June 16 - St Vincent to Pont St Martin via Colle di Joux

Margie, Art, Midge, Janet, Henry, Julie, Marie and Bob at the top of Colle di Joux.

It was warm and very hazy this morning when we awoke. It was our last night in St Vincent so we had to pack our suitcases and load them into the van. I left the hotel with Julie around 8:40. We had a very steep uphill for two blocks, so we walked our bicycles. Then we were on our way up to Colle di Joux. We climbed nearly 4000 feet in nine miles. Most of the climb was very slow in our lowest gears. There were fantastic panoramic views, but it was so hazy that we couldn't see the head or foot of the valley. It was not a good day for photos. This route was on this year's Giro d'Italia but they went in the opposite direction and added the climb to the Matterhorn to end their day.

We caught up to Margie, Mary, Marie, Janet, Midge and Henry near the top of the climb. They were taking a short break. We rode with them up to the summit and stopped at a restaurant. Rose, Art and Bob were getting ready to leave. I decided to sit for a few minutes and have a cappuccino and a snack. Then it was time for our downhill.

The descent went on for 25km. It wove through forests and villages and a narrow road with numerous switchbacks. Being Saturday, there was lots of traffic mostly going uphill. It was a bit scary when the Italian drivers cut the corners and moved into our lane. We made it down the hill safely, though.

When the road flattened out, we rode into a very strong headwind. Fortunately we got our rest on the descent and had enough energy to spin into the wind. We rode past Fort Bard which guards Valle d'Aosta from foreign invaders. By observing all of the traffic and tourists, it's not doing a very good job. The fort is now a museum. Most of us didn't stop there. Instead, we trudged on to Pont St Martin. It was lunch time, so we passed our hotel and stopped at a bar for panini and drinks. Because it was the end of our ride, I decided to have a beer. It really tasted good. I coasted back to the hotel stopping briefly at a farmers' market and bought some bananas. It is hot here. My shower felt really good.

Here is a link to today's ride.

I had a good rest this afternoon. Our rides have been short but tough with lots of climbing. It felt good to kick back and give my legs a relief.

We had a group dinner at the hotel. I started with pasta with lemon and parsley. The other starter was vegetable soup. Both were very good. My main course was a very thin beef stake with cheese on top along with roasted potatoes. The other main dish was tomatoes with mozzarella cheese. The beef was not memorable. I forgot to mention that one of our appetizers was lardo - look it up. I will try just about anything once.