June 3, 2022
Varenna to Poggiridenti
I’d originally planned to take the ferry across and ride up the west side of the lake, though I can no longer remember why. Perhaps to be on the side of the road closer to the water. In any case, we decided to ride up the east side because the map showed it as a yellow road, rather than red, and with hopefully fewer tunnels. Also, there’s a parallel autoroute for vehicles in a hurry and long-distance trucks.
There were still several tunnels (gallerias in Italian) to ride through but they were all short, with openings on the lake side, and not scary. The first few had very rough roadway surfaces, making me wonder if rocks fell from the ceiling; the next tunnel had new light-coloured panels on the sides, shotcrete on the ceiling, and brand-new asphalt on the roadway, so maybe. Another reason to wear a helmet, I suppose.
We got to Colico, near the end of this arm of Lago di Como, and where we would be turning east. Al’s last chance for a lake swim. We had lots of time; we’d started at 9:00, check-in wasn’t until 15:30, and we had 70 flat km to cover.
In the few minutes it took us to find a bench at the grassy public beach and Al to dig his swimsuit out, the weather changed. It had been overcast but now the clouds were getting dark. Al didn’t really feel like swimming after all so we packed up and continued.
We followed a shared cycle route into Colico and found ourselves at an open-air market of mostly prepared foods. Bonus! We picked up some filled Sicilian buns for lunch.
In Colico, we also found the eastern end of the Sentiero Valtellina, a cycle route which we will follow all the way to Bormio. We carried on, wondering when the rain would start. It didn’t take long and was very light—at first. Then the thunder and lightning started and the skies opened, shortly after we’d passed the only café we’d see on the route all day. We found shelter in a covered bridge and ate our buns. They were stale. We guessed they hadn’t sold on Republic Day and we were suckers.
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Once the rain lessened, we set off again. There was a small group of cyclists hanging out in the next covered bridge (I remember only the two on the route), smoking, and were glad we hadn’t had to share with them.
The rain stopped for a while and the cycling was very pleasant. Then, of course, it started again. It increased to moderate intensity but not the heavy downpour of earlier. We passed a group of French (?) cyclists huddling under a tree at the side of the trail but there was no room for us and they weren’t keeping dry anyway. Besides, the thunder had returned and somehow, sheltering under a tree during a thunderstorm didn’t seem any safer than continuing to ride. Lying in a ditch wasn’t considered.
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We arrived in Poggiridenti with an hour to kill before check-in at 3:30. I’d contacted them yesterday to request early check-in (normally it’s 4:30) and this was as early as there would be staff there. There’s not much in Poggiridenti but there is a bike shop and we headed there as my handlebar bag had rotated down and was rubbing on the front fender with th3 slightest bump. I thought the wire had stretched (it wasn’t the specified Klickfix wire) but the mechanic tightened the screws and explained that the wire was just for safety. I guess I didn’t tighten the screws enough. No charge, so I bought some electrolyte tabs we will use. Lots of sweating ahead!
We killed another half hour having coffee in the café inside the big Carrefour and then headed over to Agriturismo Arbule. The 500 metres on the highway required made us very glad of the Sentiero Valtellina!
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Today's ride: 71 km (44 miles)
Total: 1,552 km (964 miles)
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