Pampered

Our time in Pienza was up.  We had to move on to our next destination.

The city: Riccione…on the Adriatic coast.

The place:  Hotel Belvedere.

The event: Bike camp.

Every Spring and Fall, this hotel (and about a dozen others in Riccione) turns into a mecca for cyclists.  

In Pienza, we rode nearly every day, cooked and cleaned for ourselves, and did our own laundry.

At Belvedere, we ride every day, and they do all that other stuff for us.

In other words, we are pampered.

The food is plentiful…as you would expect for cyclists who burn 4,000 to 5,000 calories a day on their bikes.

In addition, Carol had a massage to ease aching muscles but passed on the available pedicure.

After 60 to 135 km of cycling in the June heat, we just throw our sweaty bike clothes in a hamper, and a few hours later they’re back…clean and dry.

At the end of a hard day’s ride, this party of Dutch and Belgian racers cooled down in the pool with a round of electrolyte replacement therapy (aka beer).

Should you have a mechanical problem with your bike, Claudio is right there to replace a broken spoke.

The reason people come by the hundreds to the hotel is for the cycling.

photo courtesy of Giro d'Italia

Day one of our stay, Roger got to ride a portion of Stage 10 of the Giro d’Italia.  We did the climb pictured at the left.

Please note, there weren’t as many people along the side of the road cheering us on as there were for the Giro.

Every time a motorcycle passes Carol she asks, “ Is this the one with the cameras for us to wave at our admirers,” just like in the Giro.

Here’s what a map of that climb looks like.  Each squiggle in the road is a switchback.

Roger made it to the top.  Fortunately, this is a still picture, so you can’t see him panting.

The view from the top of the hill is called the Panoramica…

…for a reason.

You can’t see Croatia from here…

…but it’s close.

Here’s the group Roger rode with.  

Thirteen people, nine from Vancouver BC, a Brit, and Aussie, and a German.

That’s a pretty accurate geographic profile of the hotel’s guest list this week.  More than half come from Vancouver.

We were considered “average” cyclists.  There were two groups who rode faster and farther…and climbed bigger hills each day.  Carol chose rides that were a bit less aggressive.

Day two was the climb to Urbino, a medieval city with the second oldest university in Europe.

It was 106 km in 95 degree heat.  Ten climbs that professional bike racing would rate as categorized climbs.

A brutal day, but all 25 of us made it back alive…if raggedy-looking.

Was it worth it?  See for yourself:

Skyline of the medieval city

The old University building