62 miles cycled - 1350 feet climbed. What can I say? Another beautiful sunny, warm day. Our first 40 miles was as flat as a pancake as we crossed the River Po Plain with only the occasional rise as we went up on to a dyke or crossed a river or canal. Today we covered...

78 miles cycled - 3100 feet climbed. Today was fabulous. The sky was blue and the view from our hotel room was the perfect start to the day: Aside from the fact that there were a lot of lifts and very few signs we hadn't noticed much about our hotel until we went in...

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...

63 miles ridden - 5900 feet climbed Boring isn't it? Another fabulous day cycling in the sunshine.  Last night's hotel was very luxurious and we both slept very well indeed so it was a rude awakening to go in for breakfast and find ourselves squeezed into a table...

73 miles ridden - 4800 feet climbed. It's a clichè but another fabulous day's riding which followed breakfast in the garden of the hotel which was a lovely start to the day.  The first 40 miles or so was rolling hills - nothing too extreme either up or down and...

0 miles ridden - 0 feet climbed although walking around Siena it doen't feel like it. Woke up and lay there - no need to move - no early breakfast - no lycra - just lie and enjoy. It's the simple luxuries in life that make the difference. After a leisurely breakfast...

54 miles ridden - 4600 feet climbed Today was another hot day with lots of small climbs rather than the long drags we had yesterday. The day began with a coach transfer from our hotel in Pistoia to the centre of Florence in order to avoid the extensive navigation...

67 miles ridden - 5500 feet climbed. Another glorious day - at least that's what I think - through picturesque countryside and attractive little villages and towns. The temperature was better - around 28C - and the breeze wasn't to bad especially when it was behind us...

82 miles ridden - 1800 feet climbed Today was Sue's longest ride ever and she was on great form: It's a bit blurred because I took it over my shoulder while moving but you can see it's a fist-pump! Again it was hot but for the first 75 miles very, very flat. With flat...

53 miles ridden - 1200 feet climbed Another beautiful yet very hot day began with a ferry ride on Lake Garda from Riva Del Garda to Garda itself as the roads round the lake are extremely busy with lots of curving 'blind corner' tunnels which are to be avoided on a...

76 miles ridden - 4100 feet climbed Today was hot. According to my Garmin the highest temperature was 42C, I saw a town display showing 34C, either way it was hot. Our climbing was covered in 4 sections, 2 of which were after a delicious yet physically limited bowl of...

62 miles cycled - 491m climbed The day turned out to be hotter and harder than expected. Essentially we cycled downhill dropping from about 5000 feet to about 2000 feet but still managed to climb around 1500 feet in the process. Interesting dynamic that! After...