We did it – we crossed the Alps on bicycles, and I am feeling very pleased with myself. We had a sunny morning climb up to the top of the col, the Sestriere, at about 2036m, and sat in warm sunshine to drink in the view, and the tea in my case.

The top was a ski station with all the trappings that come from that, ski lifts and chalets and general man-made clutter and Andy wasn’t keen on what had been done to the mountain, but the views we saw on the way up there were wonderful.

At times the ride up was tough with sections of steepness where I would usually get off and push but not this year.

We are getting acclimatised to Italy, it takes awhile to adjust to changing language, customs, menus and so on especially as we don’t know a lot of Italian. I managed to order 2 beers though so I think I am going to like Pinerolo. Very sad to leave the mountains but there is a lot of exploring ahead.

Track of the day:
Not Giving In by Rudimental ( John Newman) , reference that bit on the climb that was at 12%.