The academic year must have been a difficult one as when the summer holidays arrived, secondary school teacher Andrew Sykes was happy to do as little as possible. But while sitting on his sofa watching the exploits of the cyclists at the Great Wall of China at the Beijing Olympics, he realised the error of his ways and resolved to put a bit more adventure into his life. Two years later, accompanied by his faithful companion Reggie (his bike) but only a rudimentary plan, Andrew set off for a trans-continental cycling adventure that would take him along the route of the Via Francigena and the Eurovelo 5 all the way from his home in southern England to Brindisi in the south of Italy. There were highs and lows, rain and shine, joy and despair and they are all recounted here in a light-hearted, brisk style.
Genre: TRAVEL / Essays & Travelogues
Crossing Europe on a Bike Called Reggie - Kindle sales rank since August 2011
Crossing Europe on a Bike Called Reggie - Amazon paperback sales rank since October 2011
“Greg, do you wanna go up this thing?” shouted a loud American as I stood in the Campo dei Miracoli well before 9 o’clock on my first day of rest in Italy. Greg was, of course being invited to climb the tower by what looked like his mother although I was a little concerned that if the rather rotund Greg and his equally-corpulent carer were both to climb to the top, the monument would have to be renamed the Ever-So-Slightly-More-Leaning Tower of Pisa. My camera was poised.
Even at that early hour, the area around the tower and neighbouring Duomo, Baptistry and Camposanto was heaving with tourists. I dreaded to think what it would be like later in the day. The congestion would have been eased somewhat if we tower-gazers had been allowed to use the grass but there were signs; ‘vietato calpestare il prato’ usefully translated into English; ‘do not walk on the grass’. Strictly speaking, this did leave open the option of simply sitting on the edge, or indeed rolling towards a quieter spot in the middle but I wasn’t going to risk it, especially as there was an on-the-spot fine of a bizarrely precise €25.82 . The empty acres of grass did, however, give the campo an air of tranquillity, albeit a false one and it was possible to admire the buildings without the masses of tourists spoiling the view.
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Italian
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Already translated.
Translated by Enrico Antonio Mion
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Author review: Brilliant job done by a brilliant translator. Enrico was easy to work with and we communicated well together. Would certainly recommend him and wouldn't hesitate using him again for my other books. |
