Day 64, Sunday, July 28 – Civitavecchia to Rome, Italy
Monday 30 July 2012
We began on a Sunday and so we end on a Sunday, which really has nothig to do with us biking our last day on our favorite day to ride or the day we began. More so, we were looking for every advantage to get into the incredibly large city of Rome…..but we are not there yet!
We started with an overcast,
yet warm, humid day and the breeze that started to breathe life into the flags last night, had picked up to full speed….in our face. All the bikers traveling in the opposite direction enjoyed the push
and we enjoyed the overcast, as we rode our last miles along the Mediterranean Sea.
Though we missed the crystal clear blues the sun created on the waters
we still enjoyed the morning 
and what it had to offer.
Within an hour, as we started inland
the sun burned through and started it’s bake.
A little melancholy about our last day of biking and thought seriously about staying, after all the bar already had Jerry’s name on it!
Encouraging waves and a couple one minute drafts helped to pull us along.
After about twenty miles our road became more like a national highway. Though there was really no beautiful countryside or scenery to speak of, we were happy see that most of the traffic was heading to the beach,
while we were heading to the city. “We” had been quite apprehensive about actually getting into and navigating the streets of Rome (we’d heard about the horrible traffic in the city), hence the Sunday arrival. But the roads were almost bare 
and we had to shake our heads in disbelief when we drove straight to the doorstep of our hotel with no problems or U-turns. But we were still tired and hot after our 41 miles in the 100 degree heat, so we’ll ‘chill’ until this evening and tour tomorrow. We will have a few days in the city, before we head back to the States. It may be a day or two before we can share pictures of the city though, as we need to figure out the logistics of getting the bikes ready to swim home.
Billy Bob Says:
Congrats……Can’t wait to ride with you guys Sunday here. Come on you can draft behind me….LOL….Great job……way to go finishing this one…..Incredible. see ya soon
Justin Says:
Another amazing ride! Enjoy Rome!
Jim & Denyce Says:
A job well done. What’s next?
Let’s see now: Have you ever seen Pungo in August?
Awesome!
Jerry and Lori Says:
grazie…..trying hard to, but there is so much to eat and drink!
travis Says:
FYI: “Unconditional Surrender” statue is part of The Sculpture Foundaton’s collection of art that it loans to various communities. It has been seen in Sarasota FL,San Diego, Hamilton NJ. It was chosen to be in Rome’s Biennale de Scultura during this summer. Hope you are celebrating your olympic bike ride – congratulations on another gold medal performance – we all enjoyed following you along the way. Can’t believe Jerry didn’t have a can of dehydrated water in his emergency kit on that last leg of your trip. Looking forward to your return to the VB flatland. Well Done!!
Jerry Says:
Thanks everyone for your incredible support. You can not believe how much it motivates us and this year we really needed it. Looking forward to our weekly rides….be ready for a Saturday/Sunday ride….
Robyn Says:
Travis you have been spending way too much time in the library and not enough time on the volleyball court.
L & J looking forward to your return home but will miss this journal…guess I need to start bike shopping again.
Jerry and Lori Says:
robyna, thought you’d gotten a bike and had been riding AND that you were joining us this weekend. Thank Goodness travis did his research, because i spent hours looking for it and could not find it anywhere…..maybe that can be his retirement job……internet detective!!!
Robyn Says:
Or personal bike shopper!!
Jerry and Lori Says:
whatever…….Start Biking!!!