The Appian way

xilios

Hi all, my wife and I plan to tour through Italy and Greece next spring and are thinking of cycling the ancient roman road called the Appian way. First roman road, from rome to brindisi.
I was wondering if anyone has cycled along this road and if they would like to share any tips (condition of road etc...)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Via_Appia
thnx

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Velotour

Years ago I read a highly definitive article about Via Appia in National Geographic. If you could locate that somehow it might be a good place to start.

The Appian Way is so well known there must be some information about it on the WWW. Some 7000 members of the Spartacus slave revolt were crucified along this route. They say the stench of the decaying bodies on the crosses could be smelled for many miles all around.

Contact a teacher of Italian at a local school. They can call at your expense to a cycling club in the area of the road or to almost anyone who might be able to tell the the road's suitability for cycling. In Italy they are very serious about their cycling. All pictures I have seen of the Appian Way showed fairly good road surfaces, but these were photos of very short extents of the road.

blackbird05

Hello Xilios,
I came across this little tidbit in the forum archives, which I think you may find useful. Ken Roberts also has a homepage with pictures, which I've also provided.
http://www.cyclingforums.com/t302581.html
http://www.roberts-1.com/t/b05/itn/k/f/index.htm
If you manage to get in touch with this guy, he may be the best source of information for the route. Good luck, the Appian Way sounds spectacular! One of these days...
Blackbird

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blackbird05

Oh yes, and a word to the wise in case you plan on entering Athens. They've got the most wheelchair-accessible modern subway system out there, but they forbid bicycles. Not that it stopped us in our desparate need to get to the airport, but be prepared for some heated arguments with overzealous security guards if you plan to take your bikes underground.
As for islands, I vouch for Naxos.

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xilios

Thanks for the links, I have already visited them and have roberts site on my favorites file colection for future reference.
As for Athens airport I was there in July 2005 and they gave me a real hard time with my bike, even though I speak Greek.
It seems that most employes do not know all the rules conserning bicycles on trains. I had arranged to leave on a Sunday morning when the streets were empty and also the trains.
Bicycles are only allowed on the intercity trains (OSAP) and only when the front wheel is removed I couldn't possibly imagine why, as soon as I got on the train I put it back on
I was glad that I left for the airport with plenty of time to spare.
I think I will ask my brother in law to find us someone with a pickup truck to get us to the airport we dont need that kind of hassle after a nice tour.

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Velotour

I bicycled Italy first in 1986 and last in 1994. On both tours I found that Italy will ship bikes on trains, but there is one catch. The bike may very well not ride the same train you ride, and it may arrive days later than you arrive at your destination. For example, I finished a bike tour in Venice and needed to take a train back to England. I checked the bike into the station to be shipped. The bike arrived in Lancsahire eight days after I did, and the pump had been taken off the frame. In 1994 the policy was the same with respect to bikes on the trains. At the bus station in Brindisi in 1994 they told me that it is not permissible to take a bike on a bus.