August 20, 2024
To Faido
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There's something not quite right about hurtling down a hill first thing in the morning of a day that you know will involve a great deal of climbing. Fun, but disturbing. The RWGPS elevation above tells the story: we did indeed have to make up all of that downhill plus more at the end of the day. Here's how it went.
But first, Bruce pointed out to me when he read this journal that I'd not mentioned how lovely we found Lake Lugano to be. He's right; I was so tired last night, it's lucky that I remembered much at all of yesterday. As we rode along its shoreline, we agreed that we preferred it to the hustle and bustle of Lake Garda. Mulling over this though, the Italian Gardasee was a very public lakefront with easy access to all (hence my problem with too many people in too tight, bright undies sprawled all over the show). Whereas the Swiss Lugano lakefront that we rode past was private property, with houses right on the shoreline. One society is clearly more egalitarian than the other!
This morning, we agree, we need an early start in order to cover most of the distance in relative coolness before lunch. So we're on our bikes before 8am and soon knock off the climb out of the valley. The view from the summit is surprising. The valley we're descending to is w-a-y below us. In fact, we descend over 350 metres after our paltry climb of 90m. Partway down we stop for the view, glimpsing Lake Maggiore in the distance.
We turn away from the lake though and follow the well-marked cycle route as it criss-crosses the valley, roughly following the course of the Ticino River. A coffee opportunity arrives early at a campsite café right on the cycle path. The elegant Italian hostess tells us she considers herself Swiss now but moved here (to Italian-speaking Switzerland) from Italy 14 years ago for better opportunities for her sons. The more she talks about the very marked differences between the two countries, the more it becomes apparent that she misses the vibrancy of her homeland. It's a very honest conversation.
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At Biasca, the confluence of two river valleys, we veer left along with the Ticino to continue the gentle uphill climb. Coolish temperatures and interesting scenery make this a very enjoyable day, so far.
A shady lunch stop with a seat presents itself at around the 48km mark, which is where we hoped to be by the middle of the day. From here, the incline ramps up considerably.
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3 months ago
We cover the final steep 18km in around 90 minutes, not a bad effort really for a non-climber. Once cleaned up, we celebrate with coffees at the café across the road from our hotel. Cheers to an excellent day of riding!
Here's something different, a Strava flyby of today's route, followed by Bruce’s daily vid:
Today's ride: 66 km (41 miles)
Total: 1,319 km (819 miles)
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3 months ago
3 months ago