Making good progress at 25 km/hr, I barely noticed the wet and soon the skies cleared as I skirted around Pinerolo, Asti and Alessandria to end up here at the Valmilana campsite, 7km north of Alessandria. On paper today should have been fairly straight forward but a few factors made for a surprisingly tough day.

The change in temperature from the high mountains to the flat planes of northern Italy was significant. As I cruised down from the alps yesterday with windstopper jersey and leg warmers on, I soon overheated.

Expecting another hot day today bike, I woke this morning to grey clouds and within 10 minutes of waking, the heavens opened. I delayed departure slightly and chatted to Andre, the Slovenian I met yesterday – he is now following this blog, so hi! Torrential rain persisted for a while so, accepting that it was no quick shower, I hit the road.

Making good progress at 25 km/hr, I barely noticed the wet and soon the skies cleared as I skirted around Pinerolo, Asti and Alessandria to end up here at the Valmilana campsite, 7km north of Alessandria. On paper today should have been fairly straight forward but a few factors made for a surprisingly tough day.

Firstly the majority of shops shut here on a Sunday meaning that I had to hunt around for food and make do with the limited choice. I eventually settled for a cheese and ham toasty for lunch which wasn’t big on the complex carb front. Secondly, to avoid the motorway I had to take a tortuous route away from the flat and into some rolling hills. Still, I made it here with 135km on the clock.

Highlights of the day included passing a spectacular gorge at Racconigi and looking out over vineyards, teracotta roofed villas and general Italianness! I also enjoyed chatting to locals in a small village as I sank a few espressos for an appropriate interlude from riding

This evening I pulled off the pasta and pizza double, much to the amusement of the Italian waiter. A few beers with some Dutch guys staying on the campsite has taken me up to bed time. Catch you tomorrow.

Jump to Jack’s next day