Bubbio Loop - June 1, 2014

Everything dried out overnight. We woke to almost clear skies and mild temperatures. My roommate for two nights, Bo Newsome, likes to sleep in so our early morning bathroom routines were well coordinated.

Our breakfast buffet was OK. We had the standard coffee choices, boxed cereals, strange juices, yoghurt and canned fruit. In addition, we had peaches that were just picked from the tree.

I left the hotel around 8:40 wearing a light jacket and baring my legs. Tom had jumbled our routes today to minimize traffic. He did not, however, minimize the climbing. The roads that he chose were narrow country  roads rambling along vineyards, farms and forests. Our climb started out gradually, but it soon became a slug at 10% for several kilometers. Along the way, I joined Margie Kirk, Janet Monks and Laticia McIntyre. The weather became very warm and humid. We were passed by several Italian cyclists who were out for a Sunday ride.

After we reached the final summit, we had a wonderful downhill. Then we turned on a road that was not on the map that Tom supplied to us. He had to use magic markers to draw this part of our route. I can understand why the road was not marked. It had some stretches were the pavement was broken and the road surface was nearly gravel. There was one short segment where the pavement was gone and the grade jumped up to 17%. We got off of our bicycles and walked.

We stopped for snacks in Momtechiaro Piana. On our way to the hotel, we were joined by Bo.

After cleaning up, I walked a ways up the street and found a restaurant where I had water, beer and strawberry risotto. It had a little pepper in the sauce which spiced it up. It was very good.

Our Happy Hour was at the Torelli winery where we had a tour with Giancarlo and his young son. Wine tasting was the highlight from this very old and very respected winery. Giancarlo was very outgoing and very knowledgable about his family history with the winery and with the history of the wine in the region. We were bused to the winery and afterwards to dinner in the school bus.

Dinner was at the same B&B as last night. This time I had gnocchi, veal, salad and dessert. I wish that the Italians could do a better job cooking meat. Sauces are great, but the meat is always overcooked. As we left after dessert, our waitress chased us down while we were in the bus with a tray of coffee. This was fun especially after all of the house wine and Muscato.

It is getting late. Buona Notte.