Stage 21 - A drop of Claret in Chianti

Today's route: 52 Miles 

Lucca - Florence

Ascend: 436m , Descend 386m

** World Championship Stage **

This week, the world cycling championships are taking place between Lucca and Florence. It is genuinely a coincidence that we are cycling here at the same time. I only realised last week. 

As a result, here are cyclists everywhere and everyone seems to think that we were competing today. 

It's a superb effort by Neil to pop out for the World championship stage into Florence with us. He also gave me the huge honour of riding Clive's bike today. Neil's previous best distance up until today was 40 miles, another new PB was about to be smashed.

Here's Neil, Grant and I lining up before the start of the stage in Lucca this am. 

And the new support team in action, 5 miles in. 

We rolled along nicely for the first 30 miles, were all feeling good and with less miles to do today were happy to pull over for a quick beer and a pizza. 

Our smug attitude to how easy the morning had seemed, quickly disappeared as we hit the only climb of the day. A horrendous 250m ascent in just two miles into the olive groves and vineyards of Chianti. It was by far the steepest ascent that Grant and I had ever attempted (easily a 1:5). We barely managed it. Neil was a broken man by the end. 

The views however, were worth all the effort. 

Grant was pleased as Punch when we officially entered into the Chianti region. Just look at his face. 

With all the excitement of being in our favourite wine region of the world, I then managed to take a wrong turn, which caused Grant to take a tight turn at the last moment. 

Before Grant knew what had happened, he had slammed down hard into the tricky gravel road.  He had spilt his own Claret.....how terribly ironic. 

After Grant had dusted himself down, we began our descent. Neil made the point that the effort had easily been worthwhile as Florence spectacularly came into view below us. 

After finishing the stage, we rendezvoused with Louise and wandered into Florence to meet my Mum and Dad for a mountain of pasta. 

Another great way for a stage to finish. But not quite. We just had time to watch Arsenal beat Swansea in a sports bar , and see them go 2 points clear at the top of the league! Come on you reds!

Tomorrow is going to be very difficult, with a whopping 1775m of mountain climbing, and how about this for a forecast? 

Til tomorrow, Brett x

 

Stage 20 - Lucca in the sky with diamonds

Today's route: 99 Miles 

Corniana - Lucca

Ascend: 1375m , Descend 1958m

What a day. 

First the good news: I had a lay in until 8:30 am, then breakfast was to be a relaxed affair as Grant wasn't arriving by taxi from Milan airport until 12:30pm. 

Thankfully Grant's plane landed on time, so he arrived in Corniana as scheduled. We hastily arranged this arrival shot...

There were 98 miles to complete and  the small matter of the Apennines to cross, so time was extremely limited. Fortunately Grant was nearly bike ready....

After 45 minutes of championship level faffing and the clock ticking on to 1:15pm , we finally set off. 

Grant was immediately thrown into the deep end, with a 700m climb over 3 mountains with no respite for the first 2 hours. Once we had reached the top of the Cia pass though, we were all smiles. 

We managed a photo at the top,  looking back now, I think we may have peaked a bit too early. 

Following a 30 mile descent at an average speed of 30mph and a top speed of 48.2 mph, we avoided the A12 (these Romans do build a long road) and  found ourselves very much at sea level. Literally.

But only half an hour later, with 30 miles to go, we found ourselves cycling in complete darkness with at least one more 300m climb to still to come - A scary and oh so predictable situation to find ourselves in. 

With no option but to push on, we weaved our way in darkness through the mountain villages outside of Lucca. 

At times, I struggled to see where Grant was. Here he is, only 5 metres ahead with the clock ticking past 8:30pm and 5 miles still to go. We were nearly at Lucca  , but it was barely lit under the stars. 

We finally arrived outside the hotel at 9pm where we met Louise, Neil, Mum and Dad for dinner. We celebrated with a large bottle of red......

Neil was delighted with the bike we had sourced for his ride into Florence with us tomorrow . He may feel differently Tom am:

Until then! Brett x

Stage 19 - Can you cut a corner to Corniana?

Today's route: 91 Miles 

Lodi -> Corniana

Ascend: 1278m, Descend 743m

Answer: No, you can not.

It was a breath of fresh air to be back on open road, through country side and out of Lodi today. 

I soon stumbled on a pretty little village that confirmed my wife Dominique is an Angel. Here is the church dedicated to her

Today was all about trying to get as far as possible into the Apennines, but without getting too far away from Milan. But why? There are five reasons.....

1) My good friend and avid cyclist, Grant Woodthorpe will land at Milan airport tomorrow at 10:35am. He will then jump into a taxi with his bike, and should reach us in Corniana by 1pm. 

2) Grant and I then need to immediately cycle 90 miles over the Apennine Mountains (total climb expected: 1750m) and finish in Lucca. 

3) In Lucca we then rendezvous with Neil and Louise Graver. Neil will be cycling with Grant and I for the 60 or so miles from Lucca to Florence on Saturday. 

4) The world cycling championships are taking place between Lucca and Florence this week

5) Which adds huge amounts of uncertainty to points 1-  4 above. 

Regular blog readers will notice the large holes all over the place in this particular part of the plan. If we pull it off without having to use lights (in darkness), getting lost or missing a connection I'll be amazed.   

In an attempt at trying to make the next  days remotely possible, Corniana was picked as today's destination to get a climb out of the way in an effort to save time for tomorrow. 

On my way to the mountains I met Jachu , an Indian fella from Punjab, working at his fathers newsagents near Fidenza. 

Jachu was amazed that I had cycled all the way from London on a remembrance tour. He insisted on giving me free food and drinks (he would not take payment), and wanted to take me back to his house. I politely declined as I needed to get moving, as I cycled away he shouted down the street that he loved me. I thought to myself at the time that I will never meet a more genuine and delightful person for the rest of my life. Upon reflection this evening, I think he might have fancied me.

I carried on, all was well until about mile 70. Then I hit a head on afternoon wind rolling down off the Apennines easily blowing a consistent 20+ mph. Horrendous. It finally died down just in time to attempt a corner cut that I had cleverly discovered on my satnav. 

I knew I had a climb into Corniana, but my short cut only made it worse by cutting over the highest local peak at 800m, which involved a 600m climb over the last 6 miles of the day. Cue a near mountain peak chunder at the exhaustion of it all. 

I finally made it at 6.30pm ,Dad met me in Corniana central square and guided me to the charming B&B we had booked up here in the Mountains.

It is run by Lori and Paolo. Here I am in their kitchen tonight as they prepared an amazing home cooked meal for my parents and I. 

Paolo than showed off his Grapes, cut freshly today in his back garden. Care for some Chapeau Paolo?

Until tomorrow, I'm really looking forward to cycling with friends again. Grant has given up 9 days of his own time to cycle with me all the way to Rome! Whilst the Gravers join the tour for the Lucca - Florence - Sienna triangle. I'm blessed to have such great friends.   

Brett x

Stage 18 - Anticlimax's all around

Today's route: 72 Miles 

Lenno,(LakeComo) -> Lodi

Ascend: 575m, Descend 550m 

Firstly, I've worked out how to upload video!  Here I am nearing the end of my climb of the Swiss Alps a few days ago....commentary from Dominique :-)

Anticlimax - An event or experience that causes disappointment because it is less exciting than was expected or because it happens immediately after a much more interesting or exciting event.

All of today's events seemed to match the definition of Anticlimax. Maybe because crossing the Alps and cycling around three lakes is pretty hard to beat, but also because the Northern part of Italy around Milan and into Lodi really isn't that inspiring, even if the sun is shining. 

The day began well enough. It was all smiles as I said goodbye to our host Jacomo at the hotel in Lenno, pictured here with my father. 

Despite all of the miles, (now 1080 odd), I am now beginning to feel quite strong physically. My body seems to have gone through an adjustment in the last few days as I am definitely finding it quicker to recover. This bodes well for the tough stages to come over the next few days, lets hope I haven't spoken too soon. 

Cycling alone again (Also for one more day tomorrow), working my way down to Monza and around Milan today, I found myself just concentrating staying off busy roads and avoiding heavy traffic more than taking in any particularly interesting scenery.  

Meeting my parents for Lunch in Gorgonzola (picked out on the map at random) was the only thing to look forward to.  Gorgonzola was thoroughly   disappointing, this is the best pic I can come up with. See what I mean?

At least Mum, Dad and I enjoyed a Gorgonzola pizza, but that's the only positive thing I have to say about the place. 

I made good time to Lodi in the afternoon, despite Lorry's passing me constantly on all road types.  At one point, 12 Lorry's passed me in succession, no doubt on their way to construct yet another motorway in an area dominated by main roads and motorway from what I can gather. This area couldn't be further away from the Italy that you would imagine. 

Upon arriving in Lodi, the hotel booked on booking.com which was described as quaint and rural, turned out to be stinking, deserted and covered in graffiti. For crying out loud. 

It was so bad, that we hastily booked another hotel on the outskirts of Lodi, where we finally arrived tired and disappointed of the days travels. 

We took a taxi into the old town and had dinner just off the piazza in central Lodi, situated on the square (the only piazza in Italy that is actually square). The good food and prospect of getting out of here tomorrow and heading towards the Apennines did the job of cheering us up though....

Another mountain range looms on Friday....the Apennines, through Tuscany and down into Lucca, it's about to get very picturesque again. 

Til tomorrow.....Brett

Stage 17 - Don George and a world record holder

Stage 17 - Rest day - Lenno, Lake Como

Distance travelled 0 miles

Time for an update of tour statistics:-

1. Distance cycled: 1012 miles

2. Height climbed: 11,152 metres

(1 Mount Everest and 3 Ben Nevis's)

3. Countries: 7 

4. Rain days: 10 out of 17

5. Blue skies: 3 out of last 3 days

6. Gruffalo sightings:7 Still zero confirmed 

8. Weather for tomorrow: Glorious

9. Tomorrows distance: 70 miles

10: Tomorrows destination: Lodi, famous for it's Salami -  I love Salami. 

After an early breakfast, I drove Dad to Como to add him as a named driver on the tour vehicle at the Europcar depo. Meanwhile, Dominique and Mum spent the morning looking around the local market that had sprung up overnight by the hotel. 

Dad is in his element here in Italy, here is "Don George" on the streets of Como:-

After fulleing up on yet more pasta for lunch by the lake again, I had plums for desert, although they could have done with some cream, that reminds me, where did I leave that Chapeau? 

We all enjoyed an ice cream, then waved Dominique off as she headed to the airport once again to get back to our children. I am missing them desperately. 

And, finally today.......I was fortunate enough to meet with Norma Rowlerson. 

Norma had picked up on the chatter about our exploits whilst staying at our hotel, had sought me out to give a generous donation and wish us the all the very best. Norma was most impressed by my efforts, which turns out to be high praise indeed as she is THE worlds first woman to ski all seven continents. You can see her achievement in the Guiness book of world records 1996. How about that! Another kind gesture, from a wonderful lady. 

I wonder what will happen, and who we will meet, as we head to Lodi tomorrow...

Until then, Brett x

Stage 16 - Mamma Mia!

Today's route: 70 Miles (15 bonus miles)

Vira(Lake Maggiore)->Lenno,(LakeComo)

Ascend: 720m, Descend 800m

After a superb nights sleep, Dominique and I awoke to quite view of Lake Maggiore from our room 

After following the usual breakfast ritual of one protein shake, one boiled egg, one hydration tablet, one berocca, one carb loading drink, two croissants with cheese and ham, one bowl of granola with greek yoghurt, two bananas and a double espresso, I was ready to set off. 

As you can see, the weather was perfect, 26 degrees, blue skies and no wind. Stunning cycling conditions for a route to take me from Lake Maggiore, around Lake Lugano and then onto Lake Como. 

In all the excitement of completing yesterdays mountain stage, I had somehow forgotten that I had to immediately climb 400m in only 5 miles to get over from Lake Maggiore to Lake Lugano. Ouch.  Soon after I found myself on a barely passable cycle route through a wood for 3 miles which bypassed Lugano centre:-

With Graham gone, I was cycling alone again, lost in thought, but I had plenty of  breathtaking scenery to keep me occupied. 

After 35 miles, I found a Lugano lakeside lunch venue for a rendezvous with Dominque where we both enjoyed some delicious pasta. 

Then I set off again, taking a bike route that took me through vineyards north of Como. 

It wasn't long before I was finally bearing down on Italy....

And I randomly bumped into a bloke called Tariq (from Crawley of all places)  at the Swiss/Italian border who took this shot:- 

I'd made it to Italy, Mamma Mia! 

Mum and Dad are staying at Lenno, which is around the lake from Como, this ended up being 15 miles more than I had accounted for. When I finally arrived, they were both outside the hotel to greet me with open arms and a couple of bottles of prosecco. It's always great to see Mum and Dad, but this was special. 

We swapped stories of our respective two weeks, and then All four of us had dinner (more red meat and pasta) under the stars. What a perfect day touring, and a perfect way to end the day. 

I have a rest day here at Lake Como  tomorrow (Bliss) Dominique will be heading back home to look after our children, whilst my Mum and Dad will be taking over support car duties all the way to Rome over the next 12 days. 

Until tomorrow for more stats updates! Brett x 

Stage 15 - Climbing to new heights

Today's route: 68 Miles 

Wassen -> Vira (Lake Maggiore,Switz)

Ascend: 1325m Descend 1857m

Today's stage has given me sleepless nights for a while now. It has taken a longtime to build up my ability to cycle longer rides, managing more than 50 miles in one day was a huge achievement for me only six months ago. Even then, I didn't enjoy cycling up hills. 

It was only 2 months ago, coached and accompanied by my good friend and keen cyclist - Grant Woodthorpe, that I cycled my first "100 miler", London to Brighton AND back, over the South downs and Surrey Hills. 

Upon finishing that day, I started to believe that the Alps just might be possible, but It was to remain an unknown....until today. A day of reckoning. 

Stationed at Wassen for the night, we were already at an altitude of 900m after the exertions of the previous day. We said goodbye to our latest new friends....a gaggle of  generous German bikers, and set off. 

Immediately upon leaving there was a 13 mile, non stop 1,200 metre climb, (no downhill) to the top of the Gottard pass. Quite simply, horrific. 

Graham accompanied me for the first 400m, he did not intend to complete the climb, but was keen to support me for as long as he could and to get a taste of it. Dominique dutifully scooped him up into the support car. They both then followed my progress, shouting encouragement at regular intervals. 

What does climbing like this feel like ?  Well, Imagine getting on an exercise bike and setting it to hardest level , then setting the timer to 2 and half hours.  That's what it feels like. Horrific. 

After 2 hours and now at 1850m, still with 250m left to climb, I paused to take this shot. You can see the pass I had been climbing in the background. 

There was to be another half an hour of  climbing and digging deep. I had all manner of things going through my head, Clive's name was mentioned more than once. 

Finally, after 2hrs and 20 mins I reached the top, had a bit of a large sob and stumbled into the waiting arms of Dominique. 

What a feeling. I had reached new heights. It was possible. Just. 

Time for the glory shot:- 

After a brief celebration, and drying our eyes, it was time for the 55 mile, 1900 metre descent.  Which looked like this:-

Graham rejoined me, it was fast and a little dangerous, >50mph in places, but a lot of fun...similar to skiing. Here's a no handed selfy of us both on the way down:- 

I found the last 10 miles into Lake Maggiore a real struggle, exhaustion was setting in a little, so I just stayed on the back of Grays wheel and kept plodding on.   Thank heavens Graham came out to the Alps and thank heavens that his wonderful wife Helen gave him permission to neglect his family for another weekend in order to support the tour. Thank you Mrs Stokes, you are an angel. xx

We reached the hotel with enough time for Graham to have a shower and us to share a quick beer before he set off for the Airport. 

Dominique and I then had dinner under the stars, overlooking Lake Maggiore, and struggled to take in everything that has happened over the last two days. 

And tomorrow?  A mere 55 mile bike ride around Lake Lugano, final destination : Lake Como, where MY PARENTS will be waiting to greet us both!!!

We can't wait to see my Mum and Dad, they have been holidaying at Lake Como for the last two weeks celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. Golden times indeed. 

Until tomorrow, Brett x