Only Words Can Describe

September 26, 2021

Rainy day in the hills

Only words can describe this day. While I did try to take photos, the weather made most efforts useless. The day started nice enough. Sunday mornings in Parma are fairly laid back so traffic was not a factor getting out of town. We are done with flat-landing for now as we head into the hills. Today’s ride is around 126 kilometers with 1629 meters of climbing (5600 feet) but only a net gain of 188 meters (616 feet) in elevation from our starting point in Parma. We went up and down a lot of hills. To add to the fun we had thunderstorms and rain during the entire ride. It seemed the heaviest thunder always seemed to happen as we climbed the steepest hills.

Riding wet
Mountainside church

The best climb was saved for the very last when our legs were the most tired. This little beauty was a 5.5 kilometer climb of 647 (2100 feet) meters elevation gain at a 7% or better grade. I have a 100 kilometer route that I ride a few times every year and over which the Monarch of the Mountains race of the Tour de Bonnechere is run. It is a tough route but it nothing to compare with our last climb of today.

I am certain the scenery would have been breathtaking if not for the rain and fog. Occasionally we could catch a glimpse of what we might have seen but such windows were rare. We arrived in the tourist town of Bobbio wet, cold and ready for a rest.

A great photo if not for the fog.