A period of fine tuning

Three months have passed. In this time I have not had to put too much thought into the plan. There have been incremental changes to the web site (some better graphics, some more text and pictures) and some minor changes to the route. The only significant one has been the change of the first night's accommodation from Altopascio to Montecarlo. This means about 100m of extra climb but a much more scenic night's location. It also means slightly more complex arrangements for luggage transfers since the hotel is not so close to the railway station. See http://apennines.blogspot.com.au/2013/09/luggage-transfers.html for the detail.

There was also some fine tuning of the route from Arezzo to Sanespolcro. I found a straight, flat secondary road which should have less traffic and be quicker than the original route I had selected out of Arezzo.

I have also added my pre-ride logistics... how to get me and the bike from the plane to Firenze. That is all sorted now!

I have also build a spreadsheet which compares the significant climbs of the route to the "Black Mountain" and Mount Stromlo climbs here in Canberra which will make it easier to figure out how hard each one is :-)

Based on this it now appears likely that we will try to get luggage transport rather than carry stuff in panniers :-) This is yet to be entirely planned, although I have had indicative emails from taxi services in some towns with the rough prices. Once again see http://apennines.blogspot.com.au/2013/09/luggage-transfers.html for my current thinking.

Accommodation all booked

... well at least for me.

In most locations I have reserved two single rooms. I've only booked one room for Firenze because for others the dates will depend on arrival/departure arrangements. I have also booked for the night of my arrival in Italia. I've decided to stay at the coastal town of Fiumicino (where the airport is) rather than go into Rome, because with an 20:05 arrival it will probably be pretty late by the time I get to the hotel.

The next day I can get up as late as I want, then take a shuttle or taxi to Tiburtina station to board the train to Firenze.

Accommodation summary

As of today I have two single rooms booked in each location except Firenze. I'll do that one soon. I will be arriving in Firenze early, so this will end up being the biggest single booking and also the most expensive. Oh well.

Weighing it all up

Luggage Allowance

The checked luggage allowance is 30Kg. Based on the Gold Coast trip, the touring bike packed into the EVOC travel case, with wheels, pump, spares and tools is 20kg.

So for my remaining ten kilograms...

The Salewa backpack with the day pack zipped off is 2.3 kilograms. That means seven kilograms of clothing etc. Then I can use the Salewa day pack as my carry on for 6.5Kg of denser stuff (shoes, toiletries...). I'll probably put my cycling shoes in here too.

I will also take one of the Pacsafe shoulder bags, probably the larger (blue) one to hold most of the electronics.

When I arrive at Fiumicino, I'll recombine the two packs, giving me two hands free to handle the bike! Then in Firenze, it will be time to repack into on-bike and off-bike so that only one bag needs to be carried from town to town.

bikemap.net is not living up to expectations

I'm afraid I am going to have to move the map display of the daily routes from bikemap.net. It is proving too unreliable. Such as shame as the presentation (when it works) is really good.

Update: I have moved all the presentation to http://www.gpsies.com which has exactly what I need, and Klaus Bechtold, the site owner has been incredibly responsive in answering my questions. The wiki now contains links to GPSies for:

• The overall route overview map
• The route map for each day
• A QR code link for each day (takes you to that day's route at GPSies)

As an added benefit, the daily maps allow you to download a copy of the route in multiple formats.

Flights booked

What a saga! The codesharing and the cutthroat nature of the airline business means that it now takes a fair bit of hunting to find the best and cheapest deal. Eventually with bestflights.com.au I was able to get a $1750 airfare which has pretty good itinerary, out via Melbourne and in via Sydney. QANTAS branding the whole way although most segments are really Emirates.

Arrive in Rome at around 8pm on Saturday night, so I'll probably find a local hotel at Fiumicino or in Roma near the train station.

Only drawback is a nine hour stopover in Dubai on the way back... probably worth crashing at the airport hotel.

I got the insurance sorted too.

Which flights?

The September 2014 flights are now becoming available on the web at Emirates. As of today the 24th, the open window goes up until the 16th September, whereas I need the 20th. So four more days until I can book. The price for most flight itineraries is $1615 return.

Right now the best combo for me is:

Outbound

EK0413 leaves Sydney at 21:10 on Friday, and after a three hour break in Dubai arrives in Rome at 13:15 on Saturday, so I can make a 5pm flight or thereabouts from Canberra.

Return

EK0096 Saturday at 22:00 from Rome, arriving after a four hour stop in Dubai at 06:05 on Monday. Plenty of time time make it to work. There has to be some advantage in having an office at BBP :-)