Penguins Bike

Day 18 - Buff Arms - Ventimiglia, Italy to Trieste, Italy

David

July 8, 2026 - biked 2 km (1.2 mi), train'd 692 km (430 mi) - biked 872 km (542 mi) total

I swear this is a bike trip, but we're taking trains again. We are meeting our parents in Ljubljana July 9 and there's not enough time. We had decided at the beginning of the trip to skip biking Italy. This is very sad, but it means another trip we want to bike the whole length. So today was an epic amount of regional trains, so we could roll our bike on. It was kind of stressful because we bought these tickets when we were in Spain and I didn't notice that they had crazy tight transfers until we started. We (and actually quite a few other people) ended up running between the trains and hauling out loaded bikes up and down stairs as quick as we could. Good thing all our bike riding on gravel had strengthened our arms.

The hills around Ventimiglia were still stunning in the morning.
Sarah got a coffee with traditional coffee plating.
I got orange juice with traditional coffee plating.
For breakfast, the worst food we've had on the trip. Stale, burnt pastries.
Have you ever ridden a bike named Donna and wondered, what if this Donna was Mondo?
Market in Ventimiglia.
Sarah cannot hide her happiness after she purchases cherries.
Prepare yourself for 10 hours of trains.
Some guy in Montpellier taught us this elevator bike trip.
Someone was in our seat, and it set off a chain of events where that was due to four other people being in the wrong seats.
This is what we look like when we eat peaches. Incredible peaches.
This is what we look like when we eat peaches. Incredible peaches.
One lemon, one pistachio. All chode.
Leg 1 of 4 complete. Preparing for a 5 minute transfer in Milan.
Milano, we barely knew you.
I wish we had more than 30 seconds in Milan because this atrium looked incredible.
Train 2 of 4.
Wonder what this day was like.
No bike racks on Trenord, just buckles.
The Messarunner on Train 3 of 4 after an even tighter 2 minute transfer. Regionale trains have slide in racks. We have learned to run up stairs with our bikes. No photos for obvious reasons.
Bikes on train 4 of 4.
Gabbs takes a rest.
Sunset entering Trieste.
We say goodbye to our final train 11 hours later.
More super-yacht stores. What if i have a regular yacht?
Biking to the hostel in Trieste was stressful. It felt like rush hour and no cycle tracks.
The hostel does not allow bikes inside so I hauled all the bags up in one go while Sarah waited with the bikes.
360 view. 8 bags.
The hostel recommended we store our bikes at this bike rental shop a few blocks away.
We got the code to get in after hours and then almost knocked over 30 bikes like dominoes.
View from our dinner table at a burger bar.
We did not order this, but the "USA Poke Bowl" was on the menu and is absolutely wild. I guess having to deal with Americans tastes like this.
question-baby or old man