58 miles ridden – 5400 feet climbed.

I had forgotten how much noise frogs make when there are a lot of them in a calm, safe pond with lots of insects to eat. They started at dusk and finished at dawn – I just hope all the noise was worth it!

Much of today was overcast which given the fairly constant climbing all day was good for keeping the temperature down. Straight out of the hotel we had to climb about 350 feet to the top of the hill I climbed at the end of yesterday and then we had an 8 mile descent BUT with a rubbish road surface and chunks of the road missing it was a slow process.

The landscape was much more wide open than in Tuscany and more lush with fewer vineyards and more agricultural crops but the generally poor road surface and cloudy skies meant we weren’t looking about as much as on previous days. We spent most of the day in a group of six which makes it easier to keep lots of eyes open. Terry and Julie:

And Anthony and Laura:

Towards the end of the day we had our flow interrupted by the Columbian cycling team. Quite annoying actually as they are small framed with seemingly little muscle but were able to race up the hills. Terry and I were asked to pull over as their manager felt we were making them look bad. It was a sacrifice we were prepared to make.

The last 4 miles included a sneaky little climb which we did under rain-threatening clouds but we made it to the hotel OK. 

Not so much climbing tomorrow and after lunch it flattens out. That will be welcome.