I wrote a lot of text but I suppose it fell off! Anyway, this June I bicycled along the ancient pilgrimage route Via Francigena in Italy. From Fidenza – Rome. A friend wanted to a tag along so we left by car from Sweden with our bikes on a rack on the back. Fidenza is perhaps not the nicest start with the Apennines right around the corner for a novice, and yeah, he dropped out in Pisa already. That’s how it is sometimes – bicycle touring isn’t for everybody! After that I enjoyed the rolling hills of Tuscany in the company of myself and some other bicycle tourers along the way. All in all it took 12 days with 1 rest day included.
Some memorable things along the way? Swimming in a waterfall. Eating tons of delicious food and pastries. The leaning tower of Pisa + rainbow. Visiting San Gimignano, San Miniato and Siena!!! Seeing a medieval show i San Gimignano was a blast. Having a rest day in San Mininato when there was a vintage car show with hundreds of cars blasting through the little mountain town!! Sleeping outdoor in Siena as me and another tourer was locked out from the monastery as we missed the curfew was an experience I won’t forget..!
The food. You could stop by any supermarket or shop along the way and get a supertasty mortadella, pecorino and foccacia piece for basically nothing. The pasta, the pasta, the pasta. And of course. The gelato!
It was “only” abt 600 km but compared to a lot of other tours I’ve done this was probably the most challenging: The hills. The hills. The HILLS!!! Haha. A normal day could easily be 500-1000 meter elevation gain. But definitely the most rewarding as well, when it comes to the views. I alternated between the walking path/car road along the way.
Can’t recommend this tour enough for anyone like me who enjoys history, food and culture!
edit: spelling
sanemartigan on
Nice shots. Whats the volume of that cooking pot if you don’t mind?
netclectic on
This looks interesting, do you have a map/gpx of your actual route?
readthisrandomstuff on
Oh wow – I have been thinking about this route a lot! A few questions:
– Did you just ride on the foot path of the via Francigena or is there also a bike path?
5 Comments
Thank you!
I wrote a lot of text but I suppose it fell off! Anyway, this June I bicycled along the ancient pilgrimage route Via Francigena in Italy. From Fidenza – Rome. A friend wanted to a tag along so we left by car from Sweden with our bikes on a rack on the back. Fidenza is perhaps not the nicest start with the Apennines right around the corner for a novice, and yeah, he dropped out in Pisa already. That’s how it is sometimes – bicycle touring isn’t for everybody! After that I enjoyed the rolling hills of Tuscany in the company of myself and some other bicycle tourers along the way. All in all it took 12 days with 1 rest day included.
Some memorable things along the way? Swimming in a waterfall. Eating tons of delicious food and pastries. The leaning tower of Pisa + rainbow. Visiting San Gimignano, San Miniato and Siena!!! Seeing a medieval show i San Gimignano was a blast. Having a rest day in San Mininato when there was a vintage car show with hundreds of cars blasting through the little mountain town!! Sleeping outdoor in Siena as me and another tourer was locked out from the monastery as we missed the curfew was an experience I won’t forget..!
The food. You could stop by any supermarket or shop along the way and get a supertasty mortadella, pecorino and foccacia piece for basically nothing. The pasta, the pasta, the pasta. And of course. The gelato!
It was “only” abt 600 km but compared to a lot of other tours I’ve done this was probably the most challenging: The hills. The hills. The HILLS!!! Haha. A normal day could easily be 500-1000 meter elevation gain. But definitely the most rewarding as well, when it comes to the views. I alternated between the walking path/car road along the way.
Can’t recommend this tour enough for anyone like me who enjoys history, food and culture!
edit: spelling
Nice shots. Whats the volume of that cooking pot if you don’t mind?
This looks interesting, do you have a map/gpx of your actual route?
Oh wow – I have been thinking about this route a lot! A few questions:
– Did you just ride on the foot path of the via Francigena or is there also a bike path?
– How busy was it?
– Is it mostl gravel / asphalt or a mix?