Day 11: Passing Wind

Date: 9/18/07
From: La Spezia
To: Parma (via Pontremoli and Passo della Cisa)
Miles: 76.0 (5,000 ft. of climbing)
Miles Completed: 531.1 (19,400 ft. of climbing)
Lunch: Ristorante 1km short of Passo della Cisa
Dinner: Hotel Restaurant
Accommodations: Palace Maria Luigia


This was our most difficult day of riding although I feel okay afterward. We basically spent 35 miles in the mountains. Our first climb was roughly 805 meters over 16-17 kilometers from Pontremoli to Passo della Cisa. This equates to roughly 10 miles of climbing at an average 5% grade. We then descended 200 meters over 4 or 5 miles and re-climb the 200 meters over the next 4 miles – and then we repeated this again. Those damn chevrons bit us again! They were there on the map after the mountain pass but I didn’t want to believe it/I was in denial. I paid the mental price for sure. We finally began to descend at the 50 mile mark and had a 9 mile descent that was awesome.

The wind up at the pass was incredibly strong – I almost got blown over a few times and I find it funny how this is the least safe I’ve felt on the trip so far considering all the busy roads we’ve traveled. The feeling I got in the mountains was similar to when I ride over the George Washington Bridge back home sometimes. If the wind is strong enough, your mind begins to believe it can lift you off the ground and throw you over the rail, forcing you to crouch down on your bike. Obviously this would be impossible but your mind actually begins to believe it – most likely because of the instability of the bike.

Lunch at the top of the pass was pretty good. Most people in the restaurant looked at us like we were aliens. I can’t imagine they see many bike tourists stopping in there. Most people I spoke with about our trip chose to take the train on this leg of the trip to avoid all the climbing. I find the pain quite rewarding.

One thing I found poignant on this ride was watching the Autostrada (superhighway) pass through a tunnel that cut through the mountain we were climbing. Cars were accomplishing in seconds what took us hours. Some people would consider this absurd but this is what I love about touring by bike. You see things other people don’t and you appreciate the things you see more because of the effort you put into getting there. This is deceleration at its finest.
We arrived at our hotel around 6pm and Dr. Ed is dragging a bit. This is the first time he’s really been low on energy (vs. me who was likely low on energy 50% of the days so far!). We have nice 4 star accommodations and decide to eat in the hotel restaurant given our long day of riding. The food is very good and the service is outstanding. I hop on the internet for an hour in the hotel lobby and I feel myself slowly integrating back to my normal habits as the trip is winding down.

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