Europe Day 10: 30 Miles

Lodi, Italy to Milan, Italy

There isn’t much to say about today’s ride. The goal was just to get from Lodi to Milan which was about 20 miles. I went from farm roads to busy streets as I got closer to the city center. There wasn’t much to see along the way, but I made it to Milan without any issues.

Once I was in the center of Milan it was very difficult to navigate. My GPS was leading me down one way streets but heading in the wrong direction. Milan is full of cobblestone, so as I was trying to navigate, I was also bouncing around on my bike which wasn’t fun. After a few wrong turns I made it out of the city center and arrived at my hotel having ridden 10 additional miles. I had entered the city from the east and got a hotel room a short walk from the northernmost subway station in the city. I preferred to fight through traffic today instead of wasting energy in the morning tomorrow. Tomorrow I’ll already be on the outskirts of the city heading north, so there shouldn’t be any traffic to go through. For $55 it is a pretty nice hotel and without a doubt the best place I’ve stayed this trip. After unpacking my bike, I quickly took a shower and headed to the subway to return to the city center on foot. It seemed like it would be much easier to enjoy the city without having to lug my bike around.

I got off the subway at the Duomo and walked around for a little bit, but my attention was more focused on finding food. I had stopped at the grocery store for breakfast this morning and bought a box of 6 mini pastries and a Powerade. I’d eaten 3 of the pastries, but 30 miles of riding had burned through those calories. By the time I found a spot for lunch it was 3:00 PM and I was approaching a level of hangry I’ve never experienced before.

Luckily there was a spot selling panzerotti, which are tiny calzones. I had a spinach with ricotta and a pepperoni with mozzarella. They were amazing and filled me up quickly. I spent the next hour walking through the Sforzesco Castle and the park immediately behind it. I then went in search of a cannoli. I can’t believe I’ve been in Italy for almost 2 weeks and have neglected to eat dessert. The lunches and dinners I’ve had have been so filling I never have room for dessert. The cannoli was great and made me regret missing out on dessert the last couple of weeks.

My next stop was Birrificio Lambrate. I finally found my place in Italy to sit at a bar and drink a beer. Lambrate is a microbrewery based in Milan and had a great selection of beers. After 30 miles of riding and then walking around Milan for a few hours it was nice to just relax with a few beers and get off my feet for a bit. By 7:00 I was exhausted and decided to head back to the hotel. The late lunch, cannoli, 3 beers, and buffet at the bar had filled me up for the night, so I decided to skip dinner and find something to eat at the hotel if I got hungry later.

Tomorrow I leave Italy and enter Switzerland. I’ve had an amazing time in Italy but can’t wait to see what Switzerland has to offer.

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Musings:

• Does anyone know of a sunscreen bug repellent combo product? I have been putting on sunscreen every morning even on the cloudy days. What I’ve neglected is bug spray. I’ve got the typical cyclist tan lines right now, but also have mosquito bites on both arms between my elbows and shoulders. I’m not sure why that area is the only place I’ve been bitten, but the problem could be solved with a combo sunscreen bug repellent product. Remembering to put on both has thus far escaped me.
• The free happy hour buffet is a glorious thing in Italy. Several places I’ve been to have put out a nice spread around 6:00 PM that is absolutely free. This is the one part of Italian bars I would absolutely bring back to the United States.