down going down the stairs to breakfast. It’s probably a good thing that we don’t have a hill on our cycling horizon for the next five days.

Other than that, today is brilliant. It begins with visits to our last two mosaic sites, which again will wait for a separate post. It may take a while to get around to it - maybe I’ll bank it for an activity when the rains come.

Looking up from the Piazza del Popolo. Ravenna is obviously worth a longer look than we’re giving it here.

We’re on the road by a bit after 10. It’s sunny but still chilly enough for an extra layer. Looking ahead, that looks to be the case for as long as we stay in the north - lows in the high forties, highs around 60. It shortens the comfortable riding hours, but as long as the fair weather holds out it makes for excellent riding conditions. Once the rains really set in though it’s likely we’ll bail on the north and hop a train south to Puglia.

Our destination today is Comacchio, a small town I’d never heard of before scanning the map for a likely stop on our ride north. At the time, I was researching a possible route to Chioggia, the town at the south end of the Venetian lagoon. We were thinking we might bike up there and then use it as a base for a visit to Venice, which you can reach from Chioggia by a tragetto across the lagoon. We were put on to this idea by an American we were chatting with over breakfast back in Split. He said we really should go to Venice now, because there will never be a better time to see it again. Out of high season, minimal tourism, no cruise ships. He’s right, of course; and even though we dropped Chioggia from our plans, Venice is still there in the back of our minds - we could leave the bikes behind somewhere and take the train over to Venice for a few days when it’s too wet to ride. We’ll see.

Anyway, Comacchio. From its location and description, it sounds perfect. It receives praise for its unspoiled nature and its beauty, and is described regarded as a ‘little Venice’. Having visited a number of small towns with a pretty canal that they tout as making them like a little Venice, we don’t expect too much. We’re sure it will be fine though, as long as we can find a room and a meal. The ride itself is the thing.

The ride for the most part is brilliant. A flat, lazy 28 mile spin is just what the knee doctor ordered, and my knee is already feeling somewhat better by the end of the day. Most of the ride follows along or near the coastline, passing through one nearly deserted seaside resort or fishing village after another. The ride is particularly beautiful skirting the end of Piallassa Bay south of Porto Corsini, as we pass one striking scene after another.

Lift net fishing outposts are seen everywhere along the coast here. This is on the edge of Piallassa Bay, south of Porto Corsini.

Along Piallassa Bay. I love how distinctive these lift net structures are. Each is different, attractive in its own unique way.

OK, Bill. This should be enough information for you.

Another charming relic, along Piallassa Bay.

We break for lunch in Casal Borsetti, a small, nearly deserted seaside resort. We arrive just before 1, and Rachael makes it in to the only open store in town to pick up lunch just before the shop closes for afternoon break. On our way there I have a slight mishap, snapping off my mirror when I bike too close to a hedge. No catastrophe, but I’ll be riding mirrorless until we come to a town big enough to have a well stocked bike shop. Amazing that this has never happened before, really. One more thing to watch out for.

We take lunch on the side of the canal, lazily watching a lift netter repeatedly lowering and raising his net with limited success.

If I ever take up fishing, maybe I’ll do it this way. It looks like a technique I could master.

Looking north toward Venice from Casal Borsetti. We’re definitely hitting the sweet spot on the weather map this week.

North of Casal Borsetti we’re forced onto the highway for four miles, as we bike up the narrow strip of land between the sea and the large lagoon south of Comacchio. There’s no alternative to this stretch, and the narrow two lane highway is an unpleasant ride. If we were to come this way again I’d avoid this stretch and take the inland route instead, following the west side of the lagoon.

Looking north; but it’s the same in other directions. There’s not a hill in sight.

It’s almost worth riding this short stretch of highway for the chance to take in the fantastic bird show on Canale Gobbino.

The final few miles are a delight, once we leave the highway and pass through Porto Garibaldi. The town is split by a navigable canal, with no roads crossing it other than the main highway. Happily though, there’s a small passenger ferry that shuttles across the narrow waterway. The fare, for two bicycles plus riders: 1.40 eu.

The remainder of the ride follows this same canal inland for three miles to Comacchio. We have a bit of mapping confusion when we arrive in town, and I think the final mile took us about half an hour - including an obnoxious cobblestoned detour in the wrong direction, as we both wondered why we had booked a room so far from the heart of town.

Once we arrive though, we’re immediately charmed and amazed. Comacchio really is a little Venice, laced with canals bridged with arched foot passages. It’s a beautiful place, and one that causes us to rethink our plans. Why are we in such a mad rush anyway, with one gruelling, flat thirty mile day after another? Comacchio looks like a fine place to stay an extra day and take a ride along the lagoon and canals. We change our plans and book a second night, happy with the thought that we can take our time exploring this unique little place.

Obviously a major fishery. We’ve been biking along the canal passing an unbroken line of fishing boats for half a mile.

In Comacchio, a town that deserves the moniker Little Venice.

Heart

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Ride stats today: 29 miles, 500’; for the tour: 1635 miles, 76,700’

Today's ride: 29 miles (47 km)
Total: 1,664 miles (2,678 km)

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Jen RahnOuch! Sorry about your knee.

I'm sure the decision to stay over an extra day in Comacchio will help it recover.

It's amazing what our brains & bodies accomplish every day .. calculating safe load-bearing angles and balance and etc. .. all while we're humming insurance company jingles.

And then all it takes for an injury is one design change that doesn't fit the brain's assumptions. (Bathrooms aren't supposed to be two steps down!)
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4 years ago

Bill ShaneyfeltI used handlebar mounted mirrors for decades, but busted so many of them that about 15 years ago I switched to helmet mounted... You might say I never looked back? But they have drawbacks as well, usually being knocked out of adjustment. Broke the mounts and repaired them a number of times as well.

Conclusion I reached is if you can see behind you well, you will likely break your mirror occasionally, regardless of what kind it is. But riding on streets/highways, they are necessary.
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4 years ago

Scott AndersonTo Bill ShaneyfeltDon’t get me wrong here. We’ve gone through our own share of broken mirrors too, but this is the first time for losing one in this specific way. Usually we lose them when they work loose and fall out, or snap off when a poorly rested bike topples to the ground. I’ve tried helmet mirrors too,but don’t care for them. I’ll just keep buying new ones as needed. We’ve got a spare on this tour, uselessly waiting for us in our suitcase down in Puglia.
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4 years ago