Cranked Up Cyclist

Last day Rome - We started the day with a climb (be rude not to really) 🙃🚴‍♀️.  4% average for a couple of km, so not to difficult really, the heat was stifling!  

We started the last climb of the trip, some 5 - 6km at an average of 5.5%, the first part was easy, then we had a nice down hill section, followed by an 11/12 degree uphill section.   I got about 4km in & ran out of water, stopped at shop bought 2 bottles and tipped one over my head (as you do). 💦

Cycling  🚴‍♀️ into Rome, I would say is one of the hardest things I have ever done. I stayed with Rob, Jo, Dave & Andy, and was very relieved that I did.  40o heat & crazy Italian traffic, not the best mix. We did stick to the bike lanes where possible.  

Today we covered some 44 miles (71 km), 3.600 ft (1.100 m) of ascent.  I discovered today that this trip is as hard as the Lands End to John O"Groats trip 😱 and I'm not planning on doing that. It's just that Italy gets very warm & the UK gets very wet/windy/cold weather. 

I've met some of the nicest people this week. I can't name them all, but they have all contributed to a great week - thank you.    Most evenings I have had supper, with Steve, Jo, Chris, Rob, Paul & Richard - great company & we have had a lot of laughs.  Usually concerning a bottle of Chianti 🥰🤣

Our guides Tina, Seb, Jayne & Chris - all incredibly supportive - thank you. 🥰

Rieti were we stayed last night, is apparently the "Navel" of Italy because of its geographical  location.  Templar knights fleeing persecution are said to have left a sword in stone as a landmark in 1307.  Having been there since 1307, the sword apparently disappeared in August 2020, the bottom part remaining in the rock.! In Jan 2024 the sword reappeared.  The sword is on a tarred road in the woods on the way to a cross country ski resort.   If it's been there since 1307 why would anyone steal it in 2020......

I had been told how lovely Siena was, everyone is right. It is stunning, so beautiful. The central Piazza had an amazing, lively vibe.

We had a lovely meal 😋, although because of the angle of the Piazza (a bit like a velodrome but not as steep) Richard & Paul at the end of the table had to be aware of things rolling off 😂 (Paul used his phone to prop his plate up, to stop his sauce disappearing 🤦‍♀️). As we are in the Chianti region, we had to try a bottle.  For quality control purposes 👍.

Last night a couple of us decided to try a local Tuscan dish from the menu. Oh my days, it was huge! We thought it was lamb, but in actual fact it was a "pork knuckle" served with Tuscan style potatoes & salad. I've never tasted anything like it. It was delicious.  I didn't finish it, it was just to much food. 

Last night we all had supper together, a buffet. Superb, excellent, delicious 😋. Meats, cheeses (Mozzarella, hard cheeses, goats cheese), warm bread, asparagus, peppers, tomatoes, carrots, a selection of pasta, hot chicken..... a veritable feast to both the eyes & the taste buds. I  will have to cycle like a demon tomorrow to use up a few calories 😁🤦‍♀️. The photo is of the Po Valley at sunrise this morning (not taken by me, my photo skills are not great)

Mantova is a lovely little place, with lots of old buildings and a beautiful big square. The local delicacy is pumpkin tortellini, which had to be tried. It was delicious. It tastes almost like marzipan but it isn't as sweet, quite an interesting sensation, especially with fresh Parmesan cheese and a smidge of olive oil. 😘

It has a huge church and interestingly a water fountain of a gargoyle (I think) with water coming out of its nostrils..... no idea who thought of that, but nought so queer as folk (so to speak) . 

We had a lovely evening in Torbole, I have cycled most of the week at some point with Jo & Rob, Richard, Steve or Paul all great company.  We all went out for dinner last night, it was lovely.  The Tiramasu was totally unnecessary but exceptional 😋😋

Being an ever practical person, there was a self service washing machine in the hotel, so I took advantage of it & will hopefully smell slightly sweeter tomorrow 😳😘

An early start this morning 😴so no snoozing, we had to catch a ferry to Garda. 

Bolzano was beautiful & the square in the centre is stunning.  It's a much larger city than I expected. Sat having a glass of wine looking at the the view (see picture) what's not to like ❤️ 

The Pizza I chose was of course the waiter's favourite. Tbh it is was pretty good and the gelato superb 😋😋

This morning dawned with a lovely blue sky & light winds, a favourite sort of day.  We are off to Torbole a mere 70 miles (112 km) and 3300 feet (1000 m) of ascent, 8 climbs in Garmins' world, 7 of them "easy" 🚴😎👍

Last night was very wet, the clouds hovered on the mountains 🏔️ just the tops jutted through the cloud.  It's quite beautiful in an odd sort of way. So no wandering round look at Nauders, I needed give my bike some TLC. 

We have 4 guides with us for this trip. Tina (the boss), Seb (I met him on the Portugal Trip)  Jayne & Chris. Tina managed to get the hotel to switch on the radiators last night, so we could get stuff dryed - an absolute ⭐️. All 4 of them, are doing a fab job in tough, wet conditions. Today they have gone over and beyond & I can't thank them enough. 

Yesterday evening I managed to find the Pink Church (I've attached a photo). See some brightly coloured houses (they were lovely), sampled some of the local food, it was delicious 😋. Oddly I didn't see much in the way of violins 🎻 . I did see lots of shops selling Lederhosen!!

I do know I woke at 6 am this morning, the Pink Church Bells 🔔 were very loud 😳. 

I cycled English Channel to the Mediterranean in 2023 with a lot of the people on this trip.  So last night it was great to catch up, reminisce about that trip and have a good chat.

Day 1 and we are off 🫣 I always get a bit nervous on the first day of any tour, but once we have gotten going and have settled into things,  usually it's OK.   Today we started with a steady ride of 64 ish miles (104 km) and 3,100 ft (963 metres) of ascent and according to Garmin 10 climbs! 😊🚴‍♀️👍

To kick things off in a great way, last night a few of us arrived in Munich as Stephen, one of the group observed, a few of us went to a Vietnamese restaurant, had Thai red curry, whilst he sat drinking French wine & went to see an Italian Opera, All very German 🤣🤣.

Who would ever of guessed that the day I decide to go for a wander there is a massive football match on 😳 apparently PSG vs Milan in the Champions League final, football fans & fan zones everywhere 😬😱. I know didly squat about football, what I do know is who ever wins tonight, there will probably be some sore heads tomorrow 🫨🥴.