Umbria, October 5-12, 2019

We spent a week on a bicycle tour in (hilly) Umbria. We found that our many get-ready rides at home did not magically put us into the league of, for example, one of our congenial colleagues who lives at 7000 feet in Taos and enjoys hill climbs. We did a lot of bike riding on this trip, but we also rode in the van up the long steep hills.

The countryside did not disappoint. Here’s the scene from the beginning of one day’s ride:

We visited a few famous towns, including Assisi, Spoleto, and Orvieto. As expected, Assisi was crowded, and we didn’t have time really to enjoy it. But with more time and fewer crowds in Spoleto, our visit was more satisfying. All of these places have over two thousand years of recorded history, and it’s wonderful to see structures built A Long Time Ago, like this aqueduct and mill:

There’s lots more to tell, but I’ll end this post with a modern touch. We had hoped to go into the Duomo in Spoleto, but found the steep approach blocked by police officers volunteering on their off-time. The plaza in front of the church was the filming location for a popular TV series that I’ll have to find. It features a priest named Don Matteo who also solves crimes. (I think he’s hunkier than Father Brown.) anyway, this is all we could see: