Elba, last ride

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Whew! Today's ride was the hardest ride I've ever done, including the run-up to Valterro. Check out this map.
If you have google earth, turn contouring on, navigate to Elba, and then tilt your perspective. Craggy, huh?

Our hotel is near Magazzini, and I left the group early on during the climb up SP26. I actually met and rode with an old Italian guy riding a carbon-fiber bike on the climb from Porto Azzuro. He thought my spinning was hilarious (I tend to ride in a very low gear), so he kept calling me "Armstrong" (who is also a spinner). I called him "Big Mig" after Miguel Indurain, the famous Spaniard (who was something of a pounder), and we had fun trying to communicate with my pidgin italian on the way to the first rest stop at the junction of SP26 and SP32. Paulo had the van set up with drinks and plums, so Big Mig and Paulo chatted for a bit. Mig kept making spinning gestures with his hands, while saying "DIDIDIDIDIDDIDIDIDI!". Mig turned out to be 70 - very humbling to be housed by a guy 4 decades older. Nice guy, too.

After the stop, Mig went back to rejoin some friends, and I continued down to Rio Marina and along the beautiful coast to Cavo. The beach in Cavo was just too inviting to miss, so I stripped down to my bike shorts and took a refreshing swim. Sure, I cut my foot on some sharp pebbles, but hey, how long could that hurt for?

A while, as it turned out. The climb to Santa Caterina was actually kind of pleasant, but it just kept getting harder from there. I did get to see some old friends in Rio nell'Elba, though - Big Mig was evidently staying there! Though I didn't recognize him in street clothes, he recognized me, and he flagged me down for a quick "Hello".

The climb after Rio nell'Elba was a crusher - hot, and constantly up the side of a very steep slope. There was points where I was afraid to stop for fear that my legs would refuse to start pedaling again. Little green men started appearing (Napolean's ghost?), and I was pretty wrecked by the top of the pass. But I got there, let out a huge whoop, and cruised down the other side. Unfortunately, the way down was narrow, poorly paved and rough, so I was on my brakes the entire way down. By the time I reached the bottom in Volterraio, my forearms hurt, the rims of my wheels were hot to the touch (even though I had been braking on and off), and my brakes smelled of burnt rubber. It took me maybe 5 more minutes to get back to the hotel, and 5 more minutes before I was in the ocean again.

Note: While topless sunbathing is a great idea in theory, in practice, it can leave a lot to be desired. Typically, the women who should be topless aren't, while the women who should not be bare-chested are.

Ok, time for a drink by the beach.

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