Arrival in Italy

On Saturday afternoon, Rosanna and I flew from Copenhagen to Bologna. I had been worrying about the myriad issues of the bicycling phase of this trip, but one by one, the details fell seamlessly into place. This was due partly to careful planning and, no doubt, partly due to luck.

First, our driver Mauricio met us immediately at the gate with a sign that said "Hotel Dory". No luck involved here; Hotel Dory is a very professionally run operation. The hour drive to Riccione was without incident. When we arrived at Hotel Dory, we found our rented Cannondale tandem bicycle waiting for us, along with the helpful staff from the rental agency Bike Rentals Plus. They quickly installed the pedals we brought from home and set up the bike to our specifications while we checked into the hotel.

We changed, took the bike out for a quick spin, and encountered the first snafu of the trip; a rear blowout. The tube was changed, and voila, immediately another blowout. It turned out that the back tire was totally worn out. No worries however, since a new tire was quickly installed by the rental agency staff. Rule #1: No matter how exhausted you are, thoroughly check out the rental bike.

With our bike ready, we took a short stroll around Riccione, bought a few items at the grocery store, and headed off to bed to get some rest before our Sunday morning ride.