Day 71: Bellinzona to Lugano
I’m afraid you’re stuck with me again- Phil the Waffler. Hopefully I won’t bore you too much although I have been known to put a glass eye to sleep.
Speaking of sleep, Tim had a bad night because of a storm that lasted all evening, night and morning. At some points the rain was torrential so the tent area was flooded. Top marks to the tent and Tim for surviving the onslaught.
The weather cheered up a little for our departure. Another storm was due in the afternoon so we had a four hour window of dryness. Dad joined me in his all in one white ensemble. Tim likened it to him attending an Ibiza party but unfortunately for us the only party we were attending involved steep hills and mountains.
We followed the Cycle Route 3 for most of our trip. It was well signposted and took us down quiet paved roads. Check them our below.
At about the half way point we encountered the mountain pass we needed to take. The road wasn’t too steep but the climb lasted for 6km with an elevation of 360m. On the other side of the pass we found ourselves on similar roads to the ones earlier. We trundled through a couple of towns with little sign of life.
The last part of the ride wasn’t enjoyable. We cycled along a busy main road on the outskirts of Lugano. Lots of trucks came thundering past to make life a little uncomfortable. The final hill up to the campsite was a tricky one as well- Dad not happy as he “wasn’t expecting it”. View from the campsite below.
This is our last day in Switzerland. We’ll be crossing the border into our final country of the trip – Italy! I can’t believe we’ve reached Italy already- not long to go now!