I have ridden a little over 200 miles in the past 4 days, and my body needs a rest. In addition, torrential rains were forecast for last night and today, so I booked two nights in an agrotourismo just feet off the path I am riding on.
I learned that the haze in the air the last couple days was fine particles of sand, since the heat that blanketed Italy came with winds from the Sahara. My eyes have been irritated the last couple days, and now I know why. The rains will scrub the air clean.
And the rain arrived as forecast, the night punctuated by thunder, lightning and pounding rain. And this morning, the rain continued to fall in intermittent torrents. Today, about 1 3/4 inches (about 3 cm) of rain is forecast to fall! Good day to stay in bed.
It’s also a good day to spend a little time planning and looking at maps. The weather forecast shows more rain but manageable amounts.
Last night was the best night of sleep I’ve had since my heart surgery in November last year! I guess bike touring helps with my sleep. I was tired and I didn’t have to get up early.
I think it will take me about six days of riding to cross the high point of the Alps on the EV7, crossing into Austria along the way. It’s about 250 miles and 14,000 feet of climbing. Anyone who wants to see some of the mileages and elevation gains of this trip can look here.
The family that runs this place, Tre Forti, invited me to have lunch with them since the weather was so bad outside. Giacomo, the younger of the two sons, speaks quite good English and it was delightful to share lunch with him and his mother. Giacomo just returned from fishing in Norway, and so I shared some pictures of fish from Yakutat, Alaska with brothers Marc, Oli, and Pierre. Giacomo does catch and release when fishing, and so he joked that he is the only person who flies 3000 km to let fish go.
They invited me to dinner as well, but I went up the hill to the little town to have dinner when the weather improved a bit.
Dinner was amazing. I ate the Caprese salad before I had a chance to take a picture. The  ball of soft fresh mozzarella in the salad was fantastic. The Eggplant Parmesan was something to try to emulate in the future.
I enjoyed my dinner and had a glass of local wine at the end and sat a few minutes to savor the experience. And then I rode back home in a bit of rain, and hoped to get another great nights sleep before I continue on tomorrow.
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