I agree with you about climbing! I did a lot in the past but now I’m ready for flatter rides especially when carrying a heavy load. If I want to get up high, I’ll do it on foot with a very light pack for water and a snack. When I’m walking I can do steep climbs with my almost infinite gears.

Curious if you like the NA red wine. So far I only like white ones. The reds tasted too much like grape juice.

I admire your climbing training - here I sit in Colorado and I have zero interest in climbing. Despite knowing I should! I've already told Jacinto that our next tour has to include more valleys and fewer mountains. He can find some climbing side trips. We had a major discussion about the type of riding we enjoy, vs what we can endure. I understand and agree that the more you train for climbing, the less it falls in the endurable category - but I find I'm not even riding at all, because I don't want to climb, and I know if I go out, that's what I should be doing. That's my own personal problem.

On the Briancon - there are several climbs in the area? How did you settle on Galibier?

The ones in America are all black, but in Western Europe they're more diverse. Jackdaws, choughs, rooks and hooded crows all have bits of color to them, but the hooded crows are the best.

The beak is interesting, alright. I noticed it myself and then looked at other photos of the bird. None of them look like this, so I think it's a deformity. I saw the same sort of thing on a great tailed grackle down in Arizona a few years ago - it looked like a bent pair of pliers - so I know that happens.

Yes, you can use it for many purposes, as long as you know the number and pin - which we don't, unless we've stashed it somewhere we haven't found. In the meantime though we've got it locked so it's only accessible to us.

At this point though it's not really a concern - not like the day two years ago when I lost my wallet and clobbered all of our credit cards. That was a serious problem.

I appreciate that you report the challenges as well as the delights because it makes it all more interesting. The realities of life adds to our zest for it, don’t you think? I wonder if we really need a credit card as long as we have the numbers and our ID. I have not used my actual plastic for over a year and yet the debit number is used a lot.

Wow! Never would have pegged that for a crow since it is not all black. And is that beak crooked or is that just the angle?

It's places like this that make me want to return to Europe.

Keens are the best. I like that they’re fairly wide.

Concur.

Yup!
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/53169-Oxalis-pes-caprae

Ha! classic Pavlovian response by both the pooch and me! We’re at the ferry terminal in Ancona now, round 1 of Italy over. On to the Dalmatian coast. See you in a couple of months!

Well of course you are. That's the shot! I was waiting for them to get to the sunlight.

For some reason I’m focused on the Lab heading towards some dropped morsel ;)

Beautiful pic. Love the flock flying around in the background.