Meanwhile in Switzerland Robin and Barbara Cooper are a mountain or two ahead of the group….

Now in Airoli at the bottom of St Gotthards Pass in the Alps. Resting here after short ride from Bellinzona today almost all uphill. We’re remortgaging the house. A meal for 2 – 100 pounds. A bottle of mineral water 6 pounds. Crazy prices but everywhere you go, unlike Greece, roads being built, railways repaired, new tunnels and offices being built a very affluent economy.

Tomorrow the big choices over the Alps (7000 feet).

1. a train to Lucerne
2. the autostrada  tunnel ( 8 miles long) through the Alps
3. the modern mountain road with 3 hairpins
4. The old mule track – still cobbled with 38 hairpins
5. Stay in bed.

Time will tell.

Barbara points the way up.

Tomorrow’s challenge

Today’s motivational tune: She’ll be coming round the mountain when she comes

Tomorrow is the longest day. It seems it will be 127 miles in the heat. Gasp. Several people are beating their own personal bests in longest distance for the day. Tina is doing really well on this her first long ride, shepherded by John all the way.

We are now in a small village just outside Bologna. So we are on the lookout for the ultimate pasta rush spaghetti bolognese of course. 120 miles with heat climbing and climbing. Day 1 of 4 very tough days. A little marred by Ed falling off and breaking his helmet again but nothing worse than lumps bumps bruises and scrapes. Tomorrow to Cremona! A mere 112 miles. After that we turn north towards the Alps, with Saturday beung the biggest challenge.

43 degrees but only 15 miles left. And at last we have got away from concrete warehouses selling tacky furniture and tractors. Towns with old gates and houses with closed coloured shutters. Large main squares with shady cloisters and grand churches with the doors open.

Italy is such a beautiful country but the east coast road and the N9 were long ago forgotten. Endless tarmac with factories and show rooms. It’s like cycling through 100 mile long retail park with lorries going past you at 70. Even the roadside Oleanders look weary and defeated.

Temperature a paltry 35 degrees so Cliff has his thermals on.

Tanya and Andrew are now with us on their Harley (Tanya being the world’s greatest magician with body pains and aches). She’s dealing with hamstrings and sore knees already.

70 miles done and just 51 to go.

Even the birds haven’t started singing. 5.00am and we’re off for 120 miles. Last night we ate pasta in profusion or pizza in slabs depending on preference. We need all the fuel we can get. Target: near Bologna. Thunderstorms forecast for this afternoon.

Robin and Barbara Cooper are forming an advanced party and cycling the 1,500 miles from Greece to London over three weeks. They’ll be joining the big group in Lucerne this weekend but have already arrived in Switzerland. 

We started by riding straight through passport control into Switzerland without stopping thinking it was just roadworks. It all looked a bit amateur in my view. The route to Bellinzona on the way to the main Alps is very hilly and we got stopped on the way and told by the gun-toting police to get off the main road. I don’t know where they wanted us to go because there is only one road into the town. In the end we waited for them to go and rode very quicky into town. Off to base camp tomorrow before we climb Everest, sorry, St Gottards Pass. Hot today, around 90 in the shade. Very beautiful scenery, lakes, mountains, lovely cars, all very neat and tidy and so many police. Ultimately though what’s the point? OK we’ve got – Toblerone, cuckoo clocks, penknives and very expensive coffee and drinks and er…. that’s it. We got lost in the hills this morning but like in a fairytale my trusty rescue dog arrived in the nick of time. Whisky galore. Thank goodness. R and B xx

A friend for Robin

This is our only rest day. The ferry is steaming across the Adriatic. There’s just been an incredibly efficient and determined safety drill – are they expecting something? All the riders are scattered over different parts of the boat – reading on the deck, snoozing in the bar. Our original intention was to come through Bosnia Serbia and up to Austria. Then the insurers simply laughed at the idea, and the distances were a bit too meaty to accommodate in a two week summer break. A whole kilometre to the hotel bed tonight and then back on the road early for 120 miles along the coast through Rimini before heading inland. We begin climbing towards the Alps on Friday.

As always the heroes of any such trip are the support crew who drive the van carrying spares and lunch. They scurry off to hunt for bread cheese and fruit for lunch and carry 100 litres of water – we are drinking up to 10 or 12 litres a day in the heat. Roger and Sue are doing a fantastic job.

Andrew and Tanya Nason are now en route to meet the party coming up from Greece. On their faithful Harley they will be supporting the team along the way and Tanya is our much needed physio for the trip. They’ve been on the road for two days now…

Sunday 1 July

07.25 UK time heading through Eurotunnel but dodgy electrics so no speedo and no indicators (eek – Ed). Luckily headlights are working and can use speedo on iphone (wow, really or is that bit just for the French police – Ed). 381 miles to go. NOT A GREAT START. 16.30 arrive in Beaune, very tired and cold but dry. Electrics kicked in 50 miles after Reims but only lasted until next petrol stop so it can’t be a fuse. Hotel Le Cep (a PB suggestion) lovely but difficult to find with no sat nav.

Monday 2 July

Cold and damp, then cold and wet. 420 miles to get form Beaune to Fidenze nr Parma. Electrics very dodgy with the fault traced to the ignition switch. Called in off-route to Harley Davidson in Geneva who in ten minutes stripped it out and reassembled it and got it working (yahoo – Ed).. A one hour delay then up the St Bernard tunnel, cold and wet on the Italian side then 30 miles later temperature rose from 60 to 95! Arrived at hotel frazzled and tired but looking forward to meeting the cyclists in Ancona tomorrow.

Andrew and Tanya.

Our advanced party Robin and Barbara Cooper are enjoying cooler temperatures in Italy..

We’ve made it to Lake Como and only 5 miles left of Italy which is good because I’m looking for one of those St Bernards with a Whisky barrel round it’s neck. Today has been a nasty shock to the system. After days of flat cycling, as you can see, it’s rather mountainous and the tops still have snow on. This has been the first day when the heat has only got to 33 and it even rained for 2 minutes. The 9 mile there and another 9 mile back detour in completely the wrong direction led to a minor sense of humour failure but I’m sure it will soon be forgotten and put down to much needed extra training. Waves are lapping under hotel window, mini bar’s being raided and dinners on it’s way then Switzerland tomorrow and on via the mountains to Bellanzona. Despite rumours we always need to be one country away from the Spartans all that will come to an end as they catch us up in Lucerne. R and Bxx