Days 36/37 - 6/7 August - All good things...

Sam and I decided to make use of the last full day of our trip by meeting up in Pisa for a bite to eat. Sam would catch the train with all his bags and make the onward journey to Milan (for the flight the next day) and I would ride to Pisa to meet him there, before returning to Lucca and catching my own train to Bergamo late in the afternoon.

I was feeling pretty atrocious for much of the ride but the scenery more than made up for it.

Pisa, however, was a total dive (nice tower though!).

I hate goodbyes and this had been a wonderful week so it was sad to part ways with a good friend once again.

The 5 hour train trip to Bergamo seemed to take an eternity. Marina's brother Dejan met me at the station and I slept like the dead on Thursday night. I was lucky to have Dejan to help me book a taxi on Friday morning for me and my bike box. I will need to thank Marina's parents for housing the box in their apartment while I was away - a real lifesaver.

Anyway, though it's always sad to finish a holiday, I am certainly ready to end the time on the road. There are many exciting things ahead in Cambridge - 'Chapter 2' of Locky and Hil's big adventure should be a good one.

Time to go home and be a grown-up again. Looking forward to it.

Day 35 - 5 August - Back on the bike

Back on the bike! 3 days off was enough. ;)

Wednesday morning ride report: riding through Tuscany is like riding through a fairytale. Even in the hours before the day's heat grips the landscape, a sleepy haze seems to cling to the vegetation, drawing out rich, pungent aromas as you pass. I really enjoyed this morning's ride. No numbers, just riding through dark forests, around potholes and back over olive groves.

Wednesday afternoon: winery tour at the Il Cipresa biodynamic winery. Our host Giuseppe picked us up and took us to his magnificent winery, which has been there for hundreds of years. He had been a chef but now grows biodynamic wine and olive oil. We re-met a lively South African woman from the walking tour earlier in the week - she works as a property manager for a Russian oligarch. Not sure how he got his money but his kids eat caviar for breakfast! Here are the photos from the winery...

No irrigation = no problems. Guiseppe's plants have deep roots and are much more drought resistant because he does not water them at all.

A summer palace from the 1700s. Guiseppe's wife's family have been here for a hundred years.

The sitting room with original furniture. You can stay here!

Creepy dalmatian statue.

And more shots of Lucca in the evening...

Days 33-34 - 3/4 August - Lazy Lucca with Sambo

Scorching heat. Gelato. Oh, and a bloody good friend.

No bikes, just tourism for a few days. Siestas mandatory.

Big win on the AirBNB apartment - a great location to see beautiful Lucca.

This last few days was about rest and relaxation. We sampled local delicacies including the saltiest seafood meal ever, cooked the most delicious pasta sauce ever, tried craft beers and of course gorged on the fine gelato from the good folks at Veneta (just 15 metres from the apartment).

puccini's birthplace (and statue)

Excellent walking tour with our 'Look at Lucca' guide

Some of the best preserved (Renaissance era) city walls anywhere

St Michael's? A church that was once outside the town walls. The columns are recycled Roman ruins.

Looking at the outside of the old colosseum.

One of the many towers in Lucca - families built these to display their power

On top of the city walls - strengthened by tree roots and now a shady stroll on a hot day

Day 32 - 2 August - Goodbye Dolomiti, Hello Tuscany

**I'm writing these last few posts after a week back in the UK. I've had time to reflect on what was a pretty amazing trip - and also the reality of an English summer (it's raining!).**

After the massive exertion of the last week I felt a real sense of elation sweep over me last night (Saturday). The Giro delle Dolomiti's final stage was mostly a cruise around the valley floor and it was great to be able to ride once again with Angelo and Damian for company on much of the ride. After getting home quite early in the afternoon I ventured out for a walk on what was my first rainy day of the holiday. The sort of summer drizzle that is actually a pleasure to be caught in, especially with a punnet of dark chocolate gelato.

On Sunday morning I loaded up all my things onto my carbon wagon once again and headed to the train station, via Angelo's very comfortable acommodation at the Park Laurin Hotel. Things had worked out so that Ang and I could catch the same train as far as Verona, so we could take a bit of time in the morning to explore the town of Bolzano on foot and have a final chat before parting ways.

The train journey today was to be 5 hours - Bolzano to Bologna to Prato to Lucca in Tuscany, where I was to meet Sam and spend the last few days relaxing in the Tuscan sun (certainly not putting in big miles on the bike!).

View from the kitchen window in Bolzano.

Frog fountain near the station in Bolzano/Bozen.

Day 31 - 1 August - Giro delle Dolomiti Stage 6. Done

I only had to roll around for 100km to finish the Giro today, so with a few doses of cold and flu medication I gathered myself together, strapped on the lycra and saddled up for one last hurrah.

Today was the flattest of all the stages - only 900m or so of elevation to climb - but there was still the small matter of the timed climb to get through. In this case it was brutally, dizzyingly steep but only 1.3km and over in under 7 minutes.

So tired and with this plague there's not much to report in today's post. But I got my damned finisher's certificate. :)

After the timed climb came a scary descent on sketchy italian roads. Classic.

Back in Bolzano, looking upstream.

It's a building.

They are big on recycling in Bolzano.

This photo has everything: parks, old buildings, security camera, mountain, fountain and new building. The complete Bolzano in one shot.

Day 30 - 31 July - Giro delle Dolomiti Stage 5. Sick.

Argh I have the plague. Woke up today with head full of cold. I know - let's go ride for 120km! Arrgghhhh killl meeeee

Today's 125km stage was a straightforward 'out and back' route with 40km of climbing promising to turn into 40km of downhill on the way home. The timed section was the last 17km of the climb - mostly pretty flat but with a seriously steep last 6km. Anyway, I faded in and out of sickness and got through it without disgracing myself - but paid dearly afterwards for the effort.

I ended up skipping the last 25 kms roll across the hot valley floor because I was too unwell! Just got to get through the last stage to finish the event!

Here are some pretty pictures from stage 5.

The bunch makes its way up the hairpins above Lana. That's Damian in the middle.

It's a lake!

Not entirely natural.

View over Lana on the way back.

Not the ride home I'd planned, but really a good idea.

Day 29 - 30 July - The beautiful Passo Stelvio.

It's rare that I'm emotional after a bike ride but today was quite amazing. Just reaching the summit of this colossus, the Passo Stelvio, was a real journey of the soul as well as a gruelling physical test.

I mean, I've burst into tears of joy at the bottom of Mount Hotham (when Hil greeted me with food in the car after the final stage of the Tour of Bright a couple of years ago) but never simply for reaching the top. Today I couldn't help but give Angelo a hug - this truly is an amazing place to be alive and on a bike.

We climbed from the Prato allo Stelvio side up and over into Switzerland (with our passports ready just in case) and returned back into Italy to complete the loop. 

As you approach the mountain you have a view of it for much of the ride. What looks simply like snow on top is actually a glacier sliding down the hill. There comes a point in the ride where you are close enough to see just how immense the whole thing is - the stalactite-like formations hanging from the glacier dwarf the trees in the valley below. It's truly incredible.

All up it was a shorter day, and I'm sure we were all better after the rest day on Wednesday. 

Unfortunately I feel I'm coming down with a bit of a cold :( but I still gave it my all on the climb and did OK.

Apples! Come to this region if you like apples. Seriously.

We're going up there?

The best of the photos I could take while trying to ride a time trial!

Note the white mercedes - I think the organiser of the event is doing OK.

Over the Northern side and the landscape is windswept and sparse.

In switzerland now.

The bus from Bolzano for those without cars.

So Damian, how was the Stelvio?