Italy: Chase the sun
This weekend I convinced Jack to join me cycling from the East coast of Italy, from Cessantico, to the West Coast in the Italian version of Chase the Sun via some iconic land marks, and stunning countryside, plus a few big climbs. It culminated in 280km and about 2700m of climbing, the longest ride I have ever completed. What I did not predict was a rather stressful week leading into it (due to a lack of passports arriving) leaving Jack out there solo (or so we thought) on Thursday afternoon. However, after I had given up hope, and flights had been missed, Mr postman delivered our passports, with our visas on Thursday afternoon, so Ade found an evening flight (that got delayed then cancelled! - another story) to eventually get us to Milan, at 2.30am. On Friday morning, Our 3hour 45 drive ended up over 5 hours due to 3 crashes (fortunately we were not involved in these) and a lorry fire, but we made it in time to register, build the bike, find Jack, find our hotel, and eat pizza and ice cream! (both I might add were very good)
The event started at 5.25 am, Jack had the route on his Garmin, I had it on my phone, as there is no support at all on the route, just a few aid stations, which seemed few and far between! The event starts nice and flat, and the small group of riders pretty much stayed together until the first climb. The first 3-4 hours was lovely, we met some great riders, it was warm but not overbearing, and the time went quite quickly. However this only took you to 9.30am and after that it just got hotter and hotter! A lot of time was taken finding water fountains, and local shops as we were going through our bottles very quickly. At 185km there was a more substantial aid station, at the end of a very long, exposed climb, which was a welcome break, even more so for Jack who was definitely feeling the heat, lack of fluids and food (perhaps :) ) There were a lot of over heated exhausted riders at that stop, but the Italian cuisine, fluids and shade definitely helped to restore their batteries. Unfortunately for me, my phone had over heated, so I no longer had the course, and Jack’s Garmin died a few kms further on, so we were then reliant on other riders for navigation. Fortunately there was plenty of support along the route for that. A huge shout out to Martin from Sussex and Piere from Belgium, plus the Salford cycling Club riders, all of which were incredibly social, supportive and great company, and were very happy to have us tag along. I have to say even with accurate navigation, I am not sure I could have made it around Florence, and Pisa without them! It was stunning, but crazy!
It was a beautiful ride, one that should not be rushed, taking your time, enjoying the scenery, Italian culture and company of other riders is definitely what makes it. In the words of the Chase the Sun organisers, “its a ride, not a race” and they are certainly right. Thank you Jack for the support and company from start to finish, it was a pleasure to ride with you….what we doing next? :)
