A ride around the Roman outskirts

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Rome is not a cycle-friendly city. It could be, if the Romans could be persuaded to give up their beloved motor cars, of which, in 2008, there were 2.4 million to 2.5 million people. Not sure whether that is people people, or people old enough to drive. Either way, Rome has a higher car ownership per capita than any other European capital city. But I digress. As I must if I want to take a bike ride and blow out the cobwebs without risking life and limb. There are nice cycleways along the Tiber, north and south, very flat and pleasant, and a tad dull. The big park nearby is alright of a weekday morning, but at the weekend it is too full of people. So I just have to head out and hope for the best.

Last weekend I mostly went out in the direction of the neighbourhood where I used to live, in the hope that I wouldn't get too lost. ¹ And it was a really nice ride, half urban, half rural, with some pipe-opening climbs and some swooping downhills. Coming home up the beastly Portuense was no joke, but unavoidable. And I quite like seeing the Corviale hulking up on the horizon as I peddle along the reserve below, flocks of sheep flowing biblically beneath the huge urban brute.

Today, though, strictly errands. I need to adapt the handlebars, which are a smidgen too low to be fully comfortable all the time. And other things.

p.s. 15 September 2017: Because back then, it really was a GPS unit, not a fancy phone.