After a nice shower and quick breakfast I got on the bike and rode into Cavour.  I took a quick circuit of the ‘Rock of Cavour’ then made a small detour to see the painted cow.  She has a new paint job that’s quite different from last year’s.

I ended up at the Fontana Cafe, which is where is spent many hours last year, sometimes going there twice in a day.  They have wi-fi whereas the campground doesn’t, although it’s not very fast. The waiter recognized me and seemed very happy to see me again.  I had a cappuccino while waiting for Colin and Mo to arrive, then had another once they’d joined me. Church had gotten out while I was there and the place was hopping busy, at least for awhile.  I mentioned to Colin that the cafe seems to have two names – maybe it changed names but they kept the black cups and saucers that said ‘Caffe Vergnano 1882’. Colin thought that was pretty funny – that is the kind of coffee the cafe serves and they get all kinds of things from the coffee company to promote their brand.  Now that I’m thinking of it I believe they had the same cups at the cafe we stopped at in Saint Vincent – ha ha!

It was kind of sad for me to leave Cavour as it’s one of my favourite places from last year’s trip, but I hope to be back again at some point.

We headed southeast and entered the motorway not far from Fossano and reached the coast at Savona.  From there it was northeast to Genova where it veared southeast again. We passed Carrara, where all the beautiful marble comes from – you can see the mountains that have been hacked almost in half from the quarrying  – if you didn’t know different you might think it was snow, and there are stone-mason places everywhere.

We left that motorway and got onto another one just north of Pisa and headed east towards Firenza where we then headed south past Siena.  Somewhere along the way Colin told me to look at what was passing us on the left – there were 5 Ferraris in a row (all just beautiful, of course – red, red, yellow, red, silver).  A short while later there were two more – maybe stopped for gas or something so got separated.

At some point in the long day’s driving the toll-slip that we got when we entered the motorway had disappeared but when we exited it was at a place that actually had people at the booths rather than just machines.  Colin told the fellow where we’d gotten on and showed him our map – he did a quick calculation and let us on our way (after Colin paid, of course). I figured that if someone was going to lie about how far they’d come they would have said ‘oh – I only entered the motorway 20 km ago’ not the several hundred we honestly admitted to so he believed us.

Before actually going home to Papiano we went into Marsciano for food supplies, and arrived back at the house in the early evening.  The kitchen looks spectacular and the terrace outside is lovely and very inviting.

Had a nice dinner and early to bed – even tho I wasn’t driving it was still a long day.

 

Had a really good sleep – maybe it’s the fresh mountain air.  Took a walk up to the summit – they’re erecting a banner and barriers, and more and more people are arriving, including many on bikes.  I looked up at the hill across the way and wondered if my eyes were failing – there was a light mist over everything.  It turns out it wasn’t a mist – it’s very fine pollen from some of the trees and it was blowing almost sideways in the breeze.  I guess Froome – and all the other ‘asthmatic’ riders – will be huffing on the puffers like mad today.

Colin got the flags up on the campervan and a couple more cars joined us.  One of the dutchmen next to us went for a ride on his bike while the other two went for a walk.  Colin and I ended up talking for quite awhile with a couple from Guernsey that recently retired and sold their house and are now travelling all over in a campervan.

We took Mo for a walk along one of the upper trails – it winds up fairly gently towards the west for quite awhile before it switches back and onwards and upwards to the east.  Where it turns it opens up so you can see the whole valley below with the wonderful lush fields and small villages. You can also see the road that the racers will be on, and all of the campervans parked wherever possible.

Back at the campervan we had figured that we were about 100-150 metres from the summit of this, the second of three climbs in today’s race, and we are actually right at the 150 metre mark – they erected a sign right beside the campervan.

Still more people arriving all the time and one more car squished in beside us – I didn’t think there was room but she backed in with just enough room to be able to open the door and get out.  The road is lined with fans on both sides from well below us to over the summit.  The crowds are mostly all so nice – some are a bit ‘exuberant’ but still friendly – we’re all there for the same reason.  Except for one Swiss woman – she was standing on the small wall across from the campervan and I had put my coat there to save my spot (we were the very first ones here, after all).  When I went to take my spot she started going on and on in French to her partner, who was down at road level beside me.  I did understand part of what she said so I looked up at her and the look on her face was just nasty – rather than respond in kind I chose to move further down the road, which turned out to have a better view anyway.  Too bad some folks just can’t enjoy where they are and what they’re doing, but try as she did she couldn’t ruin my day.

The riders came into view shortly after we saw the heli’s and heard the crowds below us cheering.  The first 10 or so were strung out in singles or 2 or 3 together, then the peloton arrived with Sky leading the train.

Froome was in the middle near the front with Dumoulin not far behind.  One of the dutchmen had told us that Yates had cracked yesterday and Froome had broken away with 80 km to go – he couldn’t be caught and is now in the pink and almost assured of a win.

Poor Pinot was having a bad day and his whole team dropped back to help him, followed shortly by the sprinters as usual in one big bunch just trying to make it up the second to last climb of the entire 3 weeks.  (We found out later that Pinot was admitted to hospital in the evening and treated for pneumonia)

When the last racer had passed we packed up and hit the road, having decided to get partway back to Papiano.  We stopped at the fruit-farm near Cavour (where I had stayed for 9 days last year) and when I walked thru the courtyard to the washrooms I was met by the two little doggies – mama Maya and her baby Spreet.  I asked where the big dog was and was very sad when told that he had passed away last year. They’re having some sort of dinner tonite – I estimate there were 80 or 90 people in attendance, including many children.

 

Kind of sad to leave the campground – it’s so beautiful here looking out over Lago Orta.  We followed slightly slower roads generally west then northwest until we reached Saint Vincent which is just off the highway.  We know we’re on the right road at the moment as we see decorations for the race.

We stopped at a cafe for some cappuccino and to check tomorrow’s route from here again to make sure we take the correct small mountain road to camp on.  We met an older Dutch fellow who’s travelling alone in a campervan and is going to the finish of the stage but we’re planning on being near the top of the second climb.

Saint Vincent seems to be a popular place to go hiking from.  There is a large map in front of the cafe that shows miles and miles of hiking trails in the area.

We found the right road and it winds up and up the side of the mountain, going thru beautiful alpine villages and past lovely open fields.  We passed a couple of spots that would have been good to camp at but they were taken already. We had almost reached the top of the climb when we saw a place that had two cars – we guessed they were hikers as there are tons of hiking trails around here.  

We drove a bit further then, as we were going downhill towards Torgnon decided to turn around and go back to the spot we’d passed.  

It was a lovely place – the air is really fresh and it’s very peaceful.  You can see a structure just below us and there is a trail to it so I took Mo for a little walk.  It almost looks like a church, with paintings on one side but I’m not really sure what it is. The door is very sturdy and is locked – it’s definitely not a hiker’s refuge.

Another campervan pulled in to join us – three friends from the Netherlands.

 

Since we’re staying another night here we decided to take a tour around the area, so after breakfast we headed north to the town of Omegna, which is at the at the north end of the lake.  We continued northeast from there to Verbania, which is where a small arm of the larger Lago Maggiore juts out.

We stocked up on food for the next few days, then drove down to the lakeside and found a parking space right on the lake and across from a cafe.  We each got a cappuccino, and I logged onto their wi-fi for a bit. After our coffees we went for a walk along the lakeside  before returning to the campervan for lunch.  There are people swimming at the beaches, but the water must be very cold – there’s still snow visible on the mountains just to the northwest.

There’s a memorial to the two world wars right on the lakside with names inscribed of the men from the town that died in each.  It has a very moving sculpture on one side.

I saw some birds in the water – a male and a female, and I noticed two little ones swimming very near them as well.  When I looked closer I saw that there was at least one more riding on the top of the daddy’s back while mommy dived from time to time for food.  Colin thought they were Great Crested Grebe (we looked it up later in his ‘Field Guide to Birds or Britain and Europe’ and he was right).

After eating we back-tracked a bit so we could go down the west side of the lake to get back home.  It was a lovely drive – there were several very fancy-looking hotels that looked like they perhaps used to be the villas of very wealthy people, right across the road from the lake.  We agreed that this lake would be much more touristy in summer than Orta and are glad to have visited it before it gets too busy and crowded.

Back at the campground my laundry from yesterday was dry on the line, and we shortly acquired two neighbours – one on each side, although we still have lots of privacy with the hedges.

Got a fairly early start heading south/southwest along the eastern edge of Lago di Garda, which was just beautiful.  

We went thru many lovely little towns right along the lakeshore and it was a wonderful drive right until we got about ¾ of the way down.

We suddenly hit standstill traffic – wondered if there was an accident, but then we saw a sign that made us believe there was road-work happening.  It turns out that there was actually a market on in the next town and it was right along the ‘highway’.

We just got moving on the other side of the town when once again we were bumper-to-bumper backed up.  We were getting near the toll-motorway and saw a stranded semi-truck but that wasn’t the problem. We were diverted down and around an exit/entrance ramp and above us we could see that on the highway there had been a very hot fire – the road barrier and some of the tarmac had been so badly burned they were melted and the road crews were re-paving the whole overpass.

After the two slow-downs we seemed to really be moving, bypassing Brescia, Bergamo and Milano before veering west/northwest.  We exited the toll-highway and went west a bit towards Borgomanero, then north along the east side of Lago Orta. It is small, but very beautiful.  About half-way along the road at Pettanasco we found the signs that directed us up the hill to the campground we’d chosen.

It has awesome views of the lake, including an island with structures on it.  I asked the fellow at the check-in whether it was a hotel and he said that no – it was a monestery and nuns stilled lived there.  I wondered if the monks were now getting lucky, but kept that joke between Colin and myself.

It is very quiet and relaxing here and we’ll be staying for two nights.  I have to pay for the wi-fi connection so won’t be looking at stupid news as much as usual.  I’ll just have to resign myself to enjoying where I am at this moment – can’t be far from paradise.

Had a wonderful shower, although another thing that’s on the clock – 3 ½ minutes per token, which he gave us when we checked in.  I had asked if there was laundry and he said yes, but all I could find was sinks outside, and one had a huge beetle in it. I did do some hand-laundry and hung it to dry on a line that we strung up, although it wasn’t warm enough to dry it through.  Put the still damp things in a waterproof bag to try again tomorrow.

Colin, in the meantime, had found the ‘real’ laundry – both a washer and dryer that were inside the men’s part of the shower/toilette facilities. That was the one place I hadn’t looked, as who really expects the men to do the laundry and not the women??

Walked down to the village with Colin and Mo shortly after breakfast – went to the same cafe I was at yesterday on my bike ride.  Had another excellent cappuccino then headed back to the campervan to get ready for the race.

Colin went to put up the flags but couldn’t find the zip ties so he went back down to the village – no one had them so he ended up attaching them with bits of my clothesline string.  It rained off and on all morning but slacked off about ½ hour before the race started.

Quite a few racers did another trial run on the course, then the real race started from Trento at 1:20, reaching us just before 2:00.

We’re right at the 10 km to go mark and have a banner and everything just a few metres down from us.  I walked up a ways with Mo and had a nice chat with some English folks – a mother and son from Cornwall.

I find that almost anyone will wave and smile at me if I wave and smile first – even the police motos and cars, as well as the other race vehicles.

The race was awesome – we knew the start order, which is the current overall standing in reverse.  Sven Tuft, bless him, was the third one by and I gave him an extra big cheer. I had one of my Cdn flags pinned to my black jacket which was over my chair at the side of the road and when Sven rode past I screamed very loudly ‘go Canada!’ (not that he heard).

The crowds along the road were great, but I was surprised by the number of amateur cyclists going both up and down as the race was happening – that would never be allowed in the Tour!  

After the last rider – Simon Yates – passed all of the calvacade went by again, as well as a bunch of ambulances and the other official cars.  Once again within seconds the barriers and banner were coming down and folks were leaving.

Guido had his tv on so he could watch as the racers reached the finish.  Rohan Dennis won the stage with Tony Martin coming second and Dumoulin doing well enough for third.  Simon Yates lost time to his main competitors, but is still in the overall lead.

About ½ hour later we were all alone on the side of the hill and it suddenly seemed very quiet.

Had a not-bad sleep – lots of dreams.  In one I was going by our old house on Lakeshore Rd and the door was open so I asked if I could have a peek inside.  All of the rooms were in the same place but there was the addition of a second floor. The heating stove in the living room was gone and the cooking stove in the kitchen was on the other side of the room.  In another dream I saw a ladies bike outside a store and decided to take it (!) then when I was riding it to another store thought that if the cops were waiting for me outside for stealing the bike it would be very embarrasing so I rode it back to the first store.  I decided to buy it since the tag said it was only $26.95 but when I went into the store it rang up as $6,295. I said ‘even my beautiful Cannondale only cost $1,850!’. I then thought to myself, still dreaming, ‘at least I didn’t steal it – if it cost $26.95 getting caught with that would have been bad enough, but if it was $6,295 that would be much more serious’!

Back in the real world after a quick bite to eat got on the bike for a real ride.  Started down the hill to the village and rode around a bit – stopped at an open cafe and had an excellent cappuccino.  I was reading the sporting paper The Gazette, which is printed on pink paper, and wanted to write down the start order for the time trial tomorrow but my pen wouldn’t work.  The three older Italian fellows at the next table saw my dilema and one of them went up to the bar and got a pen for me. In addition to the start order I made note of where the 3 Cdns are in the overall – Michael Woods is currently 17th (he was 7th last year in the Vuelta), Boivin is 111th and Sven Tuft is 159th.  After leaving the cafe I took a ride around the village – it’s bigger than it looks from the road.

A little while later Colin, Mo and I, in addition to our neighbour Guido, walked down to the village, Colin got a couple of things from the co-op market then we all went to a cafe for some coffee.  Guido filled up his water bottle from the main village fountain.

By the time we got back to the campervan it was almost time for lunch.  It ended up taking me quite a while to get things together as I kept running out to take photos as many of the racers were doing test runs of the ITT course.  Today’s a rest day for them and a lot of them did ride the route although I didn’t see the Froomester.

After I finished lunch I visited Guido for a bit as he ate his lunch, then Colin and I walked, with Mo of course, back to the village again. Tried for awhile to get hooked up to the free village wi-fi but was unsuccessful so continued on to the same cafe we’d been to earlier.  We were only there for a short bit when two guys started to install the air-conditioning unit on the ceiling. I couldn’t believe they were doing it with customers right below them and no coverings on the tables or anything. They were cutting metal and everything – using a piece of cardboard as protection from the sparks that were flying everywhere.  The smell was horrible – we moved out to the ‘outside area’ where the cigarette smoke was less noxious than the metal-cutting.

I went to say hello to Guido and he invited me in – he had his tv on and confirmed that he will get the ITT tomorrow so we’ll know who’s coming, etc.  He then put the moves on me ‘you have such beautiful eyes’, ‘your bed in the campervan must be so piccolo (small) and my bed here is very grande (large)’, ‘don’t you get cold?’.  I gulped down the last half of my wine and left.

At last another campervan pulled in beside us – a man and his son, both with bikes.  Shortly thereafter a fourth one showed up – our little space is almost full, and our view of the village and mountains is blocked.

 

Had one of the hottest showers ever – there was no way to control the temperature so I just had to enter slowly.  Better than trying to get into a really cold shower bit by bit, and I did get used to it.

On the road by 10:30 and it’s not that far to Trento.  Stocked up on more food then got onto the route that the ITT will follow on Tuesday.  Drove for several miles then realized that the route went up into the hills a bit and we’d gotten off it so back-tracked to Piazzo and drove along until we found a great spot just at the edge of Villa Lagarina.  It’s a small pull-out just after the beginning of the one small climb of the day. There was already one campervan there with an Italian fellow, who ended up being very helpful. The older guy that lives in the house above where we were was out in his garden and had a lot to say about us being there.  Our fellow Giro fan had a fairly long conversation with him and in the end it was all good and we were allowed to stay there.

I went for a walk up the hill to see where it went – after about 1km there’s a turnoff left/down the hill to Nogaredo (where the ITT will go), and right/up the hill to another village.  It was so pretty – any direction I looked was another just beautiful vista.

When I got back to the campervan Colin harnessed up Mo and we walked down into the village.  We stopped at a little bar and after we had ordered and sat down at a booth I asked (in Italian!) if they had tv and if the Giro was on.  He immediately led us to a larger back room and turned the tv on for us and tuned it to the Giro. We got to watch the last couple of hours or so – a very large steep climb, followed by several smaller ones.  Simon Yates was the star of the day and the Froome-bot lost over a minute – couldn’t have been better.

Walked thru the village a bit more then went back ‘home’ for dinner – very nice mashed potatoes and fried chicken breast.  Afterwards our Italian neighbour (Guido) came over and I fed him some wine and we all chatted for quite awhile in a combination of english and italian.  He, obviously, is also a cycling fan and we had a very nice time telling him where we’d been and where we’re going – we all agreed that we are all living the ‘dolce vita’.  He thought it was especially good that I have a husband at home in Canada while I’m over here with Colin!

It started spitting rain just as Guido left and was shortly pouring – I’m just as happy that I’m not in my tent but do look forward to finding out how/when I can get the poles/frame replaced.

Had a nice hot shower followed by left-over pasta for breakfast.  We were on the road north by about 9:00 and followed the same route we did last year.  

North to Chioggia, then northwest toward Padova which we by-passed then north to Bassano which we also by-passed.  From there it was northwest through the mountains towards Trento.

It started to rain sporadically as we approached our destination for the day – the campsite of Due Laghi just outside the town of Levico Terme.  We stayed here for two nights last year and liked the place so have returned.

We walked to the campground’s restaurant to try to watch today’s Giro stage but it doesn’t open until 4 so we tried the restaurant next door but it doesn’t have tv so we then popped into the office.  Mo once again got some of the attention she adores, and we were told that the campsite’s restaurant does have tv so we went back to the campervan to wait until 4. Today’s stage is very important – it’s a climb up The Zoncolan – one of the most feared climbs in all of cycling.  It will be do-or-die for some riders and we really want to see it.

There is a large party of older Italian folks in many campervans near us – they’re playing bottchi-ball in the rain and seem to be having lots of fun.  They belong to a camping club that has been meeting and going on trips for 50 years now.

Went back to the restaurant at 4 only to see their tv sitting on a table and not hooked up – the waitress told us that hopefully in ½ hour it will be working.  Back at the campervan Colin tried for about 45 minutes to get the satellite dish to pick something up – he moved the van several times to no avail. There a just too many trees above us to get anything so we gave up.

Read a book for awhile, and went down to the corner of the campsite to see what the little tent/booth was that the camping club had put up.  It’s not a bar or snack stand – it’s a band tent for music they’re having tonight.

Returned to the restaurant for a glass of wine – the guy was just finishing setting the tv up so he turned it onto the news for us to see if we could get any Giro highlights.  At least the wi-fi reception is pretty good.

Afterwards I wandered over to the Italian’s music area – they’ve all set up chairs in front of the band and I watched and listened for quite awhile.  The fellow on the harminica was pretty good and they had a clarinet player on some songs as well.

After awhile I went and sat outside the restaurant and face-time Dominic – he told me that the place where I got my tent told him that the maker has a lifetime warranty and he’s going to call them on Monday to find out how I go about getting the poles/frame replaced.

Took Mo out for a walk early as Colin and Neil were tearing out the kitchen counter and lower cabinets.  We took the small dirt road that goes up from just below the bell tower – it goes a bit southeast then comes to a T – took the right turn heading mostly west and still going up, although more gently.

It was a very foggy morning – couldn’t see any of the beautiful countryside I was overlooking, but it was peaceful, at least until we came upon the ‘dog house’.  I could hear at least two dogs barking as we approached and noticed that there wasn’t a fence. A large german-shepherd type dog was sounding very ferocious, but he stayed in the yard until we were almost even with the house, then he bounded off the terrace and came right at us.  Mo was now barking back fiercly so I scooped her up and stayed still hoping the shepherd would back off. He didn’t – just stood there about two feet away from me barking and growling and all puffed-up. I was screaming ‘no no!’ very loudly and trying to keep hold of Mo who was desperatly trying to get out of my arms – no one came.  I finally started slowly walking the way we’d been heading and hoping like hell that we wouldn’t be attacked – the big dog followed for a bit, still barking the whole time, then he finally went back into his yard although he was still barking.

I was shaking and sweating as I got further and further away – when I judged we were far enough and the dog wouldn’t follow us I let Mo down and we continued our walk.  We eventually came to where another small dirt road veered off to the right – I wondered if we should take it but Mo seemed to want to go straight on and I let her lead.  We ended up on the main road that runs from Marsciano to Perugia so had to follow it north for about 1 ½ km to the turnoff back to Papiano. We tried hitchiking and got lucky on the third car – a very nice lady who spoke no English but knew where to let me off.

We hiked up to the house and kitchen counter cutting was happening – neither Mo nor myself cared for the noise so back down the hill we went to the bar to watch the Giro.  I had to take Mo out twice for little walks, then when she got really antsy we went for a longer walk up the hill on the other side of the village. The fog had lifted by now and the views were, or course, stunning.

Back to the bar to watch the end of the day’s stage, then up to the house to check on the progress.  The oven was hooked up so we had pizza for dinner and watched a bit of Italian basketball – it’s the playoffs so the announcers are all super excited.

Friday morning was an early one – had to pack up all my gear, and head down to the campervan to clean out the fridge and wash the floors.  I took Mo with me as the kitchen reno noises are ongoing. Got everything tidy while Colin and Neil went to the tipping place again, then wheeled and rode (!) my bike down and Colin got it onto the rack on the campervan and we were off.  Stopped to fill up the fridge and headed north before 1:00.

Keyed in our destination and ended up, once again, on the highway north that goes thru Bagno di Romagna.  More work being done on the highway – slight detour for a few miles but not bad.

Decided to stop just north of Ravenna and continue on to Trento tomorrow – checked into a very large but nice campgound at Lido di Spina.  

Went to setup my tent and the damn frame broke. The very end of one of the main connecting poles at the top cracked and broke – we tried to fix it but it just kept cracking off bits further and further down.  Luckily I did have the option of the campervan so lay out my sleeping bag inside, but I was very disappointed about the tent.

We went to the bar for a drink before dinner, then had to go to the office to get their wi-fi password.  At the restaurant I looked up about getting a new frame for the tent. I might have to order one from the store I bot it at and have it shipped over to France.  The campground has an awesome pool area, including a special one for kids, as well as an outside theatre and other activities.

Dinner was wonderful – Colin had pasta with shellfish and I had pasta al ragu – it was excellent.  Mo was very good and sat quietly on the floor the whole time. As we left the restaurant thru the exit that leads back to the bar we were met by a group of 4 of the staff – kind of a welcoming committee to the evening’s music, etc.  We weren’t staying for the festivities but still chatted with them for a bit – they all made a fuss over Mo, as usual. One of the young fellows is the archery instructor – like I said, lots of different activities here.

Back at the campervan went straight to bed – a kind of exciting day as the ‘travel’ part of my journey has now begun.