Heading out on a bike trip gives me great satisfaction. When you start the journey, it feels like an ordinary ride of a couple of hours, but when you return, days later, you’ll have a few hundred kilometers more in your legs.

On this trip we had 700, and we were out for most of four days.

As usual, we find ourselves assembling the pile of things needed for the trip, never too punctual, never too late. We put various things, some of which we’ll never use, in our bags and attach everything to the bikes. Not having to board a train, or catch a flight, or take a trip by car before getting on our bikes gives us a certain advantage: if you leave late, you can decide to shorten that day’s ride while you’re out on the road, or finish later …

Cento lives in a special place, Villa Angarano. We get on our bikes and the children in the courtyard, seeing the bags attached to our frames, understand that it could be days before we return.

Every so often, Cristiano switches bikes while riding around the courtyard to let us know that he could follow us on the road and even off-road, if he wanted …

While waiting to see us leave, they ride around the courtyard on their bikes in a group, checking the door of No. 6. When we say goodbye, they look at us as if we were the parents they’d always wanted.

Riding in our area is rewarding. We’ve come to the conclusion that it’s the means by which we move — in our case, by bike — that brings real satisfaction. Cycling helps us to enter places and hearts by eliminating long faces and fears. If you “enter” with a smile, you are welcomed and met with a smile. The only problem with getting around by bike: drivers.

In Italy, they haven’t yet figured out how to protect cyclists, so a few mutual raised fingers are de rigueur when you decide to ride on the road as well as off.

We find a little bit of everything along the way, and having started in the late afternoon, here the first encounter is with dozens and dozens of slimy frogs, hypnotized by the headlights of our bikes along the trails and roads after a heavy storm.

Finding last-minute accommodations is very easy for us. Usually this is my job, and, due to some strange circumstance, even after hearing “Sorry, we’re full” several times, some incredibly beautiful, often characteristic, place always turns up in the end. The statement “We’re coming by bike and we’re looking for accommodations to stay dry” can sometimes be a plus that helps us be accepted in beautiful places, as well as a minus that gets us excluded by those who don’t understand that we aren’t vagrants …

Feltre really welcomed us. Michela, the owner of a beautiful B&B in the center, urged us to bring our bikes inside the apartment for safety and left the key under the doormat, since we wouldn’t be able to get there to check in before 1:00 a.m. Having said that, she wished us a good trip on the phone and told us we could pay with a bank transfer after we finished the ride … no rush.

The flooring in her apartment reminded us of East Berlin, but totally restored and spotless.
The bikes felt safe.

From the mountains to the sea was our plan.

The rain welcomed us to the sea as we enjoyed generous portions of mixed fried seafood by the water in Caorle. There was also abundant rain, which made us return inland, as the weather forecast advised and where we took shelter under the roof of the terrace of an abandoned inn before Treviso. In the morning we realized we also had a sink supplied with hot water to our left, and it was nice to be able to clean ourselves up a bit.

We ride to Treviso along the Restera, which is always pleasant. It’s best avoided on summer weekends, though, since you sometimes come across even more people than mosquitoes.

Along the riverbank leading to Padova, we meet a pair of Italian wolves, as elegant as they are stern, and totally irresistible. Ste couldn’t decide whether to give up the bikes or the dogs …

Belluno was a peony, Jesolo calla lilies, Abano Terme a magnolia, Polesine an onion …

Polesine was fun, full of character, with dreary and crumbling architecture, filled with endless fields of wheat, carpets of grass, onions, some rice fields, and tractors of all ages and sizes.

The atmosphere heats up on the wheat fields, which reflect a warm light that almost seems like yellow desert. The owner of the bar where we drink a double espresso after riding for more than an hour without breakfast greets us by asking us to take off our masks because his town is Covid-free. So we do.

It was pouring in Verona, so we have no photos, and by Lonigo we were so drenched that we took off some of our soaking-wet clothes. It was incredible on the first climb in the Berici Hills to gorge ourselves on cherries that were as swollen with water as we were, since it had rained hard there shortly before as well.

We’ve had our fill of cherries for the whole of 2021. In 2022 I think I’ll be back to do it all over again.

The gravel descent after about 20 kilometers in the hills saw us off and gave the momentum to push hard toward home. Too bad the way home was a slight false flat uphill, but the cherries were enough to get us there, where, as usual, we sit outside the house to drink and eat whatever was in the refrigerator.
The children didn’t see us arrive. Predictably, it was too late. Start late, finish late …

Make sure to follow Cento Canesio (@cento_canesio), Nadia Moro (@nadiamoro)

Pictures by Nadia Moro
(@nadiamoro)

California has no shortage of spectacular landscapes – and what better way is there to explore them than on two wheels with good company. That’s why when Melissa and Frenk Martucci were invited to a wedding near the Sequoia National Park, they jumped at the opportunity to extend their trip and spend a day riding amongst these silent, ancient giants.

First, it needs to be said that Frenk and I need another day to fully explore Sequoia. As it happened, our visit to Sequoia was actually a side adventure after attending the wedding of my close college friends. Both Frenk and I had never been, so we weren’t quite sure what to expect, but we quickly realized that a day there was simply not enough.

The entrance to the park itself sits at the bottom of the foothills. It is 16 miles to the Giant Sequoia Grove, which is where you can find a large collection of the epically beautiful and mind-blowingly large sequoia trees. To get there from the park entrance, you have to climb just shy of 5,000 feet through a plethora of sharp turns and switchbacks. We recommend leaving early in the morning to beat the heavy traffic that usually picks up at about 10 am. Luckily, there are plenty of turnouts to allow cars to pass if needed. One thing we didn’t expect was to encounter so many deer on the roadways. Frenk and I saw about six deer on our way up and down, so proceed with caution – especially if you are on the descent.

Once in the sequoia grove, you can still see the aftermath of the 2020 Castle Fire that scorched many of the trees. Some of the sides of the survivors are burned, but remarkably, these trees are still alive and thriving.

At the top, the weather was dramatically different, and at midday, we were able to experience the forest filled with fog, which was utterly magical and unlike anything I’ve ever seen. The trees themselves are unusual in the sense that they don’t feel like trees. If you touch one, you will notice that they are almost soft and squishy in texture. Being amongst these trees feels like time traveling in a way – some of them are 3,000 years old! To say that they are pieces of history is an understatement. These trees have played witness to history itself, and the fact that they have been around for this long – untouched, untainted – is inspiring.

My hopes are that these trees will continue to live on throughout the ages and that the generations to come will continue to love, respect, and protect them, just as our ancestors did. We plan to return to Sequoia soon so that we can do more riding and definitely some hiking and exploring, too!

You can follow all of Melissa and Frenk’s ongoing adventures over on Instagram:
@frenkmartucci, @_mizmissy_

When your significant other asks if you want to go on an adventure, how do you react? Do you feel stressed? Worried about money, where to stay and how to get there? Or, do you welcome the idea and get excited for another adventure?

These questions floated in Melissa Martucci’s mind as a much-needed week away from work rapidly approached. Fortunately Melissa and her husband Frenk share the same attitude towards adventure, and the question is never if but where they’ll go next. As Melissa puts it:

In fact, the way the two became one was a journey in itself. Frenk, an Italian into fixed-gear racing, and Melissa, a California-based chemistry teacher, took turns flying to each other’s respective homes for bike adventures, growing closer through each successive trip.

So with autumn break finally upon them, Frenk and Melissa packed their car with bikes and rolled out from their home in L.A. towards the Valley of Fire in Nevada, the first stop on their next adventure.

“We made it to the Valley of Fire with one hour until sunset,” Melissa recounts, “I stood in awe at this road carved through the rocks. It was like standing at the passage to a different era. And, like a kid at the playground, while I was setting up the camera Frenk took off cycling.”

After a quick exploration and, with light quickly fading, a handful of photos, the pair rolled on towards Panguitch, Utah, a small town not far from the popular Bryce Canyon National Park that would act as base camp for the next few days of outdoor adventures. Up before sunrise the following morning and greeted with temperatures well below freezing, Frenk and Melissa started the day with a warm-up hike in the nearby national park. Kitting up for the cold, they headed next for Red Canyon, hopping on their bikes to roll along the Red Canyon Bike Trail.

“Frenk and I were so busy marveling at the rock formations and taking pictures that we didn’t realize we were losing sun,” Melissa remembers. “Cold and tired, we went back to the Airbnb to recharge and sip hot chocolate!”

The next morning, the pair once again climbed on their saddles for another day of two-wheeled exploration, riding around the historic district in Panguitch, then remounting their bikes atop the car for a scenic drive to Horseshoe Bend on the state’s southern border.

“Along the way, you are able to view the mesas of the Grand Staircase in Escalante from the car. The land formations were dramatic and moody in the morning sun, showing off their deep red rocks and soil.”

As they parked the car a mile from the viewpoint at Horseshoe Bend, Melissa and Frenk decided to save time by cycling along the trail leading to the scenic overlook, but they’d managed to accidentally overlook one important detail: “We had unknowingly missed the ‘No Bikes’ sign and were gently reminded by staff. As other onlookers stared at us, we snapped a few quick photos and returned the bikes to the car.”

Fortunately, the nearby Rim View Trails were open to cyclists and provided the pair with stunning scenery, as well as a chance for some off-road riding.

“The path is made of red dirt and rock,” Melissa explains. “For someone who is learning, like me, it was a fun way to get introduced to gravel riding.”

Riding for as long as the sun would allow, Melissa and Frenk ended this adventure like many others before it, thankful for the time spent together and looking forward to the next one.

“It’s never easy lugging bike equipment to our various adventures, but it has always been worth it. I couldn’t be more thankful that I found someone who enjoys the outdoors and exploring as much as I do. And because of our deep connection to cycling and adventure, Frenk and I get to see the world from a different perspective. So if anyone ever asks you, ‘Do you want to go on an adventure,’ always say yes.

And bring your bikes, too.”

Photographs: © @frenkmartucci, @_mizmissy_