The best road in Italy....so far

I have found the smoothest tarmac, a road which makes all others cry. This road was found on my cycle today. I managed to ride up Vesuvius, a climb of some 3500ft or so. It took me a while, but the mind is still strong enough to tell the body to keep going. A cycle through downtown Napoli revealed terrible roads, terrible manners, crazily busy streets, no apparent priority in the road for anything, rising decayed concrete flats with the next load of washing all drying outside, street sellers once again, roundabouts ignored by all, pointless traffic lights, pot holes, mopeds riding down the paths and just an endless hubbub of horns, chatter, engines sprinting to the next stop and the occasional clatter of train tracks. Not the easiest of riding, a real onslaught to the senses.

Once I found the correct road up the volcano, traffic began to dissipate and the riding didn't get easier but did get quieter. The climb from the bottom to the top was 6.8 miles, someone had handily marked on km markings on the road. About 2 km in, the road transformed into this beautifully smooth piece of craftsmanship. Someone had taken time, done a proper job and the results were brilliant to ride on. 3 thoughts weren't lost on me however. 

1. If you can make good roads, why can't you make them everywhere?

2. If you can make good roads, why don't you make them where there is most traffic?

3. If you can make your best road, why did you choose to make it on the most unstable platform of a volcano?

I'm no road planner, but surely someone in the meeting that decided to put this ribbon of road up Vesuvius had encountered really bad roads to the meeting and might have said that the money could be best used elsewhere.

Regardless, it made my ride much more pleasant. I passed 5 other cyclists as I went up, took in some stunning views out to the bay of Naples and was quite pleased with myself for getting to the top, having never done any sort of ride like this ever.

I suppose I should mention that I made an attempt to ride up Vesuvius 2 days ago. This hulking great volcano sits hugely in our view. I rode toward it, I started riding up it, but quite amazingly, I couldn't find a way to the top. Yes, I couldn't get up the mountain that was right in front of me. That has made today's cycle much more pleasing!

Ed