Asbury College at the Olympics

Well, the bike didn’t sell. We got a call this morning saying that the guy decided he wasn’t interested.

I felt like it was time to move on. So at about 10:00 I left the B&B and went to an Internet cafe. There, I emailed several bike shops in Torino to see if they would hold my bike for me. No word from them yet.

After that, I headed for the train station, where I met two American girls a year or so younger than myself. One of them actually has an internship with NBC at the Olympics. I ended up talking to them for a few hours because the regional trains are on strike.

The regional strike meant that the trains in rural places like Lucca were shut down. So right now I’m on a bus going from Lucca to Pisa. In Pisa (don’t worry, I’m not spending the night there again), I’m planning to kill a few hours and then take the train to Torino (the weather is going to be all bad for the next three days, so no touring is really possible). I’m hoping the train ride will be a really long one so that I can get enough sleep to function tomorrow.

Tomorrow my mission is to find a solution for my bike. Then, I’ll have to find a place to stay, which will be tricky. The hostel is all booked up, so I don’t know how that will work out.

Anyway, that’s the situation. With this weather, I’m pretty much just biding my time until my job starts.

4:00

My bus made it successfully to Pisa. There, however, they tell me that no trains going to Torino can carry bikes. So, I got a ticket to Genova, basically halfway between Pisa and Torino and as far as I could go with the bike.

I got off here in Genova where there is a foot of snow on the ground. None of the trains going to Torino anytime of the day can carry bikes.

But miraculously for me, I was able to purchase tickets for both me and the bike through the automated machine here, even though the train isn’t supposed to carry bikes. So I now just got on the train going to Torino and we’re still sitting in the station. By bike is locked down in the foyer area.

I was able to get some shut eye from Pisa to here, but I need to sign off and get as much as I can in now. I arrive in Torino at 1:00 am and plan to just stay at the station until morning. I’m praying that it will be warm at the station.

8:45

Its now about 8:45 here in the Torino train station and I have had a surprisingly good night. I found a seat here in a slightly warm waiting room at about 1:30, had a snack from my stash, and then got an amazing amount of sleep.

The best possition was to put my backpack in my lap (both for comfort and for safety), and then put my hat down on the bag. I’d then tuck my arms in close to my body, lean over and rest my head on my hat and bag. It was warm and reasonably comfortable, and I slept soundly except for when the pressure would build up on my legs or feet and I’d have to get up for a stretch.