Exploring 意大利 on Two Wheels: My 宝博体育 Adventure Part 1

"Oh, probably that time I solo biked close to 400 miles across 意大利 从 弗洛伦斯 去阿马尔菲海岸." That's usually my go-to response when someone asks about my favorite memory 从 通过东航卡帕宝博体育. 为了纪念 全国自行车月 this May, we are sharing 东航卡帕 alumni Drew Laird's cycling stories 从 宝博体育 为了庆祝.

在1922年春天，我 在阿姆斯特丹留学 和 I dragged my luggage through Schiphol Airport where I struggled to fit it on the train 和 maneuver my comically overpacked bags up the ramp to the lobby of The Student Hotel. I don’t really know what I expected. 我知道 荷兰 自行车比人多, 和, in a country with such amazing cycling infrastructure, I had every intention of bringing my racing bike with me to #BikeThere 和 everywhere.

First, I rode around the eclectic cities of 荷兰. I biked hundreds of miles to Rotterdam, 乌特勒支, 英国产的, 阿尔克马尔, Volendam, 主任。, 海牙, 哈勒姆, 样子, Z和voort, 和 more charming villages along the way. When my long-time high school friend visited me in March, we spontaneously rode 从 Brussels to 阿姆斯特丹–a journey totaling 146 miles–fueling ourselves on waffles 和 pastries along the way. In April, I solo traveled to southern 西班牙 by train 和 rode my bike through the manicured hills of Retiro Park in 马德里的鹅卵石 巴塞罗那的s Barrio Gótico, 和 up the almond 和 olive fields in the eerie mountain towns of the Sierra Nevada.

Nothing, however, can quite match biking 377 miles 从 弗洛伦斯 去阿马尔菲海岸. 4月28日, I laid the bare minimum I needed for survival on my bed 和 looked down at the assortment of my most important possessions, in awe of how few things it was.

跟你说实话吧, I probably would have appreciated a few more pairs of clean underwear once I hit the fourth day, but that was hardly on my mind as I soared through the Italian countryside. On day one, after “carbo-loading” on pasta 和 gelato in between my sightseeing around 弗洛伦斯, I biked a total of 120 miles 和 climbed a little over 8000 feet.

在某种程度上, I’m glad that this was the first day, 因为, 到目前为止, this was the most physically difficult leg of my journey. It took me until 10pm to finally arrive at 奥维多, a medieval town clustered on top of a steep hill. At the same time, though, the beauty of this route was unmatched. 

I climbed through the vineyards of the Chianti region, astonished not just by the views, but by how many friendly Italian cyclists jovially sung “ciao” to me as I ambled along on my fully packed bike. 

I descended into the Tuscan fog, praying that my tires would keep traction on the freshly rained roads, 和—when I arrived in Siena—that they wouldn’t get a flat on the twisty cobbled alleys.

Drew Laird studied abroad with 东航卡帕 in 阿姆斯特丹 in Spring '22.