Cycling Sicily 2019

So, a kind of funny story got us headed to Sicily for an early March cycling vacation . . .

Bataan Marathon 2018

You see, my USMA roommate (and off and on partner in adventures for the last 40 years -- OMG is that really possible?) phoned with the old good-news / bad-news story late last summer.  The good news: Her amazing hubby was taking her to Italy for her birthday; the bad news: It meant she'd miss the Bataan Memorial Death March Marathon at White Sands Missile Range this year.  To soften the blow, she suggested we join them on a tour-de-Italy from Venice to Sorrento.  Always happy to spend time with this couple, I said yes (seriously, without a moment's hesitation) . . .  before I really thought about Cliff and me on a bus tour.  When I raised the idea with Cliff, it was pretty much a "what were you thinking" moment.  (Visions of a real life Pac-Man search and destroy mission on a bus filled with innocent tourists flooded my mind.)

And so, my research to find an active adventure that could intersect a bus tour with our pals -- anywhere on their itinerary -- began.  Hiking in the Dolomites?  In March?  Ha ha ha!  Hiking in Tuscany?  I all but begged companies to book our lodging for an off-season trek.  No way!  At the end, it came down to a couple (exactly two - not counting the temptation of the nowhere-close-to-Italy, Canary Islands) of options: Hiking in Sardinia (all the reviews warned of miserable weather in March) or cycling in Sicily -- may be a climate crap shoot, but all the timing worked out.  And besides that, we had been working toward an active holiday with Cliff's cousin and wife (Axel and Bettina), who live in Hanover, Germany.  So the ABCD, not-quite-spring, Sicily bike tour idea was hatched.  And at the end of cycling . . . we'll head back to Rome to rendezvous with our bus-powered pals.  Just re-thinking the planning for this one gives me the shakes!!

I'm Italian -- Take Me!

This morning we're just 24 hours from our launch.  The dogs, totally hip to the bags and packing routine, are a little clingy.  I'm trying to wrap up five days of work in five hours (and sure, why not start a college course at the same time as starting a new job?).  Cliff has completed an electronic recon of every inch of our cycling route.  We both have many cycling hours logged in the Peloton saddle (thanks to a cold and snowy Santa Fe winter) -- despite the interruption of the February flu.  Situation pretty much normal for our house -- perpetual motion, perseverance and partnership.  We can do this!

My plan is to start the actual trip blog on 8 March -- the day we land in Catania, Sicily.  Our travel route will take us from (Wed) Santa Fe to Denver to (Thurs/red-eye) Munich to (Fri) Rome to Catania. 

But hey, there's wine and pasta ahead!  And if that's not motivating, what is?

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