Straight roads, full hearts

We have arrived in Bologna, where we will be spending a day off the bikes to rest a little tomorrow. Bologna is full of beautiful things to see - and even better things to eat. We’ve been riding pretty well overall so far, so a little break will do us good.

Today, we crossed the agricultural plains of the Po Valley. A bit monotonous, just as Liv’ had warned us. It’s peak rapeseed bloom season, and the wisteria climbing along farmhouse walls is in full flower - those were the highlights. Aside from that, the scenery wasn’t quite the postcard-perfect kind we’d been enjoying over the past few days. Instead, it was endless straight lines stretching across the fields, with hardly a curve or a turn in sight. So we embraced it and just… rode. A lot. Sometimes hitting speeds of 26 km/h - which, on fully loaded bikes like ours 🤪, gave us that slightly thrilling feeling of being absolute powerhouses.

I listen to music while I ride. A bit of everything really, from Nina Simone to Dave Matthews Band and various stuff, with a detour through my running playlist filled with slightly cheesy, energy-boosting classics like Antisocial, I Will Survive, or Eye of the Tiger. And then there are the long stretches of silence, which I enjoy just as much.

Cycling gives you time - lots of it - to think. The steady forward motion, the sustained effort, the ever-changing scenery… it all demands a kind of quiet, contemplative focus that becomes almost intoxicating. Anyone who loves cycling or running will know exactly what I mean. So what do we think about out there? Well, like the music - everything. From remembering to call the gardener to mow the lawn, to planning the next big project, solving problems, coming up with new ideas, how to improve and grow, choosing the next destination, thinking about work, family, friends, replaying fond memories…

But more than anything, I find myself thinking about the people who matter most in my life - the ones I love. What I want to share with them. Those who are here, and those who are no longer with us.