Long hot run to Rovereto

It took me a while to get in and out of Meran. I also went to 4 different petrol stations to get some oil for my chain, which was very squeaky after the long journey and the rain - found some eventually. After that, I got back onto the perfect cycle path down the valley. Slowly the apple orchards around me turned into vineyards and the occasional kiwi plantation.

Excitement of the day:
I was speeding along nicely - mainly downhill, when a group policemen, guns in hand, blocked off all cycle paths and roads along the river. A helicopter hovered very low nearby. It turns out there had been a bank robbery and one of the robbers was hiding in the fields! Now I really knew I was in Italy. Apparently, the thieves thought they could take the train as a getaway... German speakers can read an article about the bizarre event here: http://www.stol.it/nachrichten/artikel.asp?ArtID=97212&p=1&KatID=da
I've now seen a body, an enormous funeral and a full scale man-hunt on this holiday. I dread to think what's up next.

In the end, three of us cyclists waiting for over half an hour decided to take a rather large detour to get around the security zone and continue normally from there. But for a while afterwards, I saw police cars hidden in the vineyards taking a good look at anyone going by. I was a bit worried my black bags looked like swag...

About 20 km further along the road, my front wheel started making ominous knocking sounds, which worsened steadily. I checked everything I knew about (which isn't that much to be honest), but couldn't find the problem. It was very hot anyway, so I decided to stop for a Coke in Trento and talk to the local Bianchi man. Sure enough, I needed a new front wheel, but it wasn't too expensive (20 €) and my nice little German bike now has a cool Italian component. I was amazed how many slick amateur racers with stylish gear were out and about - especially since it was 36 degrees. It seems the current scandals in France are not stopping people from enjoying this great sport.

I eventually got to Rovereto, which was a bit of a disappointment, partly because I chose the wrong hotel with a crappy room (only one socket in the room - either TV or fan), but it had been a long ride, the food was OK and I fell asleep early as usual.

Today's run: 133 km
Total so far: 1567 km