Staying on my toes

When I set off on this trip I had put together a basic skeleton of what I wanted to see and where I wanted to go. I had a rough timeline based around the restrictions set out by the European Union and meteorological considerations, here meaning avoiding the cold. I have had a considerable amount of leeway within these restrictions to choose my own pace and destinations. I was listening to a podcast whie riding from Rome to Naples that quoted the results of a study done that found humans do not like to have more than 4 or 5 choices in decision making. More than 4 or 5 options created a higher level of anxiety around the decision making process. Having so much freedom within the restrictions of this trip coupled with the variables inherent in travelling by bicycle creates some anxiety from time to time. I spent two nights in Naples last week. I had hoped to stay a third, but the hostel that I was staying at was already booked up for the remainder of the weekend. I chose to cycle on, rather than find a different hostel in Naples for one more night. Naples is unlike any other city I have been to in Italy so far. It is, as one of the other people in my hostel noted, a city with a lot of character. Character here refers to flagstone streets which are no more smooth than those found in Pompeii, motorcycles and scooter drivers with no concept of road laws or etiqeutte, and graffiti as far as the human hand can reach. I’ve also seen a dramatic increase in the amount of garbage abandonned at the roadside, rather than in receptcles. Character. From Naples I was considering a couple options. I considered going south and west to the Amalfi coast then making my way to a campground near Salerno, or I could just go to the campground near Salerno, then go to the Amalfi Coast the next day. I had a later start than I had intended on because I had to replace the cable used to shift my front derailleur. I had managed to snap all but 5 strands of the cable, and was concerned that I would snap it off in its entirety if I tried to use it again. This meant going to Decathlon for a second time in two days for repair materials. I had to make a visit there on Friday afternoon after visiting Pompeii in order to repair one of my waterproof front panniers. On my way to Naples on Wednesday/Thursday last week, I camped along the side of the road on the edge of a feild. There was some garbage in the thicket, but I did my best to find a clear spot for the night. Shortly after finshing eating I realized that I was also sharing the thicket with a rat. I did my best to pack away my garbage, and brought my food into the tent overnight. I mistakenly forgot a bag of oranges in my pannier and the rat did its best to try to eat said oranges. It chewed a two inch hole in the pannier before being stopped by my birkenstock sandals (the sandals also suffered some bite marks). I normally keep the sandals and my cooking equipment in that pannier, so it wasn’t absolutely essential that it stay waterproof, but I still needed to fix the hole before it got bigger. November is far from camping season for normal people in Italy, so tent repair supplies were not available. I had to improvise a repair using some superglue, a needle and thread, and a cannibalized child’s water wing to patch the hole. This trip has required a lot of improvisation! That was the first trip to Decathlon. The second trip meant I wasn’t able to actually leave Naples until noon. I had a minimum of 80 kilometers ahead, so I scratched the plan to go to the Amalfi coast, choosing instead to go directly to the campground. Progress was incredibly slow at first. The flagstone streets meant I was only able to go ~16km/h at best, all the while worrying that my bike was going to fall apart at any instant from the vibrations. After 20 kilometers the flagstones finally gave way to real pavement. I booked myself into the campground at Salerno originally for two nights. As I tried to work out plans for the coming week in my head, I came to the realization that I hadn’t really taken a real day off in nearly a month. Time spent in cities aren’t really days off. Since leaving Latte in the third week of October my time has been spent cycling from city to city, then trying to take in as much as possible in each city before cycling to the next one. All of which is really great! But, I need to learn to take a real break every once and a while. Taking yesterday off allowed me to restock on groceries, read by the ocean, plan out how to get to Brindisi to take the ferry to Patras, clean my bike after all those accidental dirt roads, and to connect with family a little. Here’s where the decision making and improvisation come in again. I had contacted a guy through WarmShowers in Brindisi who was kind enough to offer me a place to stay on Wednesday so I could take a ferry to Patras. Last night I thought it would be a good idea to double check when the ferries leave. It is a good thing I did because the only ferry I was able to find online through the operator’s website didn’t leave until Monday evening. Thinking through the variables -- that would mean an additional 5 nights in Brindisi, or somewhere in between, and it would mean that I would likely not have the time to cycle through the center of Greece, I would be forced to take another ferry to Turkey because my time in the Schengen Zone would expire. Both the five nights and the extra ferry would also cost more money. Further, I am already coming up on an entire month spent in Italy, and it would be cool to spend more than two weeks in Greece. I began to scramble for alternatives. It turns out that there is a different ferry operator who does a daily service from Bari to Patras! Bari is ~250km away, rather than the ~340km from here to Brindisi. So I thought this morning as I was making coffee. I could leave for Bari today (without having done very much research about the route) and potentially leave for Patras tomorrow evening. Alternatively, since I was already willing to not leave Italy until Thursday evening under my original Brindisi plan, I could stay one more night at this campground and rest up a little more before heading off to Bari. I would still be able to leave Italy on Wednesday and have a good three weeks in Greece before being forced to leave. So, that is what I am doing! One extra rest day here alongside the beach. Now I have some time to get ready for being in a new country, figure out how to get there, book my ferry crossing before cycling across Italy again, and maybe even plan out some of my trip through Greece. Some other things that are going on -- I had my power bank stolen in Rome last week. I had left it in a public space to charge as I was writing my blog post and someone grabbed it. I found a store to buy new batteries, but it ended up costing me $90cad. I miss having the convenience and selection of Amazon! Fortunately, losing the battery is the best thing to have stolen, if that makes sense. It would have been much worse if my passport or wallet, or bike got stolen. Also, this is the first time I have had any problems in two and a half months of travelling - not too bad! I did manage to solve my wet feet dilemma! I found a store to buy a tube of silicone and a bike shop that sold Gore Tex shoe covers! I’m fairly certain I paid too much for the shoe covers - 85 euro, but having dry feet on a rainy day is priceless! I booked an Airbnb in Cyprus! I have been a little aprehensive to put firm dates down on when I am going to be anywhere. It’s hard to tell how fast I can cycle, or what kind of obstacles may be in my way. I thought about it for a little while, and was prodded by my sister just to book something and do my best to make it all happen. So I booked an appartment in Deryneia, Cyprus for four weeks between February 6th and March 6th. That gives me more than enough time to cycle through Turkey and more than enought time afterwards to leave and head north for the World Cup match in Russia on June 16th. Every once and a while I think back to when I was travelling in the spring/summer of 2014. The pace was not far off of what I am doing now, only with a little more ground covered by way of planes, trains, and automobiles. I remember being absolutely exhausted at the end of that two months. I was ready to be in one place for a more extended period. I am glad to say that I am not at that point yet. I think that as I am able to mentally preare myself for a longer period of time away, then I can do it without the same onslaught of exhaustion. Rest days like yesterday and today probably help as well! I was a little axious about all the variables and choices last night, but now I feel quite at peace about spending an extra day relaxing! Time to try and firm up some rough plans for the next couple days/weeks Best, Gavyn.