Entering the Alps | Bikepacking Italy
we've always heard about Europe's largest mountain range but we' never had the chance to explore it for ourselves so when we had a reason to cross the Atlantic again we decided our bikes for coming with us we're Chris and Hillary we like to explore the World by bike and we thought we'd take you with us as we get our first glimpse of the [Music] Alps we just stopped for an afternoon swim in Lake Como and we still have to figure out where we're sleeping tonight but first we have to go back way back getting here was a bit of an adventure how do we always do this so to catch you up let's go back to yesterday morning when we started this trip [Music] [Music] it's a big building we didn't expect to be back in Italy so soon if you watch our Channel at all you'll know that we were in Sardinia which is the state of Italy last year but my sister wanted to get married in Tuscany and since we were already crossing the Atlantic we figured why not bring our bikes hey Chris hey what's happening so Delta's luggage allowance still only allows 50 lb for sports equipment at this point I'm even concerned about how much bubble wrap weighs this is also the most luggage we've ever traveled with and I feel kind of embarrassed we have we have a whole pound to spare right now come along all the crew is pleased to be on this flight will ensure both your safety and fr SK team partners with your prison flight um it was a pleasure to have you on board thank you for your trust thank you for choosing us and I'll see you as you dis aark but that that's you just gra we did it so we' made it to the Milan and so did all of our stuff now we just got to get to our hotel on the train all and then we spend time with family for like a week and then we started bik anyway it was a super fun few days and since we generally avoid flat places I don't know why I think we just like pain we decided that we would go to the Alps so that's what we're doing right now but first we have to get out of Milan and find some breakfast going around it yeah unless they're moving I think we're just going to go go around it up here can we I don't like [Music] that uh yeah big we've found ourselves on a nice little bike path that is much more quiet and enjoyable than the hectic streets that we started out on by the train station [Music] [Music] there's always a little bit of figuring out where things go and what's broken and what needs to be fixed on the first day what was going on when I put my chain back together after the flight I ran it the wrong way around a little tab on the rear derailer finally I found the right spot that was making an endless noise and I can cycle in peace from now on so we were on a perfectly nice gravel path but we were trusting Kimo and now we're on a tractor path in the middle of a field hopefully this works out it's pretty I'm not opposed to this yeah just suddenly a very very dramatic change in character is it time for lunch yeah definitely time for lunch let's find some shade y so this parmesan was bought yesterday while we were in Parma has big old crystals in it the saltiness of the cheese pairs so well with the the sweet apricot but it's so soft that'll do okay [Music] there's a pressure in our way huh oh no we turn right here just before it okay good while we were watching the combine go by the farmer came out and greeted us and we stopped and chatted for a while about his work this is one not the last uh the last ultim yeah last last after this another uh uh field and and then we stop and then you stop finish finish to harvest then then vacation h no I like to watch on YouTube yeah uh Millennial farmer you know Millennial farmer Millennial farmer no I hav't heard we make YouTube ah okay small Channel I also have a YouTube yeah huh okay everybody's got a YouTube channel this is my channel okay [Music] from we just came down this massive Hill down into a river valley next to this really cool Bridge wow and there's this huge Dam and the river is so cool and the path is gravel and it's all just kind of so different from what we've been doing all day it's such a welcome change yeah but we've still got like how many miles like 30 km half the day yeah like half the day and it's almost 4 so anyway filming just takes a long time [Applause] I see where this place is famous yeah we're just sitting here in the cloud of our own flies because we're way dirtier than we thought we were going to be at this part in our trip we got adventur us we don't really know how deep this gets but a guy on a mountain bike warned us about [Applause] it and many many water the water got up to our um like KN mid thigh for me this is weird I don't see the end okay bugs goodbye there a lot of [Applause] mosquitoes that was actually probably the worst part the water was kind of good it was refreshing on a hot day um look at how strong you are many many water three in the way so we're not bored no definitely not [Music] you want to go up there yeah yeah I do okay okay we ended up finding one of the few campgrounds that allowed tents clearly this is not an area that courts budget Travelers after cleaning up a bit we headed under the train tracks to the only open restaurant within biking distance this tiny hole in the wall turned out to be the cheapest and best pizza of the whole Tria [Music] I feel like we had two different days today biking through the streets of Milan and then getting up to the lakes and foring a river yeah yeah very different characters but we got here like we biked here and that's pretty cool yeah good morning uh we got a pretty casual start from our campsite uh in near Leo we're heading up towards balagio where we will be definitely at some point catching a ferry from bagio to the other side of the lake but it was difficult to understand the the ferry schedule so we're just kind of going there with our fingers crossed and it seems like that's the way a lot of other cycle tourists have done it as well uh on the way there we have a couple of big challenges they're two different tunnels about 4 km long in total we'll be getting to those pretty much as soon as we get out of [Music] town all right are we going in there yep for 2 km oh stop that we should turn on our lights here it is it's yay do you want to stop and turn our lights [Music] on not so bad not bad [Music] [Applause] [Music] wonder how long we're stopped for Lake Como traffic [Music] [Music] jam this is ridiculous W as it got closer to noon the temperature and humidity started inching up and we found ourselves in need of a break so we headed down to take a dip in the lake when we got there we were surprised to find this church which was built in 16006 [Music] hey we made it [Music] we made it to bagio but we are very dirty and and a little underdressed there was a timetable but it didn't seem to matter I just went up and he was like this is when the fairy is this is your option and I was like okay I will buy that so lunch then fairy then Beach I hope so it may be the most expensive pizza we eat in Italy but it is definitely not the best no I think the mushrooms are from a can and the pido just looks like ham [Music] [Music] [Music] at this point we were feeling a little overwhelmed by the crowds we're going right when we get off we later learned that compared to where we live Italy has five times the population density no wonder we were feeling a little stressed so we were grateful for these sections of bike path that avoided the busy road and offered some incredible views up the lake well this will [Music] do like well okay oh no I'm going to dripped on oh no oh my God this is weird I love it whoa cool we get our own [Music] tunnel yeah yay next go straight go straight Chris it's time to leave our wonderful swim spot by Lake Como and go figure out where we're sleeping at this point our route took a hard left away from the Lakeside instead following the Antique Road Castle this is part of the old Roman roads that linked the Empire north and south of the Alps you don't need railings on antique cads sheep sheep oh the anti Crow just became single track is [Music] [Music] [Music] oh what is it a open we stopped in to pick up groceries for dinner and while we were checking out we spotted these apricot cookies which had been our favorite in Sardinia it's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen it's like a perfect little Pond of apricot [Applause] stuff it's much crispier crumbler than I was expecting I very much like it after sleeping under the underpass in the campground the night before we had been kind of of hoping for a wild campsite but as we got closer and closer to Sunset we realized that that probably wasn't going to happen so we set our sights onto private campgrounds at the head of the [Music] lake this one's the cheap one this is the cheap one I'm fine with the cheap one I think let's go ask over there I bet we're in the center part but by the bar is this where the tents are oh okay this campsite is literally the best because we even have power to the 10 that goes all the way to our tent it feels better than last night's Campground for sure it's really pretty here we're going up that way beautiful and tall and a little intimidating so today we cycled around the head of Lake KO which really feels like the the gateway to the Alps and over the next week or so we'll be uh able to explore more and more beautiful Alpine zones but first we have to finish setting up camp and eat some food and take showers we are very tired talone parmesan from Parma mhm it hits the spot what's going on here yeah we are definitely better at setting this up when we're not paying attention to the camera this is probably going to be the end of this video so I hope you come back for the next one when we go up and explore the high mountains which is going to be really cool bye just drinking my soup bowl of coffee what do you think about it it's crazy it make your nipples hurt oh man y'all okay this is the Villa where my sister got married and it was actually the scene of a popular Netflix show so if you recognize it let us know in the comments anyway every room was impeccably decorated but then for some reason our room was the shade of highway sign green very we just had to share that repacking it's a lot of stuff in a little space ow
2024-09-14 19:04
