Today is hot. Mamma mia! it comes up from the asphalt and it gets into your lungs. The temperature is growing up to 34°C, but feels like 50 here. An oven. Well, that is the perfect situation for a ride along the water, a few stops at some villages, a caffè macchiato to give me a kick and a swim to finish an epic ride. All right, maybe a beer to celebrate the experience with the others, if you are not riding alone. Sharing the feeling of tireness and talking about that climb at the very end, or just having a super tasty gelato with your feet in the water while watching the sunset. My legs are sore, I'm swet, I'm all dirty, in one word: epic! This is cycling.
Nicolas looks nervous this morning. We have been riding several hundreds km in the last few days, and we feel every single one in our legs. The music sounds loud in the GreenWays Van. A bit more than one hour drive from our Borgo (Torre del Colle) and here we are. There's not many people around, but this is common in Umbria bacause we are less than a million spread out all around the Region. The result is an authentic experience in the real countryside of Italy. For cyclists enthusiasts, this means paradise.
Classified as a Regional Park, Lake Trasimeno is the fourth largest lake in Italy, covering about 128 km². It looks like a big pond from above and it's surrounded by soft and tricky hills immersed in the olive groves and the vineyards named “Colli del Trasimeno”. Tuscany and Umbria share the coasts of the Lake. This morning we started from Passignano sul Trasimeno, north east of the pond. I like it here. I like it because after a long day on the bike this is the right spot to grab a gelato or a fresh drink, sit on the lakeside and watch the sunset. Boom! Ferries, SUP, sail boats to the horizon, paint the picture of a wonderful postcard. Welcome to Lake Trasimeno. We are riding the Lake clockwise, so our first stop is Monte del Lago. A tiny little village built on top of cliff on a promontory. Beautiful!
Approching San Feliciano it means that we just rode 12km. A fishing village, totally worth a stop in here. Temperature is high, so we stop at the fountain for a quick shower and then for a lunch at one of the bars on the lakeside. Piadina with prosciutto crudo, rucola and mozzarella, a coke and we are ready to take off again. Another 10km ride and we get between Sant'Arcangelo and Mirabella. Along the road there's a beautiful panoramic point, it's a great picture opportunity with a view of the whole Lake and Isola Polvese right there in front of us. Fantastic!
We keep riding for another 15km and we get to Castiglione del Lago. This is a beautiful village, again built on top of a promotory on the west coast of the Lake. we climb up and walk around the center. We are thirsty and hungry again. Well, another excuse for a gelato and a picture opportunity at the "Lion Fortress" with a great view. This place is tempting: wine tasting, traditional umbrian dishes, torta al testo with salsiccia and artisenal gelaterias. Unfortunately we have to leave. The lakeside is beautiful in Castiglione, with lots of picnic areas where you can chill and go for a swim.
From here we are not gonna follow the main road to reach Borghetto, but we take an alternative route and choose secondary roads through the Olive Groves towards Terontola. Beautiful is a word that doesn't give justice to your eyes. It's late afternoon and the light is amazing, almost romantic. 60km already saved on Strava and we are riding down towards Tuoro sul Trasimeno when my front tyre gets bumpy. The casing underneath the tread is gone and this is dangerous, becasue the tyre can explode. We haven't got a spare tyre with us, so the only way is to deflate the air pressure and hope that is going to last until the end. We choose another alternative road to avoid the traffic of the Lake raod. Great idea! The view from here is much better and the road is a long snake that follows the shape of the hills. Sailing on wheels!
The last 10km are flat and smooth. The temperature is getting cooler and we are already talking about having a cold drink. High fives and jokes lead us to the GreenWays Van for a cold beer. The sunset is just there. It wasn't a super long ride, but it feels like we have been on an epic day. Cycling is a great social network. We are together, united, we are connected with the nature. It doesn't matter if we are tired. Look the the sunset and turn the music on.
This is our spirit and how we ride.