Day 23: Wednesday, 1 June 1983

Start: Hotel, Busalla, Italy

End: Campground, Pietre Ligure, Italy

Up early to finish the climb, but the joke's on me.

When my informant told me last night the road was too dangerous to ride in the dark, he was right. But he must have meant the descent. I pedal one steep kilometer out of Busalla and, unexpectedly, there's the crest. The road turned and started down. From that point I just coasted and coasted and coasted. In no time at all I saw two signs: "Genova" and "Centro citta, 20 km." So I was out of the valley, over the mountain, and down to the coast.

A very pleasant arrangement.

Of course, now I have to decide about the possibility of a rendezvous with Mike in the city. The odds of actually meeting up with him seem infinitesimal. Besides, I'm now sure I want to ride solo. So I bypass the center of Genoa and the appointed hostel and pick up the road toward France along the coast, riding alone.

About ten kilometers beyond the city I eat bread and cheese on a cliff above the sea. Everything smells fresh and it's nice to be on the coast again. Found a decent campground in Pietre Ligure and spent an hour lounging in the sun and studying French, because I expect to cross the border tomorrow. I end up having dinner in a tiny dining room at a pensione. I'm not sure why, but the owner refuses to let me pay for my meal. His son, about eighteen, speaks a little English and wants to know if I'm interested in music. He leads me through the streets and we meet up with his buddies, in their late teens and early twenties, with guitars and amps. They invite me to come listen to their band, so I spend the evening in someone's packed basement for a pretty funny jam session and hootenanny.

Back at the campground, I spend a comfortable night in my June Bug.

Conditions 

Distance: 100 km 

Weather: Warm and pleasant with sea breezes 

Road: Good 

Traffic: Passed through urban congestion around Genoa, but it got better 

Terrain: Down the mountain, then flat 

Mechanical: All is well 

Physical: Strong