I left early in the morning and after leaving the B&B I went to the bar to meet Massimo. The evening before he had sent a text message to the Bar Pasticceria La Classica Da Impastato where we would meet for the breakfast that he would offer me.

When I arrived she welcomed me very warmly, also giving me a branch of Myrtle that she had collected from her garden (it is an evergreen shrub typical of the Mediterranean scrub) telling me that this plant with white flowers was traditionally symbolic in ancient times and was considered a plant of good wishes.

The first strech - After a friendly hug and a visit to the pastry shop he told me take what you want as you will need energy for when you pedal. And so I had a cappuccino with a slice of fresh, artisanal cake, while he had a coffee. A welcoming, clean bike/motorcycle room with very professional staff.

We had a chat, with Massimo telling me that he had been a 13-time Italian champion in the sporting activity of skeet shooting also being a skeet instructor, plus he is the owner of the Quinto Moro Porta la Barbagia restaurant (a place where Sardinian products are offered).

Then, some of his friends joined the table, one of whom was a long-distance runner and cyclist. Thank you very much Massimo for your kindness and the explanation of Civitavecchia, the breakfast and the Mirte branch!

The second strech - I had put Massimo's myrtle branch in the handlebar bag of my bicycle and said goodbye to him. Today I would start cycling on the Lazio coast, the seafront was a very beautiful and well-paved stretch and inside the historic port of Civitavecchia (an important cruise and ferry port) there is Fort Michelangelo, restaurants and bars around.

I was able to enjoy splendid views of the sea and the palm trees that line the long beaches and there was the large and famous gigantic statue (9 meters high) of the Sailor's Kiss created by the sculptor Johnny Seward based on the iconic photo from Times Square NY of a sailor kissing  a total stranger - a dental assistant, to celebrate VJ day and the end of the Second World War. The was also a nice Ferris wheel.

The third strech - Left on the seafront of Civitavecchia with a slightly cloudy sky but with a hot day I cycled on the road 1 Aurelia along the coast with flat terrain through Marina di Cerveteri which has only two beautiful beaches and then arriving at the Riserva Naturale Statale Del Litorale Romano.

DESCRIPTION - Roman Coast State Nature Reserve

The Roman Coast State Nature Reserve extends (about 16 thousand hectares) in the municipalities of Rome and Fiumicino in Lazio.

The third strech - I have cycled sections of the route and it is very beautiful and naturalistic, winding along flat paths with dirt cycle paths and sandy stretches surrounded by vegetation of mixed forests and dunes, pine forests and long wild beaches and is dominated by the sea.

The fourth strech - After leaving the nature reserve I continued on a road that ran alongside the Fiumicino airport and then followed the coast road that runs from Ostia to Torvajanica. During this stretch lied kilometers of uncontaminated coastline with beautiful white beaches including the hamlet of the municipality of Pomezia, in the Metropolitan City of Rome. I finally reached the last stop in Lido dei Pini.

The last leg - This evening I camped at Camping Village Parco della Gallinara in the town of Lido dei Pini in Anzio. A large campsite, a natural haven of peace on the Lazio coast located on an area of 170 hectares of splendid pine forest and is located a few meters from a long beach of fine sand.

There were sports facilities, cottages, mobile homes and a restaurant but the campground wasn't supposed to be open since it wasn't high season and I was lucky it was still open. It was so organized that a boy who works in the facility accompanied me to my pitch driving a Golf Car and I drove my bicycle. After putting up the tent and taking a shower, I left the campsite with my bicycle and went to a small supermarket to get food for dinner.

The campground was incredibly large and it wasn't easy to find my tent, but if I hadn't found it there was a number to call which was written on a sign where I had put the tent, luckily I had found the tent in the camping area with very few tourists and many empty areas, in short it looks like a large private campsite surrounded by pine trees and a beach if I wanted to go!

After dinner I covered the saddle of the bicycle since it was starting to rain and the rain kept me company while I sent text messages and took travel notes and then fell asleep with the sound of the rain which I love very much and who knows tomorrow where I will be somewhere in the coastal region of Lazio.

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