In the evening of Day 78 we went to the restaurant next to our campsite. Dad had befriended the owner, Davide, during a lunch time beer session. I was spared cooking duties and the other two spared washing up duties. What an evening meal we had! A couple of pizzas, an antipasto, Piacenza pasta and tiramisu all hit the spot. One of the best meals I’ve had in years and it wasn’t “Expensive!” so Dad loved it. Davide made a donation to the charity and placed my leaflet in front of the till. Top man! Check us out below!

Day79 was a rest day. Tim climbed a steep hill to a church and then played football with Dad and me. I didn’t run around a lot but it was good to have a kick about like old times! There was a wedding taking place at the restaurant  so we were treated to loud music and some excellent karaoke for most of the evening. The rain certainly hadn’t put them off. Dad had his best white shorts and tee shirt on, ready for the invite, but I’m afraid it never appeared.

Day 80 was ride time again! We were sad to leave the owners of the campsite behind because they had been so supportive and interested in the challenge. Dad and Andrea (the boss) had cultivated quite the bromance. They would waffle on for hours in French about all kinds of topics. Andrea’s wife, Caterina and his daughter, Flora were very friendly and invited us in for coffee before we departed. A magazine editor appeared out of nowhere and took some photos of us all. Hopefully there will be an article for all you Italian speakers to tuck into. A big thank you to Andrea, Caterina and Flora for your hospitality and donation to the charities. Memorable moments like these are what the trip is all about.

Tim and I set off on the bikes and immediately encountered a hill. This climb lasted for about 15km! We couldn’t believe it! It was one of the toughest climbs of the trip. The road was quiet and the scenery was stunning in places. However, we were up in the clouds so our photo opportunities were limited (see below).

We reached the top of the pass after climbing 800m. It was freezing at the top! We couldn’t wait to get down again!

It was raining so the descent was tricky. We couldn’t bomb along like normal as it was slippery and the road quality was woeful in places. Once we reached the bottom it had warmed up. Our hands and feet were freezing so I had to get off the bike to get the blood flowing again. The last part of the trip took us along a pleasant road through some small villages. Check out the data below! It was a real challenge today!