Italy Trip - Day 9: Garfagnana to Lucca

This was probably the most diverse in landscape and weather day among all. We started with a drive uphill (yes, I said drive, apparently Intrepid did not want their travelers to get exhausted too much!) and soon enough we reached a small parking lot where we got on our bikes for a 10 mile ride downhill.

It was cold, really, really cold. And with a windchill cycling downhill, probably even worse. Since I packed very lightly (only 3 small packing cubes, to be able to carry everything around, when needed), I did not bring many warm clothes, just a fleece and a rain jacket. I put everything on! I certainly looked ridiculous, but it did the job!

This is how I started...

As we lost elevation, I lost layers.

We stopped at the marble plant briefly. Marble is a normal building material here, and is very cheap because of its abundance.

Riding downhill is so much fun, but you really need to be careful and focused to see where you are going. Hence, it's not a breeze to ride with a breeze.

At the bottom of this marvellous mountain, we stopped at this amazing coffee shop where I got a freshly squeezed juice from a variety of fruit and veggies (I really needed this in my diet, since it's all bread and carbs) and a cup of hot chocolate. I usually don't order hot chocolate just because generally it is overly sweet for me, but this time I saw that it was truly a chocolate - nice and thick - and went for it. What a delightful treat!

We made another quick stop at a quirky exhibition right in the center of a village to regroup and continued on. It was going to be the longest ride of the whole trip.

I did not expect to see the beach this trip, but I did! We had a short stop at this beautiful beach where we spent at most 10 minutes, but I got to dip my feet in Mediterranean Sea.

As we continued the ride on the bicycle path passing by beach towns, I started to really feel the impact of everyday cycling on my body. My left quadricep was really hurting, so I had to compensate it with my right one, my rear end was a large bruise (I have no idea how people do it on a regular basis, do you just get used to that?) and my wrists were sore from riding on gravel. After lunch, I was an unhappy cycler having to do another 20 miles. The guide was getting frustrated with me, and closer to the end of the day said that I was extending the trip for everyone else. This made me quite angry since the whole idea of this trip was sightseeing and not just cycling. But I continued...

The last part of the ride lay along the river and was quite peaceful.

I was so glad to arrive at our hotel where we would stay for 2 nights. Tomorrow we had a free day in Lucca! But today we had another dinner with the group, and we went to this peculiar restaurant where the owner looked like a vampire and the restaurant itself was decorated in the Halloween theme.

And here is the English translation of "Cazzo" ;)