Biking…Part II!

If you have been reading our recent posts you will know of the tandem bike adventure!  Well not to be bested by an inanimate object we pooled our grit and head back to the bike shop. However, we take from our previous experience some learning and decide two things- two bikes not one and try a different bike shop.

Happily, both prove  to be a great idea. So today we hop on bikes with several routes outlined by our new bike shop friend, Gino,and head off to explore.

 

The bikes seem more solid and stabile. The seats were solidly adjusted to fit us and restaurant recommendations come along with a map, care of Gino.

After turning the corner a block away, we are already pleased with our decision to ride again. The bikes only one gear ( so no skipping) and while there are hills, we are usually going at a good pace.

We have read about a river park.  It is outside the wall and through the town.  The initial route is” it’sa little bitta rough “ but then you find the right rode. Traffic and bike travel are definitely more multi-faceted outside the wall. After a few hair raising trips around a round about, we realize we are not in the correct spot. Ugh(still having separate bicycles gives us the  ability to see where we are going and to control our own balance makes this a much more enjoyable experience).  Marital bliss in tact. So we just retrace our path and correct our direction.

 

We had begun the day thinking we might take a train somewhere, but we are still finding a piazza we’ve not seen…a church that is now open… or a vista that looks different in the light of day or the glow of evening …so the bike plan is a good decision.

We reroute ourselves and are headed to neighborhoods and farms that line the bike path. We share the path with runners and an occasional car.

The path leads past the river park which displays signs noting the types of fish that migrate through that water. True enough as we cross the bridge (s) it is easy to see the large fish swimming below by the unsuspecting ducks floating above in the river.

The scenery opens up to the mountains and the little hillside towns that peak out through the trees. The buildings and bridges mix Roman, Renaissance and modern design as we ramble along. Teenagers out for an afternoon in the sun, dog and boom box in tow, old men walking with their dogs or sunbathers soaking up the shortening rays of summer sun, are all part of this landscape.

 

 

The ride is invigorating, though one of us worries we may have exceeded our endurance if the road home is not the one we’ve chosen… but before long the familiar gates of Lucca appear again in the distance.

We are energized by having successfully navigated the bike trek and decide to hang on to the for the whole day! Ha- we were having fun after all.

We ride the wall and find our long imaginings of pedaling around were all we had hoped for. We stop for a macchiato at a cafe on the wall, pause for picnic, then down into the town to find more spots we have passed by.  When we finally return the bikes, Gino is as pleased as we are that the excursion went so well. We walk by his bike shop every morning.  Tomorrow we will have some one new to greet- Salve, Buongiorno!