We started as we normally do: 05:00 am, bananas and plenty of cereal bars. After bandaging the wounded soldiers, the hindered crew parted. After a (very) short visit to Genoa (in which we even decided that the main square was not worth stopping for a picture), we went for the mountains... Non stop climbs were the norm for about 30 kilometres, in which we arrived to over 800m height (informative picture below) Gladly, we found a stop halfway through in which we fueled ourselves with coffee, a banana "hotdog" (don't ask) and a daily-calory-intake cannolo.
The mountain was challenging but we made our progress slowly and surely. Making full use of every gear the bike would offer (credits to Franco for the maintenance job the afternoon prior), we arrived to the summit. From there, it was -almost- all downhill (quite literally), reaching speeds or over 60km/h on some stretches. Views were breathtaking throughout, making the effort very well worth it. Eventually, we managed to found ourselves on "the other side" of the mountain chain, successfully crossing the northern section of the apenines or "alpenines". According to our (un)reliable route source, Google, "no meaningful slopes" expect us.
But it was not without drama that the day would reach its conclusion. Shortly before reaching Bobbio, the journey's strain started taking its toll on the bikes as 2 of Sergio's spokes detached from the wheel. An extra effort (from the bike, mainly) and a bit of fortune allowed for a god-sent gas station bycicle repairman to fix it.
Good news is that between our 3 pizzeta lunch and incredibly hearty dinner (I dont even want to think how many people were supposedly fed with what we ingested), we are ready to go over the ride again, and probably twice (calorically speaking at least).
Quite a climb, bravo! Is parmigiano romano or grana padano counts as bikeproof meal? I know is straight cheese, but the original ones from that region are quite tasty.
ResponderEliminarSince you are around the neighborhood might be worth the shot.