I slept very well after having completed the longest stage of any TWIKE trip ever yesterday. 650 km in one go are taxing for both vehicle and driver. After a hearty breakfast with the farm owner, I walk outside to find TW 560 just finishing the last few Wh after recharging 17.5kWh overnight.
Today’s drive is much shorter than yesterday – it’s just over 400km 😀
First, I have to get back to the main road – it’s about 3 km of unpaved road which feels much less than yesterday in pitch dark.
As we’re in the Pianura, the first order for today is to drive for about 150km without any visual cues of advancement other than the endless trees and houses along the side roads I’ve chosen for today. I know that I’ve been complaining every single time I’ve crossed the Pianura how endless these drives feel.
Today there is one slight difference – most of the distance is driving along the sea and that is something I like doing very much.
With some good music and the sun warming my face, driving with cruise control engaged actively warps my sensory perception of time – it gets warped and feels like caramel flowing though my brain.
Brzzzzz – @ 65 km/h – just a stop here and there for a quick fix of Italian coffee. 🙂
Finally, I see some hills and the road I’ve planned for today take me straight up to a nice ridge where I have beautiful views of the sea.
This is the moment to say good-bye to the sea for 9 days – I’ll be seeing the Mediterranean sea on the way back to Switzerland on the other side of the peninsula.
On my way into Tuscany, I take one of these iconic TWIKE-with-something pictures:
Just perfect!
Time for a selfie … of sorts.
Everybody knows Tuscany is beautiful… Even more so when you get to do it on such a nice day and in a TWIKE!
Ahh. Such bliss – Italy at its best.
The rolling hills and small roads are heaven for a TWIKE, lots of coasting, regen-braking and cruise controlled driving.
At the end of all these hills, I enter the Orvieto valley and drive along the main river for another hour or so.
Eventually, I come across the first hint that I’m coming close to today’s destination – a sign for Terni!
The broad valley at which end Terni lies beckons and I keep to smaller roads – temperatures today feel like Swiss summer. Warm, not hot – again: perfect TWIKE weather.
I know that I’ll be up very long tonight – last time I visited Terni was 2 years ago and all my friends have already told me that I had to visit them this time around…that’s why I decide to have another espresso, just to be on the safe side 🙂
I drive onwards – with a battery slowly showing signs of depletion as I’ve not been hypermiling and 400+ km are just very, very far, even with my large battery.
With just ~10km juice left in the battery, I arrive in Terni! We made it!
It’s strange to drive across the city with my TWIKE – 25 years ago I used to drive here every 2-3 weeks just for the weekend and was very used to driving around with my own car. I drive to my friends and … life begins.
Good food, good wine, lots of laughter and sitting outside…Italianità!
I’m really looking forward to the next few days here. Days in town will be interpersed with driving days to visit places around Terni I’ve either not yet been or haven’t been in a long time. All of these trips will be undertaken with a selection of my long-time friends … those brave enough to get into my TWIKE 🙂
