If you would like to see details about our journey, check out our itinerary and our bike route.
Our host, Pierce, served an excellent breakfast at a table outside on the terrace. The air was cooler and the sun was out and the sky was blue. We had planned this as a super easy 12-mile day on a major bike route, kind of a rest day in the middle of six days straight of biking. Pierce urged us to alter our plan and climb to a regional bike route that he said wound through pretty little villages along the base of the foothills, adding 1000 feet of ascent and 5 miles. We adjusted our route, using his suggestion but modified a little to cut out a steep climb at the beginning.
At the last minute, Ken decided to go with Pierce's recommendation rather than the modified route we had agreed on, and took off up the steep hill. We had a bit of a disagreement about that. I pouted for an hour or so. We stopped for capuccini and agreed to make the best of the rest of the day.
We arrived in Bassano del Grappa a half hour before we could check in, found a pizzeria around the corner from our guesthouse, and had a good lunch.
By the time our host arrived to let us in around 15:30, we were tired and a little crabby. We needed to do laundry, buy rain shoe covers for me (I somehow did not pack one of the three pairs I have at home, even though I remember going through my gear box and picking out a pair to bring), and underwear for me (I somehow lost a pair in the last few days).
When we checked in, we saw a washer in the hall next to our room and asked if we could use it. Our host said no but offered to do our laundry for 15 euros—a ridiculous sum for putting one little load into the washer, adding soap, and turning the washer on; she said she would be leaving then, and we would need to take our clothes out and hang them up in our room when they were done. We agreed because it would save us a hike to the laundromat a mile away. Extravagant.
We walked across the river to the bike shop, where we found a sign saying it was closed for the week. (We are constantly reminded that it is August, holiday month for Italians, and most places close for at least a week sometime during the month. These vacations are not posted on the Google descriptions for the properties, so about once a day, sometimes twice or three times, we hike or bike a mile or more only to find a place closed. A minor inconvenience...) On the way back, we stopped at a few clothing stores, where I found no underwear. We did find dinner at an osteria, and pear strudel at a bakery.
Back in our room, we hung up our wet laundry, decided we were no longer crabby, and went to sleep.
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| Looking into the Prealps beyond the edge of Bassano del Grappa from the Ponte degli Alpini. |
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| Looking back into the main part of Bassano del Grappa from the Ponte degli Alphini. |
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| Tired but not really crabby anymore. Working on those selfie smile skills. |
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| We are working our way through the Prealps into the Dolomiti. |
