We've arrived in Palermo! It was a tougher ride than we expected today, but very satisfying. I'll comment on Palermo later but let's just say I much prefer the beautiful Sicilian countryside. My muscles seem to remember the trip from last year, and I'm finally gaining speed on the uphills. On the downside, I put so much force on the chain that it's now skipping. It started skipping just minutes before we reached our final resting place. I'm slightly sad that my trusty partner had no life left in it. I hope I can fix it...
Also, this is a message to all Sicilian drivers: DO NOT FUCKING HONK YOUR HORN AT US ALL THE TIME! I appreciate the sentiment of saying hello and wanting to cheer us on, but it can be extremely distracting and downright dangerous. I remember one time we were going very slowly up a steep slope and a car decided to honk when it was right behind us, presumably to warn us that a car was coming because the road was not very wide. Not only was the honking useless because we already heard the car coming from miles away, it disrupted our concentration which made us zigzag even more, creating a rather dangerous situation. On another instance there was a long flat road with perfect visibility, yet a car decided to loudly honk just as it was passing us. That's not funny, that's just annoying.
More later!