More Than We Bargained For

To Sanremo, Italy -- 42.7 miles, 10.6 mph, 3125 ft

Today was a much longer and harder ride than we bargained for. I guess that’s part of the fun; we really have very little idea what the roads, towns, and accommodations will be like before we actually get there. Today, the weather too was part of the "fun."

Right from the start, the Komoot route took us inland from Nice up the steep cliffs east of the city extending up and behind Monaco. The total would be over 3000 ft, but at least, we reasoned, we’d get it out of the way early. 

Wow. All I can say is that was some climb.  Kylie and I stopped at least 10 times to rest. First I resigned myself to using the granny gear; then, I started standing; next, I began weaving from side to side; finally, I even jettisoned my stoker (sorry, Kylie) just to keep moving up the steepest bits. Meg and Dex struggled too walking way more than they wanted.

By noon we were at the top... and had only covered six miles! Nevertheless, all was forgiven as we were welcomed by spectacular views of the surrounding valleys and mountains. 

The light sprinkles that had cooled us on the way up, intensified giving us a chance to dig out our wet and cold weather gear hiding at the bottom of our bags. We may possibly have made a small tactical mistake by packing bike tights, but no true rain pants. After a couple hours in the wet, much of it giving up our hard-earned elevation gain, we were all looking for somewhere to warm up and dry off.

Looking back at Monaco

Once back at sea level, we were lured off the route, back toward Monaco by a sign for Pizzeria Famiglia. Although the Pizzeria was closed, we happily ducked into the Vietnamese/Chinese restaurant across the street.

The steaming noodle soup and hot tea were just what the doctor ordered. We prolonged our stay till 4:00 ordering a final round of spring rolls and a full set of tasty desserts. 

Due to the rain, I pocketed the iPhone and had to rely strictly on voice commands from the Komoot navigator. Kylie and I agreed to begin referring to her as “Miss Cranky” due to her continually nagging and sour tone. 

Sadly, the second, and completely unanticipated, climb came at the Italian border.

The very friendly Italian Marine explained that the tunnel through the mountainside was closed. We’d need to turn around and head up to the bridge overhead with the rest of the cars. In other words, we were going to get the opportunity to appreciate first hand why that tunnel had been built in the first place. Meg's response: "I couldn't be more pissed if I wanted to."

We all survived and enjoyed the last relatively flat 15 miles. We had some trouble, though, finding the Arcobaleno guesthouse and, once there, getting someone to let us in. By 8:15 p.m. we finally had our bikes and gear in the surprising large 3rd floor suite.

Dex and Kylie would have much preferred staying in the room at that point, but we prodded them out anyway and enjoyed a nice Italian meal, outdoors, on a narrow stone street, with the France vs. Albania game on in the background.