It was just a little leak

Tire pressure is an interesting thing. At some point in time, when I was a boy becoming a man, I learned that the pressure of the air in a tire is never absolute. The inside of a tire is a dynamic environment that changes based on a few factors, but one of the major factors is the temperature of the tire. Since cold air is more dense, a tire in cold weather will have a lower air pressure than a tire in warmer weather.

Another interesting fact about tires is that the faster they move, the warmer they get, thereby expanding the air in the tire. Additionally, the friction between the tire and the road introduced by heavy braking can further warm the tire and increase air pressure.

The reason that I mention these chicken nuggets of information is because upon setting out from Parma to La Spezia, the air pressure in the front tire had dropped from 2.4 to 1.9. This is clearly indicative of a slow leak, but I wasn't ready to believe that because there was no way that the motorcycle was going to start letting me down on the second day of the trip. While motoring west, I was happy to see that the air pressure had increased to 2.1, so I decided to write off the lower reading in the morning to the cold temperature and the fact that the tire itself was cold.

Upon arriving in my destination, La Spezia, I looked at the pressure reading again and was disgustedly unsurprised to see that the pressure had dropped to 1.7 in the front tire. With that I gave in and made arrangements to have the bike taken to a tire shop the next morning.

In the end, it all worked out really well, because I had planned to visit Cinque Terre by train the next day and take a rest from riding.

After a nice breakfast and dropping the bike off at a gommista, I jumped on the train from La Spezia to Cinque Terre and entered the world of being a tourist. Here are pictures:

[caption id="attachment_839" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="Even The Doors Will Try To Screw You In Italy"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_840" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="Look at these tourists in my picture"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_841" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="No Tourists"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_842" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="Monterosso Al Mare"][/caption]

It's worth noting that the hiking trails here are brutal. Prior to arriving here, I'd heard stories about how quaint and beautiful Cinque Terre is and those stories are true. The stories that you don't hear are about the massive amount of gnar on these trails. Maybe I went on the wrong trails. Who knows. At one point between Vernazza and Corniglia, I passed a group of hikers who were heading in the opposite direction and had set up an oasis in the shade. They had tents out and were watering the camels; I had never seen such a lavish setup. As I passed, one of the hikers put down the chalice of water from which they were sipping and called out to me: "Can you tell me if we are at least half way there?". Based on the angle of sun and the positions of the two villages betwixt which we met, I replied with a firm but honest "Nope." and moved on. Here are pictures of the villages from the trails:

[caption id="attachment_844" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="Monterosso Al Mare From the Trail"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_845" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="Vernazza"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_846" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="More Vernazza"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_847" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="Vernazza From The Trail"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_848" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="Corniglia From The Trail"][/caption]

Much to my chagrin, the trail between Corniglia and Manarola had been shut down due to recent flooding, obviously caused by global warming. Since it had taken me nearly three hours to traverse the barren Martian landscape that comprise the trails between Monterosso Al Mare and Corniglia, I had to get back to Marco the Gommista (I can't make that up) to pick up the bike so that I could get to work. Here are some pictures from Corniglia.

[caption id="attachment_850" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="Wi-Fi Password in Corniglia"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_851" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="Corniglia Reminds Me Of The Marina"][/caption]

Overall, I have mixed feelings about Cinque Terre and it's my fault for trying to start from the last village and work my back towards the first. I should have started south and gone north, because I'm certain that the villages of Manarola and Riomaggiore are the bountiful lands of candies and handies that I've heard so much about.

On day four, we hop back on the bike and head for Pisa in an effort to marvel at the amazing Italian engineering and architectural prowess.