Bubbio To Gavi - June 2, 2014

Today's Cycling Partners - Janet Monks, John Beland and Julie Leever

We had our earliest start, yet. At 8:20, Julie, Janet, John and I rode out of town. The weather was mild, but there was a threat of rain later in the day. That is why everyone was antsy and wanted to get to the finish as soon as possible. We were the last to leave.

The weather stayed nice. The route instructions and GPS downloads, however, were a bit confusing. We had to stop  several times to make sure we were going onto the correct roads. At one point we had to walk around a road closure where about 100 meters of the road were washed out because of a flood a while ago. Our GPS saved the day for us.

The ride was very hilly on terms of elevation gain, but most of the climbs were short and gradual. Nevertheless, my legs are pretty tired. We were in and out of vineyards all day. Some of the views from the ridges were beautiful although the air was not very clear.

We stopped once for coffee and snacks and a second time in Gavi for lunch. Our Agriturismo della Guardia is a couple of kilometers out of town and serves no lunch. So we had to fuel up in town. I had a good panino with salami and cheese along with fizzy water and a Magnum Bar. I had ridden ahead of the group because they were trying to contact one of the riders who they thought was lost. It turned out that she connected with another couple who led her in.

The last 2kms from town to the hotel were up hill. My GPS ran out of juice on the way. It had worked hard all day to keep me on route and took a rest when the end of the ride was near.

I am in a small room whose door and floor-to-ceiling windows open onto a terrace. No vineyards are in sight but I have a view of a forest, a small hilltop village and some mountains in the distance.

Happy Hour was on the terrace outside of all of our single rooms. It was convenient for me because I could sit in my lounge chair, drink wine and eat special HR goodies.

Dinner was at our Agriturismo. I had some little hand rolled pasta similar to spaetzle with a yummy pesto sauce. My main course was rabbit with a small salad with fresh cherry tomatoes. Dessert was fresh strawberries. We had pitchers of both white and red wine. White wine is the common wine in this area.

It is getting late by my standards so I am going to bed. Buona Notte.