Steven at the top of Mottarone!

Today was our first full day of the tour. We woke up early for breakfast then met up for a map review and headed out. We cycled hilly terrain to Lago Maggiore and stopped for cappuccinos at a café overlooking the lake. We saw the St. Charles state (Sancarlun), a giant statue built in the 1500s. You can pay to walk up the statue and overlook the town. The statue of liberty was based off of this statue and the builder came to Lago Maggiore to study this statue before building lady liberty. After a pretty grueling uphill climb we reached the town of Stresa. In the town is a fountain that we people go to for filling water bottles and containers. We filled our bottles and soaked our heads. While we were there an old Italian man approached and begun filling his bottles; he told us that this water makes the climbs easier. With that good omen we headed off to Arona. On the way at an intersection we stopped to regroup and a bunch of older Italian cyclists stopped as well. They didn’t speak English and we didn’t speak Italian but through pantomiming and hand gestures they told us we were crazy for heading up to Monte Mottarone and a mountain climb that is higher than the sky. The Monte Mottarone was an optional extra loop as it is extremely, extremely challenging – it was used as one of the hardest climbs of the Giro d’Italia a couple of years ago. Steven decided he was up for the challenge and I opted (despite my pride) to ride the van up the mountain with several other members of our group. The climb was 11km with an average of 14% elevation and ramps of 20% elevation. Riding up in the van I became increasingly nervous about Steven doing the climb. He is a strong rider but this was one intense climb and it just kept going. At the top of Mottarone is a gorgeous lookout. I nervously waited and when he and Joe came into sight I was very relieved.  During the climb his handlebars became loose and he had to pull off because they were completely downwards. Without giving up and despite some stomach issues he made it and I am so proud of him.

When we all made it back to the hotel we put on our swimsuits and headed for a dip in Lago D’Orta. It was wonderful.

The dinner was another five course meal at a restaurant overlooking the lake in the town square.