Rome to Home 2012

Bucks_Stu

Hi one and all,

Next August myself and a group of friends will be cycling back from Rome to London, 1312 miles in 15 days. I have prepped the route which can be found on our blog www.rometohome2012.blogspot.com but was wondering if any of the more seasoned european tourers amongst you can foresee any issues with the chosen route. I have zoomed in to maps, avoided main roads where possible etc. but road types are a little difficult to work out to be honest!! We made our way across France last year with only one mishap, but this time we'll be taking in 8 countries!

Also, via our Facebook page we will be running training/ nutritional updates throughout the next 42 weeks. If you interest just Like the page.

Cheers,

Bucks_Stu

lemoncurd

Sounds brilliant.

You need to update your link though as it currently includes a comma at the end of the url and doesn't work as a hyperlink from your post.

Bucks_Stu

Comma removed, thanks Lemoncurd!!

ooermissus

The (somewhat notional) European cycle route Eurovelo-5 goes from Canterbury to Rome, roughly following the pilgrimage the Archbishop of Canterbury used to take in Medieval times to go and check in with the Pope. You might want to check out the route. This guy did it and now dubs himself the route's unofficial champion http://cyclingeurope.org/eurovelo-5-2010-2/ion

campbellrae1

The last time I followed some of the minor roads marked on google maps they turned out to be dirt tracks, was fine to ride on Continental Tour Rides, but might have been a bit risky on road tyres. That was probably just my bad luck though, as it was probably only for 20 miles in a 1000 mile route! It's just the part that stuck with me as it was unexpected.

Your route looks good though, will keep an eye on how you get on!

random man

It looks a great ride but day 3 looks like a killer!

Bucks_Stu

Random man: Yes it does especially after 210 miles the previous two days!!

Campbellrae1: The same thing happened to us on our Tour de Farce in 2010, we ended up walking through a wood and across a field! I just don't want to end up having to take a long detour due to cycles not being allowed on certain roads that are not always clear when planning!!

OOermissus: Thanks for the link. Parts of it were an interesting read.

campbellrae1

To be fair, think we can just call these little mishaps character building, at least that's what my parents would tell me.

Are you running fully loaded and camping or hostel hopping?

Bucks_Stu

campbellrae1 we will have the luxury of a support van, and have secured very reasonable hotel rooms, for about £25 pppn. We just thought an average of 90 miles a day for 15 days with a temp likely to be near 30 degrees for most of it would be too much with panniers as well.

iPete

Nice, 2 of us did London to Rome in summer 2010. It was however a very different route so can't really help too much on that!

Actually, I can dig out our route for the last few days seeing as we did Pisa down to Rome if that might help? I seem to remember some annoying carriageways and stretches of motorway we had to avoid. There was also a cycle network along that stretch that could be of use.

We managed 1407 miles in 18 days (last day was only 20), average 80miles per day fully loaded, including tent, so with a support car it should be easy to complete in 15.

Bucks_Stu

iPete, your trip sounds really interesting. I would b interested to c your route, and anything else u remember that maybe useful. My e-mail is sbroome@chiltern.gov.uk Cheers Bucks_Stu.

iPete

You have email!

I forgot to add, you'll see our mileage in Italy was quite short-ish as we smashed out the majority in France very quickly (810 miles in 8 ). Top tip for Italy, start early! We rose at 5-6am to get most of the miles done before it got too hot.

andymiller

What iPete said about getting up early. Italy in August.is b@stard hot. I was out one morning when the temperature hit 30 at 8am and 35 at 10.

Bucks_Stu

Thanks iPete, for your maps and the extra info.

Andymiller, I totally agree. I have been to Italy many times to visit extended family, but never with the bike! It is my intention to start around the time you suggest, get off the bikes between 12 and 2, and then back on to finish off the remaining mileage.

andymiller

Bucks_Stu wrote:

We just thought an average of 90 miles a day for 15 days with a temp likely to be near 30 degrees for most of it would be too much with panniers as well.

If you are planning to cycle in August you should reckon on the temperatures hitting 40 (in the sun). Bologna, Milan and Florence regularly feature in the list of hottest places in Italy.

It sounds like you have already thought about it, but this is likely to be your biggest isse, at least initially, as you are coming direct from the UK and don't have the ride across France to give you a more gradual introduction.

I think 2pm is probably too early to restart - temperatures don't really fall until late afternoon. 5-8pm would be better. Packin a big awning in the support van might be a good idea.

If you are riding at dawn or twilight the blinkie lights and high-viz would be a good idea - the latter is actually a legal requirement in tunnels and in poor visibility (although I doubt anyone will bother enforcing it).

As far as roads you can't ride on - in addition to motorways, you may come across sections of the 'superstrade' where  bikes are prohibited. As a general rule I would avoid the major strade statali - these are the ones with the lower numbers eg SS3, SS16, SS17 - these tend to be shown in red on most maps - I don't know what colour Google use. These can be perfectly fine, but equally you could find sections where bikes are banned or sections where you can't get off until the next exit.

I would also look of for, and avoid, anything called a 'strada scorrevole' these are another kind of fast main road. 

Also check to make sure the map you are using shows tunnels as tunnels (i don't know whether Google Maps does or doesn't). If the map hows road through a mountainous area as very straight then be suspicious. There's no general ban on bikes in tunnels but a long tunnel would be a pretty unpleasant place to spend much time.

In my experience there are no maps of Italy that are 100 percent reliable when it comes to distinguishing between surfaced and unsurfaced roads - even 1:50k topgraphic maps. You have to bear in mind that if you plan to go down a road that's shown very narrow on the map or the screen then there's a risk that it could be unsurfaced. If you want to be safe, or relatively safe stick to roads marked SS (strada statale) SR (strada regionale) or SP (strada provinciale). These are shown in yellow on most maps - including Google. I have come across strade provinciali with short unsurfaced sections but these are few and far between.
If you are riding at dawn or twilight the blinkie lights and high-viz would be a good idea - the latter is actually a legal requirement in tunnels and in poor visibility (although I doubt anyone will bother enforcing it).

As far as roads you can't ride on - in addition to motorways, you may come across sections of the 'superstrade' where  bikes are prohibited. As a general rule I would avoid the major strade statali - these are the ones with the lower numbers eg SS3, SS16, SS17 - these tend to be shown in red on most maps - I don't know what colour Google use. These can be perfectly fine, but equally you could find sections where bikes are banned or sections where you can't get off until the next exit.

I would also look of for, and avoid, anything called a 'strada scorrevole' these are another kind of fast main road. 

Also check to make sure the map you are using shows tunnels as tunnels (i don't know whether Google Maps does or doesn't). If the map dhows road through a mountainous area as very straight then be suspicious.

In my experience there are no maps of Italy that are 100 percent reliable when it comes to distinguishing between surfaced and unsurfaced roads - even 1:50k topgraphic maps. You have to bear in mind that if you plan to go down a road that's shown very narrow on the map or the screen then there's a risk that it could be unsurfaced. If you want to be safe, or relatively safe stick to roads marked SS (strada statale) SR (strada regionale) or SP (strada provinciale). These are shown in yellow on most maps - including Google. I have come across strade provinciali with short unsurfaced sections but these are few and far between.

Bucks_Stu

andymillar, thanks for your helpful reply. I used www.bikeroutetoaster.com to compile the route on the cycle setting, and it appears to have avoided the larger type roads you mention. I will go back over the route taking into account your information just to make sure. I have used street view on google a lot as well to get an idea of the road quality (Italy is well covered on street map, but some of the other counties are not). High vis and lights is something we all had on our last ride but only used once, but essential to pack! Your suggestion of a gazebo is something I hadn't thought of, and you are probably right about the restart time, but I think we'll have to play that by ear really. I will be taking a lot of electrolite fluids on board for sure, as dehidration is not fun!!

Thanks again, Bucks_Stu.

andymiller

Bucks_Stu wrote:

andymillar, thanks for your helpful reply. I used www.bikeroutetoaster.com to compile the route on the cycle setting, and it appears to have avoided the larger type roads you mention. I will go back over the route taking into account your information just to make sure. I have used street view on google a lot as well to get an idea of the road quality (Italy is well covered on street map, but some of the other counties are not). High vis and lights is something we all had on our last ride but only used once, but essential to pack! Your suggestion of a gazebo is something I hadn't thought of, and you are probably right about the restart time, but I think we'll have to play that by ear really. I will be taking a lot of electrolite fluids on board for sure, as dehidration is not fun!!

Thanks again, Bucks_Stu.

viamichelin is worth a look as well. Both from the point of view of different (and possibly better) mapping and also they have a routeplanning option as well which could be useful for cross-checking and suggesting alternatives.

My favourite maps are the Touring Club Italiano maps. The 1:400,000 maps provide a pretty good overview while the 1:200,000 maps would be useful for improvising en route. they are waterproof and very tough and also highlight scenic routes. I expect you could get them from Stanfords or themapshop.co.uk - although amazon.it might be the cheapest option (postage to the Uk is only 6 euros).

I agree about playing it by ear: making a long stop and then restarting it one of those things that's easier to say than to actually do - especially if you aren't the sort of person who can take a nap in the afternoon. The early evening is definitely a great time to ride though.

For electrolytes I've been using the effervescent tablets that you drop into your waterbottle - they seem to have been pretty effective at preventing cramp. I don't have the pack in front of me and I can't remember the name of the brand. Otherwise Gatorade and Powerade (the Coca-Cola version) is available in most supermarkets (and bars, but at a ripoff 2€ for a small bottle).