Rome in bicicletta

Or in other words... Rome by Bike. In fact we almost didn't make it to our bike tour as the computer was broken at the station and the man couldn't sell us a ticket apparently... I was starting to panic... but a kind lady directed us to the local shop where we could get a paper ticket. We just made the train and then had a brisk walk to the bike shop near the Colosseum.
The bike tour company has top range e or carbon fibre mountain bikes and we were soon sorted with our gear, had met our group of 10 (8 Aussie's, 6 from Melbourne and 6 on the same Emirates flight tomorrow... how freaky) and been introduced to our guide Matteo. We set off, winding our way through the streets to find the Appian gate which is to the south of Rome. We had a brief stop at a museum in the gate and were able to enjoy some great views. We traveled on and our next stop was the Catacombs ..these were really amazing.. covering an area of 45acres with 4 levels up to 30m deep and containing more than 500,000 burial sites.. we had an approximately 45 minute tour with a lovely fellow from the Philippines.
We then continued on along the Appian Way... we learned that this road originally stretched from Rome over 500km via Naples to the Adriatic and hence was an important trade route. The route is also lined with impressive burial sites as well as lumpy cobblestone. We rode on.... carefully!!
After a bit of a ride through some local streets we ended up at the aqueduct park where we could see the remnants of several aqueducts.. some of which had extended more than 100km into the city of Rome in the past and which were still in use during the middle ages.
Riding on we made our way to a farm when they milk over 2000 sheep to make the pecorino cheese... we ate cheese and drank wine in the sun (perhaps not a sensible combination) before getting back on the bikes and returning to Rome. What a great day! Even through it was only about 30km it was great to be out on the bike on such a lovely day.
Having returned the bikes it was back to the station and then onto a train for Zagarolo. As it was still early when we got back I decided to continue my explorations of the Old town of Zagarolo which is built on a kind of long narrow spur. While Kirstin returned to the hostel, I went for a wander in the old town which is just gorgeous... amazing medieval buildings. It is not touristy at all and the streets were busy with locals chatting and drinking at the bars.. I would have loved to join them.
Back to the hostel in time for their Friday "pizza party" the most amazing thin crust pizza cooked in the wood fired pizza oven with sourdough base and veggies from the local organic farm... Mmmmmm yummo.Read more