Biasco to Locarno: A tailwind for my birthday

October 6, 2017

We had another amazing day today, and fantastic company to enjoy it. Karin, that we met last night in the restaurant cycled to Locarno with us and it made the day extra special.

Breakfast at the hotel was great. It was a basic property, however it was clean, quiet and comfortable. We decided to start the day with a climb to a nearby waterfall to meet Karin. The waterfall reminded me of Sooke Potholes at home. Water falling into potholes that were perfect for swimming. Of course at home we don't have an ancient bridge spanning the potholes or a view of a city below.

Our hotel. It was a beautiful sunny day, but even when we left at 9:15 AM the sun had not reached the floor of the valley.

The view of the sun coming down the valley.

Off the three of us went with an absolutely wicked tailwind. We had tailwind, sunshine, warmth and good company. What more could one wish for? It was a fun ride. We stopped in Bellizonia for a cappuccino. It is a neat town with several castles overlooking the town. I think Karin was surprised at how much we liked the old stuff. We simply don't have that at home.

We spent some time at our cappuccino spot looking for accommodation in Locarno and it was tough. We finally booked an expensive room but Karin wasn't finding anything. She wasn't too concerned because if she wasn't able to locate anything at TI she was going to catch the train home.

Note my Canadian flag. This was a huge tailwind. We were being blown along.

Riding through Bellizonia. What a neat spot. It was overlooked by enormous castles.

The final push to the lake was easy for the most part. The trail did a bit of winding around and every so often the wind would be on the nose...that made us even more grateful that it was behind us for the most part.

The only disappointment was that Locarno was completely booked up. We were hoping to explore the town and have dinner with Karin. We had a glass of wine at the lakeside together and then she jumped on the train. She completely surprised me by buying me the loveliest birthday gift, a Swiss spoon, fork and corkscrew combo. How could she have known the number of times we wished we had all three of those things this trip? I will treasure the gift and it will be with us on all future bike tours. Such a great memory of a great day...and there was chocolate as well!

It was such a privilege to meet Karin. We will keep in touch. We have retreated to our elegant and spacious one bedroom suite to plan where to go for birthday dinner and relax.

Today's ride: 51 km (32 miles)
Total: 1,971 km (1,224 miles)

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