A big group! Fourteen bikers and four supporter by one truck and a caravan. All one at the meeting in Bussoleno i Via Walter Fontan, at the Bar. Everyone exited, scared about the road, or at the first experience by the bike and many kilometers ahead. Different generation of people, different experiences, under the flag of No Tav. Don’t matter if you have a different opinion about tav project, this is a group of people happy to stay together in company, and hope for a new experience. Let’s start.
After the start from Bussoleno we stopped immediatly in the big square for ritual pictures. We are guarded by friends and supporter by the bike directed for the first step of trip, the Valsusa track. We cycled to Borgone, our first stop for breakfast. So, just for clarify, i’m quite sure everyone of us love so much eat. We have a long road ahead, but in front of a good coffee and a piece of cake we leave on the side the trip for have a good breakfast. Thanks to the guys which are managing the little NoTav’s house in Borgone.
The Valsusa is special at the moment. It’s spring and it’s all green. Cherry threes are fully of white foils and all is so marvellous. The weather is dry and so hot and a good sun bright the valley; cycling in this condition is very pacefull, An organized group is supposed to gain kilometers after a stop, but we have plenty of friends and a good starv, so we stopped again in Almese, just fifteen kilometer form Borgone. Second breakfast offered by our friends. It’s an enogastonomic travel. We ate in the main square of the town, during the market. The major gave spent good words for our project and we started over again to… Casellette, not so far. We loaded the truck by our bike and went to Saluggia by car. I know, it’s a cycling trip. Extremist of the bike should think it’s a crime gain road by car, but we avoided Torino’s ring road and the traffic of the city. We are many, with a bike, in a full place of angry people by car, ready for react to cyclist. We cut the way, but it’s for our safety.
We defenilly started the trip from Saluggia. We cycling in line like a real group of biker, but a good eye could noted how disorganized we are! We look funny because one by one we loose something on the road, we start little fight to overtake the guy next us, or we forgot to be in a road with car, so we begin to occupy the carrige of the road. There are first kilometers. It’s so hard fix all one of this aspect because a good part of the group is not confident with long trip or the bike, so kilometer by kilometer we improved our cycling group.
The enviroment is unusual for us. Big fields of rice everywhere, We are between the provinces of Verbania and Pavia, the european capital of rice. Rice field are wierd, because full of water. Compared with asian fields, the italian way for growing up rice is direct the water from the river and trap by a tall side of mud. The water remain trapped in the field and the field is full of water, the perfect enviroment for the rice. Fields are constantly washed by the water, and the water exeded drop in the next field levelled a meter below respect the near field. The unused water is direct to the same system of channels used for wash the fields. Another tip is the special tractor used in this fields. It’s a normal tractor with four iron wheels full of spikes. This system is used for more grip in a field full of water and the wheel is more tinny then a rubber wheel and avoid damage to the rice.
Around us only the sun, fields and farms. So pacefull.
The target of the day is Frascarolo, a small town in Pavia county. We are guest of La Fenice b&b. Many of us booked a room for the night and stay much comfy, but few of us preferd other accommodation like tent or caravan. The owner of the bed and breakfast was so kind to permit us to fix our tent and caravan in her field, so we look like an organized camping. The owner offered a shower to us, but we prefered use the water pump outside like a very strong man. A resturant in city center prepared for us a good dinner. We had fun with wine, rice and lot of laughs. There is a good alchemy. It’s just the first day and we are having good fun.
Leeds Bussoleno 