We’re off and riding again, on a trek straight across the north of Italy. We’re a little nervous about the amount of time left and the distance still to cover so we’ve decided to cut out the South of France and head to Turin and cross the Alps. We may regret this later!

We’ve also had a bit of bad new about our rear wheel, the rim of which is cracking slightly, so we’re going to try and get a replacement in Milan - another reason to stay north. Anyone know where we can get hold of a 700c x 25 rim with drilling for 40 spokes in northern Italy?

We had a few boat rides today. First we had to get from Venice back to Lido to pick up our bikes, then we rode south to the bottom of Lido and caught a ferry across to Pellistrano, another island. Then south along that island to another ferry that took us to Chioggia on the mainland.

We collected the bikes from Lido on Bike bike shop where Stefano had done a fantastic job. New brake pads, a new bottom bracket for Tiger’s Ari, which was looking super shiny, and the news about the rear wheel on Blue Strawberry. For what is mostly a bike hire shop, Lido on Bike offers a fantastic bike servicing knowledge - we were very lucky to find them.