Europe Day 7: 51 Miles

Viareggio, Italy to Pontremoli, Italy

The roads from Viareggio to Pontremoli took me through 20 miles of seaside resort towns followed by a slow climb back into the mountains. I still haven’t had a sunny day since Siena, but at least I didn’t get rained on while riding today.

The first night of camping worked out well, providing a good night of sleep except for the 4:00 AM wake up due to a strong downpour. I fell right back to sleep, but knew I’d have to deal with a wet tent in the morning. The rain continued until 7:30 and when I sensed it coming to an end I started packing up. My breakfast was croissants and Nutella which were left over from yesterday. Once I finished eating, I loaded up my bike and was on the road by 9:30.

The first 20 miles of the day took me from Viariggio to Massa through a string of seaside resort towns that reminded me of the Jersey Shore. It was hard to tell if the beaches were public or private because the entire 20 mile stretch was highly developed with properties backing right onto the sand. There was a nice bike path for the entirety of this stretch of road, but I never had a view of the water because of all the buildings between the path and the water. It was an enjoyable ride though and completely flat which made things easy.

After a little more than 20 miles I decided to stop for lunch and found a great restaurant just north of Massa. The sign said it was a €12 “working lunch” which turned out to be a 2 course meal with a drink included and no coperto (the normal fee added to a bill). The menu was mostly seafood, and I trusted it was fresh given I was sitting a few feet from the Tyrrhenian Sea. I started with a shrimp risotto and followed that with a mixed plate of fried fish. Both were excellent.

After lunch my route turned north heading back into the mountains. I decided to stop in the town of Pontremoli because it sits at the bottom of a big climb. I didn’t want to end my day struggling up a hill when I could instead climb that hill when I’m fresh in the morning. I got a hotel room which was a bit expensive at $65 but I rationalized the expense by averaging it out with the cheap night camping last night. I’m doing well on my lodging budget having spent just $360 for 10 nights in Italy and I think I’ll be able to camp more once I get to Switzerland.

Once I was checked into the hotel, I had to do the typical chores of cleaning my bike and drying my tent. There wasn’t much going on in town, so I spent some time planning the next few days, editing photos, and watching some TV. Tomorrow I will start with a big climb and then hopefully have a nice downhill into the town of Parma where I’ll be stopping for the night.

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Musings:

It’s amazing what a small adjustment to the bicycle can do. I’ve had some minor pain in my right knee while riding for the past couple of days. I suspected a change in seat position might help. To start the day I raised the seat post about 2 cm. After riding for about 20 miles I decided to lower it slightly, making it no more than 1 cm higher than where I started the day. The adjustment didn’t provide full pain relief, but did make a big difference. I will try an equally small adjustment to my cleat placement tomorrow.