All Roads Lead to Rome
The three great pilgrimage routes in Christendom are Santiago de Compostella, Rome and Jerusalem. In 2010 myself and Ronan set out from Canterbury on the ancient Via Francigena, crossing south east England, France, Switzerland and Italy on our bikes, edging ever closer to the Eternal City.
Just discovered my old video files tonight!
The culmination fo that great pilgrimage was arriving into St Peters on our bikes!
Ronan is in Dubai now but there’s is no way I’m joining him to cycle to Mecca!
6 Responses to “All Roads Lead to Rome”
Sounds like an incredible trip, Turlough. How long did it take? Could be wrong but I’m guessing Rome isn’t the most cycle friendly city?
It was an amazing trip Martin, we were away for 3 weeks approx, can’t remember exactly. We didn’t manage to cycle the whole route as Ronan got ill along the way and we had to take the train for some but we cycled at least 1600kms…
Rome is chaotic; we managed ok but traffic was bedlam. Accommodation was the biggest issue – we arrived in the evening time and couldn’t get anywhere to stay. Ended up cycling up one way streets in the dark and tried about a dozen places before we got a bed for the night – but it was worth it!
Have been there myself and didn’t strike me as a place that would be too tolerant of leisure cyclists! Must’ve been amazing seeing the changing landscapes and cultures. Did you cycle over the Alps or was that the train part?
We did indeed. One of the great milestones of the journey was to cycle over the St Bernard Pass. 8.114 feet. Unbelievable but not the most difficult climbing we had. We diverted to Bobbio to the tome of Columbanus – possibly the first Irish people to arrive there under our own steam since Columbanus himself. The climb out of Bobbio up into the Apennines seemed much harder. Another milestone was to dip the front wheels of our bikes in the ‘Sea at the Centre of the Earth’ – the Mediterranean. Unforgettable memories.
Some great symbolism there! Didn’t know of Bobbio, I think we often forget the legacy our saints left on the continent. There’s definitely something special about seeing the sea again after a long journey overland.
There sure is; great journeys to be explored following in their footprints!