Steppe FM: Italy, the flat and the rain
When we left the village of “le Bez”, it was raining. We left quite late, after the difficult loading process and goodbyes. We had not even made a 7km descent to Briançon that we had to stop three times, to rebalance the loads on the bikes or because a tensioner touched the wheels… When we finally arrived at the bottom of the pass of Montgenève, it was already 4 in the afternoon, still raining and strong wind in our faces. Starting the first meters of the ascent we already had a new problem: the small speeds did not pass on one of the bikes. New stop: attempt to repair the derailleur in the rain, trucks overtake us roaring, it was a failure.
At about 6pm when we gave up, we hid in the surrounding pine forest to plant the tepee under the rain.
The next day, the sky was cleared, we repaired the derailleur and resumed the ascent. We arrived at the top 2h later, everything went well, thinking about it it was not that bad. We crossed the border in the clouds. There was no control, except a “Bonjour” of some French guards.
At last, we were in Italy! And all that remained was a long descent to the plains!
It was raining again, Jehol well installed in his cart was moaning because of the water that gushed from the rear wheel. Its cart, repaired rapidly, was fairly loose, and the wheels not well adjusted danced with each asperity it hit on the pavement.
Eventually, a wheel fell off, racing the bike, while the whole cart collapsed on the road. Jéhol was thrown out…
For two days we moved very slowly in the pouring rain, forced to stop every 5 km to replace some bottle caps (found on the side of the road) that kept the cartwheels attached. Finally, we arrived at Paola’s.
The incredible Paola, who, alone, brought back two Mongolian horses crossing Russia and Europe in only a year and a half. She welcomed us into an Indian tepee, where the fire was already burning.
We spent a few days at her place. We had the chance to ride Mongolian horses well before we thought, we learned to build a Güer (Mongolian Yurt), repaired the cart with a welder neighbour, made a pancake party and listened to some of her best travel stories (which we will tell you more about in our podcasts).
And as if that wasn’t enough, Paola helped us plan our route through Italy, recommended many of her friends on the road and arranged a meeting with a journalist.
We set off again in the rain, Jehol, in his newly assembled carriage. The next day, after a dry night under a marquee, it was finally beautiful. The road ahead was simple, follow the “Via del Pô”. It was flat, very flat. In the beginning it was enjoyable, we moved fast, the weather was nice and we advanced at an average of 60 km per day without much effort. Then we started to get bored. It’s flat, but above all it’s ugly. We only crossed huge mono-crop fields. Most of the time Corn, sometimes cereals, and that’s all. Luckily there is more than just the road to travel. The weather was brilliant, the small villages all had inviting cafés with terraces, and the beer was cheap. Every night or so we would meet Paola's friends: Olga and her husband, Anna and her son, Beretta the farmer, Fernando and his family...
In fact, apart from the ugly fields of polluting monoculture, everything went smoothly. The bicycles rode well, we didn’t feel the heavy load on the flat roads, Jehol ran or rested, refreshed by the wind, in his cart. The stops at people's houses were pleasant, I could understand almost everything in Italian and started to speak with more fluidity. We always managed to find splendid and hidden bivouacs (theoretically prohibited in Italy). But we still do not catch any fish.
We visited Mantova (where we found, the time of one day, Benoit, a friend from Aix), then Padova (with Marco, who introduced us to the Italian Dolce Vita which included Spritz on the terrace) and finally Venice. In Venice, or rather in Mestre, we stayed at Mariana's (Marco's sister, Fernando's daughter). She is a dancer and choreographer of vertical dance and gave at our disposal her artistic residence. It is located in the heart of the park of Fort Marghera, two Tram stops from the centre of Venice. We took advantage of it. Two days, without tourists, to stray and wander in the streets of the Serenissima. One of the most beautiful cities in the world, easily.
When we set off again, filled with the sumptuous memories of the Venetian canals, we hardly noticed the cornfields. Then we arrived in the region of Udine, where Aymeric’s great-grandfather was born. During two days, we played the detectives in search of the last Greatti still living here. We found one, but it wasn’t the right branch, then after some new encounters, we planted our tepee on the village square and left the next day after visiting the Greatti’s tomb in the village’s cemetery.
We spent one night at Antonietta's and her husband's, great travellers on horseback, including a trip from their home to Moscow, then we arrived at Josi's for a new project. We helped Josi, a market gardener and herbalist by restoring a room to make a granary/workshop, putting up a fence, planting and sowing in the vegetable garden, assembling furniture and finishing our days in the traditional Friulian bars.
Now, We are close to the Slovenian border, at the gates of the Triglav Mountain: wild regions of the Alps where there are still many bears. The time to find the best way to pass the Slovenian customs and we will leave, lightened of 15 kilos by sorting out our numerous affairs!
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