Up nice and early we headed for Castelluccio to find a spot to watch the next stage from. The drive was thru very beautiful countryside and we even saw the trees that form the map of Italy on the hillside.
On the flat plain there were folks parked that were landing after para-gliding. There weren’t any planes taking them up that we could see, so we assume they take off from one on the nearby mountains and catch the updrafts.
We were parked in a fairly large flat area and several team cars joined us to hand out bidons.
Michael Woods, wearing the overall leader’s blue jersey and his team’s distinctive pink helmut was safely near the front of the peloton, along with Nibali.
Since it was a large area near the end of a climb many riders were ditching their bidons – I ended up with my largest haul yet – nine! I actually don’t know what I’m going to do with them all, but I really enjoy collecting them.
After the race had passed we backtracked to the town of Visso where we turned north and picked up the route for the next day’s stage. Visso is one of many towns and villages in the area that were severely damaged in the earthquake of 2016.
We followed the route markers until a bit past the town of Tolentino where we pulled into a nice little flat space on the side of the quiet road – good place to spend the night.
I’ve started going for slightly longer rides, mostly to the west/southwest and to some different villages. The terrain is still hilly, but a bit less cultivated, with more forests.
We left The Poggio and our beautiful view early in the morning the day after the race. Deciding to drive all the way home in one day we took to the peage. As we passed thru – or over – Genova we got to go on the rebuilt viaduct. It only opened four days prior to replace the old one that tragically collapsed two years ago, killing 43 people.
We again took the paege, making our way south to the coast then west along to Santo Stefano al Mare and to a campground that we’ve stayed at before. I can’t say how lovely it was to have a nice hot shower, and on top of that – clean laundry!
There are several resident kittens that quickly became my dear little friends since I just had to feed them – doesn’t make up for how much I miss my own Sly guy back home, but helps a bit.
I had wi-fi for the first time in a week so tried to catch up on emails, etc, and even posted a blog, but it seems to not have worked.
After giving the kitties a large breakfast the next morning we were on our way to the Poggio.
We got a perfect spot in the parking lot above the race course right in a corner overlooking the Sea. (Note about photo: this was taken through a chain-link fence, so the blurry lines are part of the fence, but this was our actual view)
We had a delicious cappuccino at the cafe/bar on the corner, and chatted a bit with one of the older gentlemen we’d met here last year. He asked if we were german – he worked in Germany for two years and speaks a little german, but we managed to have a short conversation with my italian.
Returning to the bar later in the afternoon we had a drink and enjoyed a small complimentary plate of appies before going back to the campervan for a salmon and rice dinner.
It had been a fairly hot day, but the almost constant breeze from the sea helped a bit and my solo walk in the evening was very pleasant.
Race day came with sunshine and blue skies. We’re somewhat surprised that there is only one other campervan in the parking area – it’s been recently resurfaced, which is great, and it is pretty full, but cars, not campers. Last year – end of March, of course – there were dozens of campervans.
We had our cappuccino at a different cafe/bar, then took a little walk around the village before visiting the wine shop – the one with the hoses in the wall – then the other cafe.
There are some other fans here, but nothing like last year, and we’re all pretty good about the face masks and/or distancing, etc. To compare I’ve included a photo from last year taken at a similar time race-wise to this year:
He was very polite and apologetic, but we weren’t allowed to use flashes. Colin re-located further down and around the corner, but I stayed where I was, just around and down a bit from the crest of the Poggio.
The tv heli appeared about five minutes before the first racer – Alaphilippe! – followed closely by Wout van Aert (winner of Strade Bianche).
There were only a few seconds before more and more riders passed – and I finally got a shot of Nibali.
I also got decent shots of Michael Matthews – who had a torn shoulder – as well as Belgian champion Naesen.
After many of the racers had passed I got ready to sneak across the road to watch the end of the race on tv in the bar – just then Colin came up the hill to do the same thing. The Poggio is just 4 km from the finish, and it’s all hairpin turns downhill then a bit of flat road to the end in Sanremo.
Another wonderful race day!
Before leaving Montemagno we took a couple of short walks up and down the road. 
There are several large homes with great views, and most of them have guard dogs, or at least signs for them.
This year’s Milano-Torino is much flatter than most previous years and we’re near one of the few minor climbs.
We parked at a nice wide spot right on the road with a good view below us, as well as along to the town of Grana.
As usual the racers were preceeded by motocops.
There was a breakaway of six riders who passed our spot at 4:24, with about a three minute lead.
The peloton blew by in one single group – I think it’s the fastest race passing I’ve seen yet – first rider in the breakaway to last of all about three minutes total.
There was one single rider a little bit behind who must have had a mechanical or something, then they were gone.
We were able to hit the road very quickly, having little to pack up, and took the paege towards Torino. Because we were on the motorway we managed to bypass the end of the race and made it to Cavour in a couple of hours, stopping in Pinerolo for groceries.
Feeling hungry we decided to go out for dinner – I did remember some of the roads and paths so we were able to make our way easily on foot with the doggies to the town centre. My favourite cafe was closed so we went next to a restaurant that had been recommended to me three years ago, but I’d never actually gone to.
‘Ristorante La Posta’ was worth the three year wait – it was excellent. We had a lovely table outside, surrounded by beautiful flowering shrubs. We started with a shared antipasti of salmon tartare on shredded apple, then for my main course I enjoyed the gnocchi with cheese sauce – very delicious, with enough leftover for tomorrow’s lunch.
La Posta has been in existence since the 1700s and has at least one Michelin star, so it’s not surprising it was so enjoyable.
There was a lovely swimming pool just outside a large, very crowded restaurant. I made use of the free wi-fi for a bit, then had a fairly early night. Thankfully it was a bit cooler than the previous couple of evenings had been.
The next day’s travel was almost across the Apennines to a campground we’d stayed at two years ago just outside the village of Zocca. This time we didn’t have quite as frustrating a time finding it, although the gps was, once again, not totally accurate.
The old dog is still there, but is moving a bit more slowly.
We pre-ordered dinner, and were both very pleased. I think it’s the same chef who was very new to the place two years ago, and they still have a lovely organic garden for many of the meal’s ingredients.
My lasagna was obviously handmade, and was delicious – no meat or tomatoes, but zuchinni and cream sauce – very nice, and just the right amount.
After only one night we were on our way again, this time taking the paege to make better time – although at times we were barely moving because of roadworks and on/off ramp backups at every large city we passed.
When I went to bed Mo was full across my pillow – as I tried to nudge her over she growled and snapped at me! After mollifying her and almost falling asleep we were kept awake by a prolonged lightening and thunder storm.
Before leaving Conzano the next morning we had a nice walk around the village. 
There’s an art exhibit all summer and the artworks are all over the place – it was very different and made for an interesting morning.
We eventually made a wrong turn – the pink arrows weren’t up yet to guide us – and we ended up in Casorzo, where we stopped for a quick snack just outside the town.
It was a rest-stop and had fantastic views, as well as some wall art of fairy tales.
We then made our way to the town of Montemagno, which has a castle – the oldest part is from the 12th century, with major additions in the 13th and 18th centuries.
We walked up and around it, but it was all closed up – it did have, of course, more incredible views.
We parked for the night in a large flat parking lot next to a pasta and sauce making place – Colin popped in and checked with them and they didn’t mind us being there.
We got to see the sun rise – it was a very quiet and beautiful morning.
By the afternoon it was again brutally hot, reaching at least 40 but there was no shade or relief to be had. We put the campervan’s awning out but had to retract it because of the wind.
During the day amateur riders did, as usual, come up the road, and more than one rider and car stopped because of our flags. 
One group of three Italian men that stopped stayed for a bit to chat – they even brought out a bottle of local Chianti that they opened and shared with us. They all live near Rimini and Colin has their phone number so he can call them during the Giro in October and maybe get together.
The race didn’t arrive until almost 5:30, and the dust was flying. I got a pretty good photo of Wout van Aert, who was the eventual winner.
At one point I moved down the road a short way for a different view and 
I was well off the road as the verge was over two feet wide and had just been cut so I shouldn’t have been in any danger. Thankfully death was avoided, but – damn!!
I also got photos of a fairly tired looking Peter Sagan, and a very dusty Michael Woods.
We started packing up as soon as the last racer passed – there wasn’t much to do. We’ll have to sweep a bit later as there’s fine white dust everywhere.
I did manage to snag a nice pink route marking arrow for my collection – it’s now placed in the left-back window.
Sally McKenzie's European Adventures 