Distance: 58.9 miles / 94.7 km
Elevation: 4,793 feet / 1,461 m
Time: 8 hours and 22 minutes (5 hours and 15 minutes cycling)
A late start
Since I had been awake for 38 hours straight by the time I went to bed, I decided it would be within my best interests not to set an alarm for day 2. Owing to this, and a set of gear still split messily between my panniers following my flight, I wasn’t on my way until 11:10.
I had expertly chosen a camping spot under some shade, and so had been avoiding any heat up until that point. As soon as I started moving I could tell that it was going to be a baking hot day, and the later start played against me in that respect. I chose to fill my water bottles with tonic water from a shop in the first town I came to, following a successful trial on an audax. The hope was that the quinine would stop be losing too much salt and prevent cramping. Whilst in the town, I thought it would be rude not to have my second gelato of the trip for breakfast.
The first big ticket item of the day was the ascent of the Passo del Ballino, which was an 18km climb whose peak stood at 750m above sea level. Progress up this climb seemed pretty slow – neverending even – and I did not reach the campsite I had originally intended to stay in the previous night until well past 13:00. With quite a lot of the climbing still left to go after this point, I knew I would be in for a long day.
Another Gelato
I had earmarked lots of supermarkets and shops on a spreadsheet in advance. I very quickly learned that most of those close on Sundays. Some had closed at midday, which was irksome, whereas the majority simply didn’t open at all. Eventually I did find somewhere to stop, which was a relief as I was getting pretty desperate. When I read the menu, it was obvious that the only thing they sold was gelato. Another meal of ice cream.
A young child cycling a mountain bike started talking to me and we had a very disjointed and confusing conversation which mostly involved using different words to describe the same thing. Like a thesaurus really. It turns out his suspension shocks were out of air and wanted to borrow my pump. Annoyingly the tiny adapter I needed was deep in my pannier bag with my tent. I felt like he must have been pretty desperate to ask a stranger for help, so of course I went digging. As soon as I found it, I went to work.
I found the pumping itself tough! It felt like there was already tons of pressure in there. I needed Action Man arms but sadly they’re more like Mr Bean ???? (they’re still a aching now!). He never said stop and eventually I needed a rest. When we tried it, there was now far too much air in there ????????♂️???? so it was probably a good thing I got tired. A good deed done for the day.
When my ice cream arrived, it was a surprise. When I ordered it I think she thought that the ice cream was for him.
Better food needed
I had a bit of a nagging feeling in the back of my mind that a full ice cream diet would not be sustainable. Luckily I found a vending machine that sold various types of confectionary and drinks, which would be sufficient to push me on to the next town. The machine itself was a state of the art touchscreen affair, and you could add your choices to a ‘basket’. This meant you only had to pay once, and your choices all dropped in sequence.
The only problem was that I couldn’t work out how to get the change. Instead it suggested various items I could buy instead of that, including (to my surprise) a vast choice of cigarettes, dog food, a box of six eggs or batteries of various ‘A’ sizes. Since I wanted none of these things it wasn’t very happy with me – to the point where it seemed like that must not be the normal response. I definitely prefer the basic vending machine experience we have in the UK.
Andalo
The town of Andalo was very busy, and had a bit of a ski vibe going on. To my absolute delight, the supermarket was open. The deli counter was selling lasagne. In the ranking of best lasagne in Italy I imagine this one sits incredibly low, but I was encouraged that all other portions had been sold. When I asked for some chips to accompany it, the clerk refused. Whilst perplexed, he went on to explain that ‘the chips are shit’ in his best English. Since he was happy to serve me lasagne, my expectations were immediately heightened. He gave me some sort of potato based discs instead.
I would say that the lasagne was as good as (if not better than) one I could make. But it had then been left under hot lights for a few hours after that point, before it was eventually served to me. Nevertheless, I was happy about the fact it wasn’t an ice cream.
A bit of a break
After that feed I felt pretty stuffed, but I had the benefit of a 15km descent coming up to burn away some of the excess. I was a bit weary and apprehensive about pushing a newly built and unfamiliar bike to its limits, but was still touching 40mph+ at times.
The last 25km of my ride was dovetailed with an almost pan flat ride down a dedicated, long distance (200km+) cycle path. I could have actually ridden on this path all the way from Verona had I wanted to (plan D – the nuclear option) and avoided nearly all climbs I had completed so far. Whilst the miles were melting off at an alarmingly vast rate of knots, I did not take any photos down there because there was nothing interesting to see… at least compared to what I had seen. Whilst neither day I’ve ridden so far has been the easy option, I am convinced the effort has been worth it to see and experience what I have seen.
This evening I have finally ticked off something I thought I’d have already done by now – eat an Italian pizza ????????
A most enjoyable day all around. Day 3 is approx. 105km and takes in half of the Sella Ronda, which is one of the sections I have marked as must do. I am looking forward to it!
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