Thursday, 22 June 2023
Alex writes: After a couple of relatively flat days, today we were back into the mountains. We headed out of Fidenza for a cycle across rolling landscape to Fornovo. There we paused at a supermarket for supplies.
After a coffee in town the climbing started straight away with an 850m accent into the northern Apennines. The sun was blazing and the temperature already at 39°C making this climb particularly sweaty. Fortunately the roads were mostly smooth and there was little traffic. Bill especially seemed to relish the challenge, powering up the climb seemingly unphased by the heat.
Once at altitude there was a series of smaller descents and climbs, culminating in the passo della Cisa, a major waypoint on the Via Francigena.
Then, a long descent into Tuscany and our apartment in Aulla.
We have been on the road for a fortnight now, and over a pizza supper we dared to dream that Rome was within our grasp. The conversation was also tinged with homesickness: we are a fairly uxorious bunch and while there were no tearful proclamations of "my wife's the best wife in the world, my wife is", things were trending in that direction.
Two weeks cycling has also caused various kinds of perineal distress as evidenced by an increased frequency of visits to pharmacies for unguents and ointments. When I opened the fridge in the apartment I found the only thing being stored there was bum creme.
Word of the day: cyst
>>> Next: Day 14: Aulla to Lucca