I’ve realised that I never really explained why I took a few days’ break from the bike and how the spontaneous hiking trip came to be. So here goes.
Back at the Couchsurfing party in Nancy I’d met Elodie, a friend of my host’s. I had to keep heading south the next day, but I’d casually mentioned something to her about meeting further along the road. A few days later, she got back to me to say that flights were booked.
Reverse culture shock’s a funny thing. Being taken aback by the sudden change when reaching a far-off, unknown country for the first time comes almost as an expected ‘shock’ . But when it’s the other way around – when you’re arriving home or in any other place you know (or rather had known) well, and suddenly find yourself not-so-much at home after all, it hits totally out of the blue. That’s exactly what crossing over into Italy was like.
A lot’s happened since the last real-time update. I reached Rome a week ago, meaning I’m now down to the last (950km) stretch till Malta.
I stopped here for a bit of a break because I needed time to tie up some loose ends. I’ve worked on getting the trip some publicity, I’ve caught up on blog posts, and I’ve finalised the route I’ll be taking down to Reggio, the toe of the boot. They’ve been a productive few days.
Homebound on today's edition of @TheTimesofMalta. Page 2 – check it out! #homebound2014 pic.twitter.com/5eZhKFG5sP
— Homebound (@HomeboundMT) September 29, 2014
As I later found out, making it up the Great St. Bernard Pass is something of a personal milestone for many a professional cyclist. I’d just thought of it as the most direct route over the Alps and it wasn’t quite on my bucket list. Ah well, guess it is now.