Day 48: Getting to Venice

After leaving Bibione I had some nice cycling conditions. Flat, temperatures not to hot and dedicated cycling paths or small roads. 

After returning to the sea the clying paths got very crowded, so progress was a bit slow. But things got really interesting once I got near Punta Sabbione where the ferry starts.

First the cycling path crosses a watergate. But the bar would never open. So all cyclists waiting eventually just crawled under the bar to cross it.

15 km afterwards I arrived at the port and wanted to buy a ticket for me and a bicycle. The cashier asked the fatal question: "For a bike or for this thing." (pointing at my velomobile). After some phone calls she said she'd ask the captain of the next boat. He said it wasn't possible but there was a bigger boat coming at 16:30. So the cashier told me she'd ask the captain of the bigger boat, if they'd carry the velomobile. So I waited for two hours at the port for an answer.

At 16:25 the boat was there, but there was a large queue at the ticket counter, so she told me to ask them myself. Which was hard, because everything was blocked by people waiting for the fairy. But when I finally managed to get through they said yes. Now in a hurry I got the bike, bought the tickets and sprinted onto the boat just as it was about to leave. The deck locked like this:

I'm not sure how you can even question whether the velomobile fits. Probably a tour with more than 20 velomobiles could be an issue. I guess even the small ferries wouldn't have been a problem (so if anyone else tries to go to Venice: Hide your velomobile and just buy the tickets).

With this boat I transferred to the Lido island and then took the car ferry from there to Venice. I had assumed my cycling was finished for the day and changed into my normal shoes, but the car ferry sailed at a different place, so I had to cycle there. Cycling on click-pedals without cycling shoes is a bit strange, but I made it there.

This wasn't the end of my troubles though. First I wanted to store the velomobile in a bicycle parking facility. But the boxes where to small. When I tried to cycle to the next island (where the train station is) I encountered a bridge with stairs:

I'm willing to push up my velomobile a few steps, but this was a bit much. On the map I couldn't find any other way. Also the Hotel had told me, that after the train station you aren't allowed to cycle or push your bike. Instead you have to hire a porter or carry your bike on a trolley. So this is what I did to solve both problems:

This did cost a bit of money (well earned for the work of pushing all the weight up the stairs) and in the end I was happy just to arrive.

On a completely different note: Someone in the velomobile forum found some more news on my travel in the baltics.

"Some have an urge to push him off the road, some say it’s a nuisance, and some are calling on police to punish him and remove him from the road." (from autotranslate).

Wow - most drivers were actually very nice, interested, encouraging and friendly. Perhaps 1 in 100 reactions was negative. Calling the police obviously did not help. After 25+ checks by police I think it is pretty safe to say that there is nothing wrong with driving a velomobile. These people should learn some basic traffic law. The road is not for cars only.