By Bike

Thursday afternoon the sodden paddocks of Trentham, Friday night the steamy UNESCO world heritage port city of Genova. Sue and I are met and looked after by our dear friend Amy. An immersion in the delights of Ligurian architecture, landscape, cuisine and culture. Walks through narrow meandering laneways of the old quarter.

Fabulous grand palazzos. A late night best ever gelato then a stroll to the wharf. An early morning ride along the Ligurian coast to the picturesque Portofino.

A (first) swim in the Mediterranean. Unsurpringly, lots of pasta, pesce, pizza, pane, caffe, vino and wonderful conversation. I think we’ve arrived in Italy…

A taste of the hills to come. Everywhere looks steep and high! I tried slip-streaming a young gun on a carbon equivalent of an F1 who was cruising along at 34km on the uphill! I determined pretty soon it was okay to swing off his wheel once I remembered I was on holiday, that it was my first day and I had at least 20,000m of climbing still to go. Maybe I’m learning how to pace myself, or maybe starting to accept I’m no longer 25. Oh, and my bike is perfecto.