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James P Bennett @akjpb.bsky.social · 4d

Last night in Italy, training north to Frankfurt in the AM. Hope to retrieve our bike boxes from a questionable storage option. Back in ANC Thursday night, inshallah. I like (most of) my life in Alaska, so I’m happy to return home from a ++ good cycling adventure & see what will unfold for me in AK!

3 cyclists at an arched railroad underpass

My bike with the Tuscany hills in the background.

Hilltop Castle in the Tuscany region of Italy.

2 lane road with a canopy of oak trees in the Tuscany region of Italy.

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James P Bennett @akjpb.bsky.social · 4d

Hawk wing on the left. Edible, but not my fave. If you can find its cousin, the hedgehog, nearby, that one is choice. Not sure of the one on the right.

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James P Bennett @akjpb.bsky.social · 6d

My fave Solomon Burke song: youtu.be/Avbp8xLf0GY

Junkie XL - Catch Up To My Step (featuring Solomon Burke) [OFFICIAL VIDEO]

YouTube video by Roadrunner Records

youtu.be

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James P Bennett @akjpb.bsky.social · 7d

A post-ride beer & then a reservations-only pizza place for a late dinner. Che bontà!

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James P Bennett @akjpb.bsky.social · 7d

We’re staying in Lucca, in the Tuscany region of Italy, using the town as a hub & taking day rides. Pisa is only 25K away, mostly via cycle paths, so we biked to see the tower today. Yesterday’s ride was up in the hills. Perfect weather, gorgeous countryside, incredible art/architecture.

Up in the Tuscan hills, some serious cyclists joined us at a natural spring to refill water bottles.

Lots of old buildings with ornate stone carvings.

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James P Bennett @akjpb.bsky.social · 10d

Completely impressed how easy in Europe it is to bring our bikes on buses, ferries and trains as we change our minds on routes to take b/c of weather, road conditions or being tired.

Boarding a local ferry near Split, Croatia.

Overlooking the Adriatic Sea while cycling a gravel road in Croatia.

About to board a ferry for an 11 hour ride to Ancona, Italy.

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James P Bennett @akjpb.bsky.social · 12d

We hope to arrive in Lucca, in the Tuscany region by Tuesday & spend 6 nights there, biking, hiking, & enjoying good food/wine before biking to the west coast of Italy to catch a train to Frankfurt & catch our flights home.

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James P Bennett @akjpb.bsky.social · 13d

After battling hurricane force winds (Bura in Croatian) for 1.5 days, we tried to make it inland, but it’s getting cold in the mountains. It will be cold when we return to Alaska, so we are now taking a ferry to Italy to find warmth. We’ll slowly cycle/train back to F’furt to catch our return flight

Stacking 4 bikes in the tiny entry of our apartment in Split, Croatia.

Seems most of the places we found to stay were near ancient churches.

Trying (unsuccessfully) to escape the wind by taking a bus to a town some 150Ks away.

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James P Bennett @akjpb.bsky.social · 15d

We are all quite tired at the end of each day’s ride, but with enough energy to find dinner, shop for the next day’s breakfast, lunch and sometimes swim. I wouldn’t want to do much more than what we are doing.

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James P Bennett @akjpb.bsky.social · 15d

We’ve mainly passed through small towns, Zadar being the biggest, so my observation is casual. There seems to be tight family connections…people (including solo women) walk around w/o fear in the evening.

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James P Bennett @akjpb.bsky.social · 15d

Hi from Zadar, Croatia. Casual observations: folks in the Balkans seem happy & peaceful. We’ve seen no crime, no homeless & aside from some huge yachts in the Adriatic, little evidence of wealth disparity. For me, cycling 4-8 hours/day with 1K meters of elevation gain has cured my insomnia.

Cycling on a gravel road on the Adriatic coast.

Taking a break from cycling along the Adriatic coast.

Lots of islands in the Adriatic. It was quite windy when this pic was taken.

We liked finding lonely back roads rather than riding on the narrow, 2-lane main roads.

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James P Bennett @akjpb.bsky.social · 17d

Probably packed their bike in a box to transport it on the train (bus?) and now re-assembling it to ride. I do this often.

Boxes with bikes inside transported by airplane.

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James P Bennett @akjpb.bsky.social · 21d

After a week of cycling through Slovenia, we are now in Croatia. We’ve been loving the adventure, but everyday has presented challenges: mechanical issues, impossibly steep grades & some heavy rain. Today’s weather/route was near-perfect, ending with a swim in the Adriatic Sea & a seafood dinner.

Pushing a bike up a 15° grade on a chunky gravel road in Croatia.

Pushing bikes on a steep singletrack trail in a Croatian forest.

Drying off after a swim in the clear blue waters of the Adriatic Sea.

A lit-up church steeple this evening as viewed from our BnB.

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James P Bennett @akjpb.bsky.social · 25d

Cycling in Slovenia continues to provide us with gorgeous scenery, 1st rate bike paths that are at times wonderfully challenging (as well as pure fun), friendly people and good food. We met an Anchorage couple en route today.

Mist rising above a village on the Soca River

Jessica (as we all did) pushing up a hill on today’s ride.

My 3 friends atop the 1st serious climb of the day.

A bike/pedestrian bridge across the Soca River near Nova Gorica, Slovenia.

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James P Bennett @akjpb.bsky.social · 28d

Hi from Slovenia. 2 days of cycling completed, including some steep ascents (hike-a-bike). Gorgeous mountain scenery, 1st rate cycle paths, mostly lonely roads, quaint villages. I could live here.

Pushing bikes up the last pitch of an 18° climb in the rain.

Traditional houses in Podkoren, Slovenia.

Our crew, 3 Alaskans and 1 former Alaskan at the peak of yesterday’s climb.

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James P Bennett @akjpb.bsky.social · Sep 12

Yeah, in 2 days, I’m gonna take my bike & head over to the other side of the globe for a month or so & cycle in the Balkans. The US is in a downward spiral & we’ve always been bloodthirsty people. Don’t deny it. Cooler heads aren’t prevailing.

Release the Epstein files. Everything else is BS.

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Reposted by James P Bennett