Tim’s Guest Blog: Days 69 & 70: Rest Day & Faido to Bellizona
The moment you’ve all been waiting for has finally arrived. Yes, at last I have been summoned to guest write the famous Bath to Rome blog. I’ll try and keep the entry short as I know Phil tends to ramble on.
Yesterday was one of Phil’s ‘rest days’. These days mostly consist of him playing Football Manager and stomping around dissatisfied at his teams inadequate performances. Meanwhile, Dad and I chose to cycle up to a church that we could see from our campsite, perched precariously on the top of a sheer cliff face. It was only 10km away but the climb up was one of the toughest yet. The views at the top were spectacular, as was the cycle back down the hill.
On to today’s cycle…After reviewing The Bible (Google Maps), today’s route appeared to be a simple downhill meander to Bellinzona. Of course, this meant that the exact opposite occurred.
After trudging along in the surprisingly cold rain for an hour or so, Phil decided to make things interesting by snapping a couple of spokes (cause currently unknown) on both tyres.
We rendezvoused with Keith at a Lidl (Keith loves shopping) in a stunning town called Biasca. After collecting some Swiss Francs we headed to a local bike shop and were greeted by a man that called himself ‘Mr Fish’. Mr Fish was a tremendous chap. Foregoing part of his lunch break, he and his partner in crime, Igor Gregorio, quickly fixed the spokes free of charge. They also gave us a couple of free cycling jackets (pictures below).
We were treated to some fantastic views during the rest of the ride and arrived just in time for Lidls finest lunch spread.
After lunch, Keith forced me back on the bike and we explored Bellinzona. There are 3 old forts (photos below) and lots of small cobbled streets to clumsily cycle around.
Phil is currently having a breakdown about his Whatsapp and internet not working, so there’s a good chance this blog may never make it to the website.
Aside from his technological issues, he is doing an amazing job on the bike ride and continues to amaze Dad and I at his ridiculous level of cardio.