So many happenings…where to begin?!
Let’s start with the moment Richard W punctured (well his tire did anyway!) before they even started! That set the tone for the day as you will see as you read on….oh, what the heck, let’s jump straight to the fun bit!
With puncture number one already under his belt, Richard W decided to try and jump a pot hole the size of the one that landed me in hospital, and back in the US, whilst on my e-scooter! The outcome was not quite as dramatic but still dramatic enough…a double puncture at the same time! This all happened just outside the Reggio Calabria regional airport. They had veered off the lovely smooth Mob-developed roads to be more adventurous…they found a, presumably, Mob-controlled airport with just two planes! Under the supervision of a lizard (they needed all the help they could get!), Richard and Richard changed an inner tube each, with Richard S singing “Always look on the bright side of life”! Paul was laughing too hard to be of any assistance at all! These were their last two replacement inners and so, when one proved to already have a hole, they began the patching process on dead inner tubes from earlier. This is not something you do frequently nowadays as it is so much easier to just change the tube. The lack of practice showed as the patches failed six (yes, you read correctly…SIX) times! So after 3 tubes and six patches for a total of 8 tire changes, like a damsel in distress, Richard W called out to his Sir Gallahad (John) to ride out with yet another spare. Fortunately they were only 10 miles out!
Prior to this, they had overtaken a bunch of local cyclists. With national pride at stake and testosterone coursing, they caught up and cycled as a group for a bit. They turned out to be a nice bunch but hand-based communication on a bicycle can be as precarious as jumping pot holes!
As a result, though, the average speed today was over 17mph (27.1km/h), leaving plenty of time to swim on their penultimate day on the Mediterranean side of the land mass! John did manage to get lost on the way back from the beach, suggesting it may not have been the Uber driver’s fault in Napoli after all!
1.8kg Grouper for dinner, supporting both a pasta starter and everybody’s main courses! Above you can see the raw material and the plates into which it was transformed. Looks delicious and, unlike in Napoli, you can see the fish pieces in the pasta! Today’s wine was a 2017 Tenuta Luzzolini Muranera also from the Calabria region.
Data updates: 65 miles (105km) and a fairly flat 1,655ft of elevation (502m). Cumulative 1,041 miles (1,666km) and 59,312ft of elevation (18,329m).
And tomorrow’s job…buy more inner tubes!
My medical update is that Covid test number 2 was negative and I had test number 3 this morning with my pre-op work-up. I was being “wired for sound” while they were repairing double punctures…that kept me amused through the brain scoop that a Covid test feels like. Surgery still planned for Friday morning. Also, I was remiss not to have posted the picture of my culinary return to the US with a Popeye Spicy Chicken Sandwich and fries! Welcome back to the US of A!! Washed down with a mix of Cloudy Bay sauvignon blanc and Willamette Valley pinot noir, ably supported by my neighbor, one of my sons, Jamie, and his best mate Gorka!