It was time to move on from Levanto and check out a new place. We’d had enough of the incessant church bells – they were more annoying than Tim’s banter! It was also good for Bridge to see a different town as she’s leaving us tomorrow- boo hoo *sad face*.

The weather forecast made for grim reading. Clear in the morning but rain all afternoon and evening! The perfect way to ready B for her trip back to England. Dad and I needed to get a move on so we got ready and left at a decent time. Oats made a return to my breakfast menu – *happy face*.

The ride started off with a long climb uphill! The perfect way to get back into the swing of things! As I was powering my way up, I heard someone say,“What is Bath to Rome?”I turned around and saw two male cyclists. They had spoken to Dad earlier and knew a little about the trip. Roland and Everhard were from Germany and were keen cyclists. We pedalled up the mountain together chatting about the trip etc…They seemed impressed with my standing cycling style. Check out the photos below of the climb and us at the top. Best of luck for the rest of you trip in Italy gentlemen!

The next part of the ride was a bit up and down. There were some good stretches of descent but also some sneaky little hills. When we reached La Spezia, a port city, things started to get tricky. Here is the view of La Spezia from our windy road into the town.

We made our way through the city along the shorefront. It wasn’t a picturesque waterfront like Cinque Terre. The Italian Navy is based here so we cycled past lots of military buildings. Lots of cranes, containers and ships dotted the skyline- not postcard material I’m afraid. We cycled along the main road in heavy traffic. It wasn’t much fun and I needed to be fully concentrated to navigate my way through the hundreds of cars.

We eventually made it to the campsite after a hair raising couple of minutes in tunnels and going the wrong way down a one-way street. Lerici is a stunning place with an eye-catching harbour. The views from our campsite are even better so check out them out below.

A challenging ride today with a lot of climbing- see the data here. A broke my calories burnt record – woop woop. Extra hobnobs and choco for me this evening!