Day 18 - Grey roads grey clouds grey day!

Daily stats 63 miles, 5 hours 36 mins in saddle and no fast speeds as it was so wet we couldn’t see where we were going!

There may have been some dogs barking but didn’t have the energy to keep count!

Miles so far - 975! 

We flew our first 30 miles today - pretty boring cycling on busy roads but with a space like a hard shoulder so you sort of felt safe! Also it was flat! The only problem with this sort of cycling is the tediousness of it. You get the miles done but you have to concentrate all the time because the traffic is thundering by and wow is there a lot of traffic in Italy. Also keeping the same speed and cadence for a sustained period of time gives me a numb bottom and pins and needles in my hands even when I change my grip whenever I feel brave enough! Anyhow there is always going to be some purely functional cycling on a trip like this - you don’t get to Athens just going through pretty villages and enjoying the scenery - whose words are those? Mine or HOO’s - guess!

Now continuing on that vein - guess who said what - here are some of my pedalling ponderings when really I should have been concentrating on the thundering lorries - guess the quote - who said what - we look at our surroundings in such a different way at times - here goes - answers at the end!

HOO or me - you decide!

“Look at those apples - they are perfect, do you think they supply Waitrose?”
“Have you seen the irrigation system they have set up for those orchards?”

“This is a pretty village, oh look there’s a market!”

“Did you hear that dustbin lorry, so quiet, must be electric!”

After our successful albeit very grey morning’s cycling things took a turn for the worst -  well the weather did! We had at least managed to get on our waterproofs - due to HOO’s foresight and a huge black cloud overhead - when the heavens opened and how it rained - to quote HOO and Paddington , ‘It’s raining stair-rods’.  Even I will admit that we have had to really grit our teeth and get on with it this afternoon- it was so heavy that we couldn’t see where we were going and the roads became rivers - we have taken shelter under awnings and in archways but still it didn’t let up and standing still meant getting cold so we just pushed on and eventually got to our hotel at 6.30. Never had a shower felt so good or meal been more deserved - or a bottle of wine! AGAIN! 

So our challenge continues - considering we are in good spirits and bikes and bodies are still working! Also tomorrow we will see the Med and hopefully hit our 1000 miles target! Talking of targets, as I pedalled with my teeth chattering and rivulets of water running in unmentionable places, I decided even a £50 000 target wouldn’t be enough for Maddy’s Mark!

Thank you once again for all your uplifting and funny comments that keep us smiling and pushing forward - please pray for sun and warmth soon - we are, just a glimmer of blue sky would be good!

Sorry few photos again as couldn’t risk the phones in the rain! Better photos tomorrow maybe?

Sending our love P and J XX

Answers: of course it goes me then HOO
then me then HOO!

And it’s still raining!

Dull roads 

We were so wet!

Sheltering in an archway!

Bleak…