Servas Italy - Bike Event (2021)
Our host Stefano, in whose house we stayed at night, hardly spoke any English. No hindrance though, we communicated in a mix of Italian, English, sign language, … . He introduced us to delicious Italian deli meat products, taught us a trick to perfectly cook an egg, the egg white hard but the egg yolk just still liquid, made us the perfect expresso, …
The event, held in Cuneo – Italy, started – traditionally I’d say – with a fantastic Italian meal & great Italian wine the evening before the first day of biking. Biking around Cuneo proved to be harder than expected, as not even mid-way our tour on this first day a heavy downpour made us all soaking wet.
It didn’t prove to be a problem, as an hour later the Italian sun was present again. On the railing of a bridge over a mountain river, clothes were hung drying. Many took this opportunity to wash away the dirt in the river.
Later that afternoon, a bare foot walking path experience brought us again closer to nature and to our inner selves. And to top it off, a song session was held, with guitar, mandolin & flute, and songs from all over the world.
The second day of bike riding brought us into the Stura valley, with a 600 m climb from Cuneo to Vinadio. For some, electric bikes were a good help. Experienced bike riders of various ages went without this support.
Going over small roads through the beautiful landscape, it was again an opportunity to chatter and to get to know each participant better. A British-Polish couple told how they met while doing speleology. An Italian couple talked in detail about their experience of living in Brasil. Another couple told us enthusiastically about their grandchildren, …
A last goodbye was on a terrace in a small town along the way back, singing songs from all over the world. The enthusiasm was such that a local lady, hearing the songs, came to the terrace and joined.
Returning by car, we were immersed in the Occitanian culture, a region partly in France & Italy we weren’t aware of, through the enthusiastic singing of Franca & Piero. Italian revolutionary songs were added, with Pierro giving the rhythm by knocking on the steering wheel and Franca on the dashboard of their car.
With SERVAS groups organising events regularly, we will surely participate in future ones as we also did in former ones in Spain, Belgium, Czech Republic and Switzerland.
