Alison and Alison and the art of re-tyrement

Cycling adventures in retirement

Day 15 Ruviano to Cassino

Distance 49 miles

Ascent 1500 ft

The mystery is solved. I awoke this morning to a text from O2 welcoming me to Italy. That explains the difficulty with routing. Where have we been for the last two weeks? It is not good enough. We have no idea. We elderly elite athletes need accurate information. No wonder we get confused.

Starting the day with a climb is tricky. Straight out of our accommodation and into a steep 400 ft climb.

But it was worth all the huffing and puffing. A glorious ascent and fabulous descent.

The weather was perfect today and the scenery glorious.

Today Alison went missing on a number of occasions. No need to panic. I knew she would be taking photos of the wonderful scenery and would turn up eventually.
The first time we see our destination on a road sign. We are working on a suitable route with the help of our executive travel team.
A poignant moment on our route. We stopped at a memorial dedicated to the thousands of Italian soldiers who were killed or wounded at the Battle of El Alamein. An identical memorial stands at El Alamein itself, a reminder of the enormous human cost of the fighting there.

It is impossible not to reflect on those who travelled in very different circumstances. We appreciate what a privilege it is to travel today – freely, safely and by choice – through places where so many lives were changed forever.

Every day we congratulate ourselves on the decision to bring the camping equipment. Loading our bones is essential for good bone health and we have been following government guidelines on weight lifting. We are also fully prepared for a lack of suitable accommodation. Never let it be said that we are unprepared.

The longest ride on this trip – a hilly 49 miles and arrived by 4.30pm. Had to collapse on the bed for a minute or two. We asked Charlie what her recommendation would be if 70 year olds did the same route. She replied that they would need two days. A celebration is in order.

We went to the Cathedral to try and get another stamp for our Credenziale. We couldn’t enter as there was a service at the time. We will revisit tomorrow.

Time for bed. Elite athletes need proper recovery time and we always follow instructions.

Good night

alisonmiddleditch

5 responses to “Day 15 Ruviano to Cassino”

  1. chrisincarshalton avatar
    chrisincarshalton

    Now you are

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  2. malcolmchoat8206f59a7e avatar
    malcolmchoat8206f59a7e

    Great, sounds like a brilliant day, good weather, no ploughed fields to cross, great scenery and no navigational mishaps. Just worried as there were no photos of copious, or even frugal, amounts of food and drink waiting to be devoured by a pair of elderly elite athletes. Still, knowing you, I’ve a suspicion you didn’t go short. No fuel, no miles.

    Looking at the route map EV5 loses its developed status some way before Rome. There’s a good chance though that general sign-posting will be a lot better than in the deep South and so keep you heading in the right direction. If there’s the slightest doubt you’ve got your executive travel team to nudge you toward the correct decision.

    Have a great day’s cycling, till this evening.

    Love & best wishes

    Malcolm & Evelyn

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  3. fionarobertson13 avatar
    fionarobertson13

    I am loving the descriptions of your cycling pilgrimage in such a beautiful country. Particularly enjoying the “ups and downs”.

    I am so interested to see your photos of the area today. In the winter of 1943/1944 my father was fighting his way up the same kind of route as you towards Monte Cassino and then up towards the liberation of Rome. Unfortunately he was marching under fire and not cycling in the glorious sunshine!

    He fought in a number of the battles of Monte Cassino before being wounded. He described their journey from Salerno north as hellish – rainy cold weather, always another river to cross under fire and another fortified hill to climb and attack to defeat the German army. Many of his comrades are buried in the Commonwealth War Cemetery at Cassino. I have never been there but my father always loved Italy and visited the area in which he fought often over the years. He would have loved to have heard your experiences from this area.

    You are doing amazingly well. Keep going

    love Fiona xx

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  4. Valeria De Gennaro avatar
    Valeria De Gennaro

    Dear both,
    Alice is happy to see you in Rome and you can also stay one night if you want. She asked me to give you her number and you can text her when you know your plans? She is also happy to cycle with you
    +44 7557 961357
    Good luck xx

    Sent from Outlook for iOShttps://aka.ms/o0ukef

    From: Chris Barnes cabarnes4646@gmail.com
    Sent: Thursday, 24 September 2026 07:04:58
    To: Alison and Alison and the art of re-tyrement comment+r100d18-71zew3hjw4y556w@comment.wordpress.com
    Cc: Mohammed Shehla smohammed99@gmail.com; De Gennaro Valeria Valeria.degennaro@sky.com
    Subject: Re: Day 15 Ruviano to Cassino

    Now you are in the Italy we recognise! Rome here you come!
    Even the bedding looked Italian!
    Have a great day
    Love
    C and S
    Xxx

    Sent from my iPhone

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    1. alisonmiddleditch avatar
      alisonmiddleditch

      Valeria,
      We think we might be in Rome on Sunday or Monday. It is difficult to predict on the bikes. Thank Alice for the kind offer of somewhere to stay but we will sort it ourselves. We would be very pleased to meet up with her for a drink or supper and will contact her direct. We will text her in the next day or so.

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