Europe Day 11: 32 Miles

Milan, Italy to Lugano, Switzerland

Today started out with beautiful weather but ended with a sudden downpour and lightning that got a little too close for comfort. The day didn’t go as planned but the backup plan got me to my destination. I spent my last morning in Italy and crossed the border into Switzerland just before getting hit by an afternoon storm.

I have to talk about breakfast because it was the first time I’ve seen eggs and bacon that weren’t cooked by McDonald’s this trip. The breakfast came free with the room and I wasn’t expecting much. When I got down to the breakfast area it was a full buffet that included the American staples of eggs and bacon that I have been missing. I filled up two plates, grabbed a cappuccino, and sat down at a table to enjoy. I started with the eggs, bacon, and two filled pastries and followed that with a Nutella covered cream filled croissant, some cheese, and the cappuccino. I’d be riding today will a full stomach which was great because I knew I could get all the way to Como without having to stop to refuel.

I left the hotel and was immediately happy I had picked a place to stay that was on the outskirts of the city. The first few miles had some stop lights, but otherwise it was very easy to head north towards Como. I did have some routing issues in the town of Cantú where I think I went in a full circle around several blocks before figuring out where I was, but otherwise the trip to Como was nice and easy.

I arrived in Como right around lunch time and found a nice spot for a panino and fries. After lunch I rode over to the lake for some sightseeing. It was starting to get a bit cloudy so I’m not sure the pictures I took really do justice to how beautiful the lake is. I rode along the water for a while, but realized the weather was starting to turn and decided to get back on the rode to try and make it to Lugano before the storm hit. As I was climbing out of Como I saw lightning in the distance and realized I was going to be in for more than just rain. I could feel the temperature starting to drop and the wind was picking up as well. I had planned to camp tonight, but with the severe weather coming in I pulled out my phone and quickly booked a bed at the hostel in town instead. With the hostel as my new goal, I continued to ride as quickly as possible hoping to beat the storm. I crossed the Swiss border in the town of Chiasso without any trouble. They didn’t even look at my passport or ask any questions. Once in Chiasso I saw signs for the Swiss 3 Bike Route which is great. I now know I’ll have signs to follow for the next few days. I followed the bike route through a few more towns, but when I got to Mendrisio the rain was coming down very hard and the lightning had gotten to close for me to feel comfortable still being outside. I knew there was a regional train station in Mendrisio and decided to end my ride early and take the train the rest of the way.

It was easy enough to get train tickets for myself and my bicycle and the ride from Mendrisio to Lugano was only 20 minutes. From the station in Lugano it was a 2 mile ride to the hostel. The staff at the hostel was extremely helpful and got me checked in quickly. They had a locked area with key card access to store my bicycle and the room that I’m staying in is great. There are single bathrooms in the hall which are the cleanest I’ve seen in any of the hostels I’ve stayed at. They even allowed me to put my wet cycling clothes in the dryer for free. I figure wearing them through a heavy storm was good enough to get the washing part done.

Overall, I’m happy I made the decision to end today’s ride early and switch to the hostel instead of the campsite. I only ended up cutting off about 14 miles of riding and I will be well rested for tomorrow. It wasn’t the day I had planned, but everything worked out in the end. The rain stopped around 6:00 PM allowing me to head into town to find dinner. Tomorrow I will try to ride another 50 miles with my first real climbing in the Alps.

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Musings:

• I haven’t seen an ice cube in 2 weeks. I’ve gotten very used to paying for bottled water with meals in Italy. It is definitely frowned upon to ask for tap water. Today I realized that while the bottled water is served at a perfectly cold temperature, ice water is not a thing here. Thinking back on it, I have not seen an ice cube in any drink in 2 weeks. It’s not something I missed until I realized it was missing. I’m not sure if this is an Italian thing or a European thing. I guess I’ll find out in the coming weeks.