Today was all about the beaches….they were amazing and empty!…Well until our intrepid cyclists broke the calm anyway! The only bods to ogle were these Men’s Health September Issue cover boys!
A pretty gentle ride today (despite headwinds, tailwinds and sidewinds!) on roads as smooth as a baby’s bottom along the coast. The guys were astonished by the, apparently, undiscovered beauty of the beaches and scenery. They cycled through some gorgeous villages, including Rocella Jonica shown above. Average speed today was a quick 17mph (26.2km/h)…fitness or flatness doesn’t really matter! Great day’s riding!
And then it was strip-off time to swim…no lunch as no restaurants available but, heck, that’s what granola bars are for! They swam instead of lunch and then again at the end of the day, despite not really having any sweat to wash off!
Great villa for the night with sea views (only just in view, but Richard S is in real estate and would even describe the glimpse as “expansive”!). Afternoon tea was particularly well received today given the lack of calories at lunch.
Dinner was a mystery but the wine was a Ciro by Librandi (sounds like Paul’s cologne - Coco by Chanel!)….the Ciro being the oldest vine in Italy having been introduced by [drum roll]….yes, you guessed it, THE GREEKS!
Data: 76 miles (122km), elevation 1,722ft (522m). Cumulative: 1,203 miles (1924km), elevation 66,962ft (20,648m).
Medical update: I had my surgery at 9.15am. Lasted a little over 2.5hrs and now I am bionic with two plates and 12 (presumably quite small) screws! The nerve block was super weird as there is no sensation and total paralysis with the arm being totally floppy and useless. It fell out of the sling at one point without me realizing (hoping Jeff isn’t reading today’s blog!). By chance, Iooked down and saw it dangling there, flapping in the breeze (my arm that is!). Block wore off overnight, but no pain relief needed thanks to Jeff’s delicate workmanship (for somebody who can pull-lift 425lbs, it’s remarkable)! PT starts Monday…