BIKING
Floods: Last spring when we were here the bike path was not passable due to the winter rains. It was covered with water, debris and mud. This fall it has been cleaned up but there were remnants of the flooding. The first picture with the black bag on the tree gives you some idea of how high the water can get. The houseboat pictured can rise with the level of the water and remains attached to the dock by that pole angled to the side of the boat.
The second picture is of a bridge over the Tiber and shows the tree debris still stuck on the bridge
Overgrown Path: You can see a marked decrease in the maintenance of the bike path as it travels north and south of the city. The weeds on both sides are growing to the point where the train is one-half as wide in places.
Gypsies: The gypsy encampment on the north side of the city along the path has disappeared. The one on the south side, shown in the photo, has grown in size and permanence.
Cemetery Visit: We made our annual pilgrimage to the main Rome cemetery on our bikes to clean the grave site of a friend’s grandfather who died while awaiting a visa to enter the US after they left Russia in 1989 with the big wave of Jews who left at that time.
I also collected the usual number of mosquito bites. This year there has been an unusual number of mosquitos in Rome due to the wet and warm weather.
On the way to and from the cemetery we pass through the town of Prima Porta. It is not very scenic.
Lake Braciano: This was our third or fourth bike trip around Lake Braciano. The day was not too nice but it was warm. It is about 20 miles to bike around and it is located about 20 miles north of Rome.
Trevignano is one of the three towns on the lake.
We stopped to have a snack and the other people were busy taking photos of this animal.
That is our last stop – the town of Braciano where we started and where we will catch the train to go back to Rome.
The main square in the town with the castle on the top of the town of Braciano.
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