Chapter 2: To Bologna with Piadinas!

30 April 2018 by bikesphilosophy, posted in Italian Tour, Travel the world

Day 2

Happily lost in Reggio Emilia

It’s time to wake up ladies and gentlemen!

After a good breakfast based of 2 cups of tea and 2 muffin, we were ready to pedaling towards Bologna.

But first we want to give a look to Reggio Emilia ’cause the first day we were too tired to do it.

“Reggio” is a little & cozy town that can be visited for one dayGet lost in alleys and lead in pleasant squares is something to try once in life.

Its inhabitants are so kind! A lot of people stopped us to speak about our journey and support us.

This is the kind of people that we mostly appreciate, always ready to spread happiness! 🙂

Once you visit this town, you must see:

–the museum of Tricolore: You need to know that Reggio is where the italian flag born!

What’s better than a museum to celebrate it and its story? Get lost in the charming italian history!

–First italian murales: It was made in the ’40s and although it is faded, you can read: the right people want snow, a slogan against poverty and the fascist regime.

–City center: A lot of squares and monuments like S.prospero square with its homonymous basilica and Camillo Prampolini square with the Dome of Reggio Emilia, Santa Maria Assunta cathedral.Get lost in the italian architecture.

Say Cheeeeeeese!

Time to reach Modena. Once again the route was partly cicleable, anyways It’s pleasant ’cause the stretches alternate between flat and gentle descents.

In the previous chapter we said that this region is scattered with gastronomic traps and our decision to move away from the via emilia to follow the country roads led us to buy 250g of grana padano.

OH WAIT, it was Parmiggiano Reggiano! Please be careful to don’t confuse these cheeses otherwise you might unleash the wrath of local vendors! 😀

Reggio Emilia is the house of Parmiggiano Reggiano and local sellers want to underline the uniqueness of their product . 😛

Follow the railway.

do you know when your instinct tells you not to rely on the navigator but to ask for information to the only passerby in a very small village? Exactly.

We’re still searching for the road that would have allowed us to reach Modena following a non-existent railway, saving kms and an underpass that we have crossed 4 times.

the railway had not existed for years and the road we were told was more like a jungle.

That’s why we decided to go back on the main road.

Finally Modena.

Modena: Between Piadinas & Beauties

Modena is a very nice town, a man-sized town. Getting lost in the little streets of the city center, enjoy the Rhytm of the city and its pastel-coloured houses is something you must do when you visit this part of Italy. This town is full of beauties: the heart of the city, Piazza Grande, hosts the Dom and its tower “La Ghirlandina” (Unesco Heritage)

Bruno &

Ghirlandina

The city is also full of museums among which there is one dedicated to Enzo Ferrari.

Lunch time: never never never visit Emilia Romagna without trying a Piadina, a flat brad filled with cold cuts and vegetables or cheese: basically one of the seven wonders! Time to have a coffee and we were back on the road to stop again 2 km later for an ice cream.. We are a little bit greedy 😀 😀 Back on the road, as we were saying, toward Bologna, last 38 kms left only with a stop for another coffee and to take some photos… mm more then some photos 😀 Luckily the weather was perfect and the road was all on a cycle path. Despite the second day is the most tiring we managed to get to Bologna before night so we could enjoy a spectacular We were not tire and when we arrived at the hotel but Arthur knee was hurting due to an old problem and for the fatigue of the day.

Bologna “La Dotta”

We stayed at Hotel Maggiore, a cozy hotel that we would like to spend a few words to thanking them for their hospitality.

The hotel could seems a common flat from the outside but inside it is very welcoming.

The rooms are very comfy and probably are recently renewed.

Furthermore is one of the very few bike friendly hotels of the city: you can also repair and do minor maintenance for free.

Once we arrived, we left our bicycle in the private garage and it was a great surprise to find more than 10 e-bikes parked there for the guest of the hotel.

A good way to reach the city center, just 2kms away, and explore the less beaten track.

It’s also a beautiful way to visit the city for families.

they love so much the cyclists that they make dedicated discounts for all those who are traveling in Italy by bike. If you are interested check their website:

http://www.hotelmaggiore.net/en/

Love

For

Details!

If you guys of Hotel Maggiore are reading us we really would like to thank you for the support and for the ice for Arthur’s knee. 😀

What’s better than an hot shower and a night tour of the city?

First of all we took our bicycles and once reached the center we stopped to eat in a typical Bolognese restaurant: a NEAPOLITAN PIZZERIA 😀 😀

We’re joking…no, we’re joking again. Trust us, we can’t live without pizza.

After dinner we met Arthur’s cousin who he hadn’t seen for years.

Few drinks and back to the hotel.

The following day, after the visit of Bologna which we will talk about in the next post, we should have pedaled on the Apennines but Arthur dancer-meniscus played us a bad joke.

In the next chapter we will talk about the stunning Bologna and Hokito, the cycling misfortune and a very bizarre hotel populated by crazy people. VERY CRAZY. 😀

Stay tuned,

Arthur & Bruno – BikesPhilosophy

Chapter 1: Food Injection towards Reggio Emilia

16 April 201816 April 2018 by bikesphilosophy, posted in Italian Tour, Travel the world

Hello people, let us introduce you to our trip.

This time we decided to tour in Italy to discover the lovely cities along the Via Emilia, an old road that was constructed to connect Piacenza to Rimini (or Rimini to Piacenza but it’s quite the same 😛 )

It will be divided in 3 posts:

From Piacenza to Reggio Emilia;
From Reggio Emilia to Bologna;
Cycling around Florence.

DAY 1

Piacenza: time to start!

Early, but very early in the morning, as usual, as very very usual, we got up to load our bikes on Bruno’s car. Direction: Piacenza!

Piacenza is a cozy city at the border between Lombardia and Emilia Romagna with a little city centre surrounded by ancient city walls.

We spent just little time in Piacenza because it was our starting point, but it is a beautiful city that deserves at least a visit in total relax.

After a quick and tasty breakfast with Croissant and Cappuccino we unloaded our bikes and stuff and left for Reggio Emilia.

Luckily, to get outside of the city and reach Reggio Emilia & Bologna it is very easy because you just have to follow the Via Emilia or SS9 road, that is almost straight due to the fact that it was constructed by ancient Romans to connect the main cities of Emilia Romagna.

The first stretch of road is dipped in the rural country side but approximately after 20 kms we reached Fiorenzuola d’Arda, a typical provincial village with lovely colored houses.

Beautiful

Village!

One piece of advice we would like to give you, if you follow our route, is to stop in these villages outside the big cities, to observe the daily life and the typical Italian architecture of these centers.

After a quick coffe-break we continued pedaling towards Fidenza, a city mostly known for the homonymous shopping outlet.

Our intention was to reach Parma, but one of the many trattorias set as traps in the street kidnapped and forced us to eat (very sadly) a crazy appetizer of regional cold cuts and a dish of tagliatelle with meat sauce.

Don’t

Miss

TRAVELLING IN ITALY IS LIKE SENDING YOUR DIET TO HELL. If you didn’t know, now you know. LOL

After lunch we left for Parma on the most difficult part of our journey:

we had to cycle on a very long false plan on a tight road while paying attention to the one million high speed travelling trucks on our left and the irrigation canal on our right. Definitely the worst stretch of road of our trip.

Really not recommended for families 😦

Parma: between Art aaaand Food

Parma is one of the main cities of Emilia Romagna famous for its Parmiggiano Reggiano and its raw ham. But Parma is not only gastronomy, we really suggest you to visit this city because it is very pretty and bike-friendly as there is a discrete network of cycle paths that extends outside the city.

This makes it a good starting point for your hypothetical tour in Italy starting from this region.

What you should not miss in this city is the beautiful Duomo di Parma and its Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta: a perfect example of Romanesque architecture with a gabled facades and Gothic and Renaissance inserts. On the inside you find a wonderful fresco depicting The Assumption of the Virgin by the Italian Late Renaissance artist Correggio.

Very close to the Duomo there’s the Battistero di Parma, considered the connecting point between Romanesque and Gothic Style.

Parma Cathedral

View from behind of Parma Cathedral

Battistero di Parma

Last strecht of road: crosswind, pain AND PIZZA 😀

Luckily, the last 30 kms of the days were mostly on cycle path. A little bit tough, maybe for the crosswind and for the fake flat road faced during the day, but the will to reach Reggio Emilia was stronger than everything and we arrived at destination in less then 2 hours.
AMAZING: just a minute after our arrival the owners of the B&b where we stayed – Villa Agata- gave us the telephone number of a takeaway Pizza. CHE BELLEZZA!

Half-through a pizza and a quick shower, we fainted, we fainted happy and exhausted, ready for the second day of the journey and curious to visit Reggio Emilia, a gastronomy city (as all the cities of Emilia Romagna) where the italian flag TRICOLORE was born.

Next Chapter: from Reggio Emilia to Bologna via Modena

Keep pedaling

Arthur&Bruno – BikesPhilosophy

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Why should you cycle in Winter?

29 January 20186 April 2018 by bikesphilosophy, posted in Cycling Tips

Yes we know, winter has begun(one month ago) and it will be with us for next two months until spring when we can ride our bikes happy through green fields and along the canals with swallows all around.

Buuuuut it’s still winter, it’s cold outside, the cities are covered by the fog and the flu is always lurking. oh, and there is the risk that the blood freezes.

ALL EXCUSES! 😀

one of the questions that our friends often ask us is if we have not become crazy about cycling in winter.

The reality is that there are many people who feel the way we do.

There are a lot of people who use regularly their bikes during the cold season.

Just think about the countries of the north Europe: wind, rain and cold seems not to be a problem for them, so why it should be a problem for the people who live in the warmer countries?

Down below 5 good reasons +1 to pedal in winter.

1. Quietness

While in summer cities are more chaotic and the cycle paths are overcrowded, during winter the tranquillity reigns supreme.

Pedaling along waterside or through country road without noise helps to clear your mind, come up with new ideas and learn to appreciate the romantic winter landscapes.

2. Health

Winter brings many diseases: fever, flu and pains of various kinds. It is widely known

and demostrated by a lot of studies that keep training during winter on the outside helps to build antibodies that reduce the possibility of contracting bacteria and viruses by 45%.

3. Mood

You have to know that exists a mood disorder due to the change of season and who more or less, we all suffer it.

Riding a bike is one of the best tonic for these mood swings. It is proved that getting on a bike during the winter hours of light with the fresh air is a boost for the mood.

Try it before work: you will be more productive and friendly with your collegues and more than everything your boss! 😀

4. Traffic

A little bit of rain or snow and roads are clogged up, cars don’t move and public transportation is always overcrowded.

What’s better than a bike? It avoids the stress of traffic and you won’t be late! Two drops of water with the right induments are better than stay stuck in the traffic screaming with the other car drivers.

5. It helps to reflects on organization

It’s quite easy to ride a bike during spring or summer because you just need to bring with you a k-way and a repair kit. But what about winter?

Winter requires attention, it requires that every details be studied from clothing to the route to be taken.

There are many variants to keep in mind: How cold will it be? Will i go through muddy roads? How do i dress? The secret is to not overdressing but use breathable clothes that avoid an excessive sweating. And of course, even if they are unaesthetic, you should mounts the mudguards.

+1. The bonus one

YOU WILL BE READY TO ROCK DURING THE SUMMER SEASON: You trained hard while the weather was against you, you forged your body, your mood and your determination. Nothing will stop you, neither the questions of your collegues who are trying to catch you in a moment of weakness.

WARM SEASON IS FOR EVERYONE, WINTER IS FOR THE BADASS! 8D

Pedal the winter!