Day 12: The Wall

Date: 9/19/07
From: Parma
To: Desenzano del Garda (via Conneto and Castiglionne)
Miles: 52.6 (500 ft. of climbing)
Miles Completed: 583.7 (19,900 ft. of climbing)
Lunch: Pizzeria in Castiglionne
Dinner: Ristorante in Hotel Estee
Accommodations: Hotel Tripoli


Today, I hit the wall physically. Every inch of the ride was a struggle. My body was rejecting the bicycle. Ed said there was a headwind – it felt more like a wall. Those of us who cycle know how much your emotions can ebb and flow during a ride – it’s like a mental roller coaster. For better or worse, I decide to listen to Pink Floyd’s classic album The Wall for sympathetic theme music.

My mood and cycling mojo are perfectly in tune with the mostly depressing but sometimes uplifting Pink Floyd music. I feel like I lived nine emotional lives this ride – as if I was suffering from bipolar biking disorder. Each time the winds kick up I feel Another Brick in The Wall. At times I feel Comfortably Numb while others I just want to Stop. I’ve now gone from thinking this trip was The Happiest Days of Our Lives to wanting to say Goodbye Cruel World of bike touring. I get some sudden bursts of energy during The Trial (TEAR DOWN THE WALL!!!) only to regress to wanting sympathy from my Mother. Eerily, clouds start forming overhead during Goodbye Blue Sky and the road feels endless like we are cycling into Empty Spaces. Don’t Leave Me Now, I keep thinking as the wind is howling so badly I’m trailing Dr. Ed by miles and now lose sight of him wondering Is There Anybody Out There? At last I realize The Show Must Go On and begin to pedal my way Outside The Wall and into Desenzano del Garda around 3pm.

The music stops and so does my emotional roller coaster – the ride and accompanying Pink Floyd music almost feel like a dream. Desenzano is an incredibly tranquil town on the shore of Lake Garda, which is framed by huge mountains in the background. Lake Garda is one of several big lakes, including the more famous Lake Como, in northern Italy.
I’m definitely going to dedicate a bicycle tour to the lakes region in the near future. Our accommodations at Hotel Tripoli are great – we have a lakeside room with great views. After scouring the town for a massage, I stumble upon Figurella, a woman’s beauty center. The women here are fascinated with our touring story and they say the love American men. They give me a discounted rate of €30 for an hour long massage. I feel great afterward.

We ate dinner at a restaurant in the Hotel Estee, which is right on the lake. The views were incredible and the food was great as well.

As we head back to our room I realize this is the first day I am looking forward to heading home. I’m a little anxious. As I put my head down to rest I wonder how my body is going to feel tomorrow riding.