In Vasto

April 23, 2025

Today begins at 7:00 with breakfast in our hotel; and then soon afterwards I walk over to Histonium, a testing lab where I've confirmed by email that I can have my two blood tests taken. They said that this morning is the only available time, and that they can both fax the results to my doctor and email them to me. They say they'll be available by the end of the day, although that doesn't actually occur. we'll check back tomorrow to report on the results.

In any case, the draw itself is a success. I show up with everything I need: passport, letter from the doctor plus both test referrals, plus cash. They take copies of all the documents before returning them to me, and charge me the exhorbitant fee of €12. So it works! As long as I can find labs suitably spaced along the way it looks like we're in business. I've already made appointments at the next two, in Nice and Chambery.

There's one other health-related issue to deal with this morning though. Yesterday I discovered that I'm missing one of my bottles of prednisone. It's hard to believe I would have just left it around somewhere so it's likely just another screw-up when we were deciding what to leave behind in the suitcases in Bari. Just a screw-up, but an important one because I don't have enough with me to last until we return to Bari. I'll have to get a pharmacy to dispense a refill somehow.

There's a pharmacy just a block from our hotel, so I stop there on the way back from the lab. As I go I rehearse what I intend to show and say. I've got the letter from the doctor showing that I need prednisone, and I've got a screen print of my medication list from Kaiser; and I've got the iPad to use as a translator if needed. But I'm bracing myself for the need to have a prescription forwarded here, as was done in Tucson.

Nothing like that is needed though. The pharmacist speaks reasonable English, which definitely helps; and when she hears I'm looking for prednisone she reaches to her shelves to pull down samples of what's available: boxes of 25mg and 5mg. I take one of each, which I think will be enough to get me back to Bari depending on how far I've tapered off the drug by then. But in any case, it's apparently not a concern. She doesn't need to see any documentation, she just sells it. So that sets me back another €8. A spendy morning!

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But enough of that. Let's get on with the day. Next up is a 12:30 lunch at a so-so restaurant overlooking the sea, a meal that's not really worth commenting on. And then it's back to the room until 3 when we're both ready to go out. We leave at the same time, Rachael starting off on a walk down to the waterfront I mapped out for her. It looks like it would be a fine walk once she gets past the first bit, about a half mile walking on the shoulder of the busy road we climbed up here on.

It's too busy though, she tells me when she phones me about twenty minutes later when I'm pushing my bike up a 17% cliff I hadn't expected. She ends up turning around and coming back up to the top and just wandering around following her nose. She comes back with some nice photos plus a funny story about a mother trying to feed ice cream to her toddler whose mouth is clamped tight in a frowny face because he apparently doesn't like ice cream.

We're looking back toward the coast here. Between where I'm standing and the hotel is a half mile climb up that ridge (no big deal, a steady 6%), followed by a drop down a crevass.

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My ride is another shot at putting some climbing miles onto my out of shape legs, with the destination a hilltop church that looks worth climbing to. It's about quarter past three once I start biking, which leaves me four hours of daylight to cover 25 miles with 2,400' of climbing. I should be fine, as long as I stay on task and don't stop for many photos - so I don't, although as usual I ride with the Canon strapped around my neck just in case a bird other than another stupid corn bunting happens along.

And for the most part it's a fine ride, although there are a few stretches busier than Rachael would care for (plus that 2,400' of climbing). The climbs I expected to be a challenge aren't particularly difficult, but there is that 17% cliff I mentioned earlier. It comes right at the start of the ride, when I drop steeply down into a sharp V-shaped ravine and climb out the other side. Nearly all of the half mile climbing out varies between 12 and 17 percent and gets pushed, and takes long enough that I'm barely two miles into the ride and worried bout my time budget already.

After that it's fine though, until I'm nearing home and have to climb back out the other side of this damned V. Going this way it's not quite as bad though - 10-15% - and I manage to stay in the saddle, barely.

And the church is great, well worth the stop. And best of all though is that nearing the end of the ride I finally come to a reason for having the canon choking at my neck the whole way when I see a hooded crow on a nearby wire. He flies off soon after I stop to a different line further off where a second crow is also perched. A hooded crow! An elegant looking, solitary bird, they're my favorite of all the European crows, and ones I've seldom seen - I didn't see this bird at all last year.

All in all it's an encouraging ride. This is working well for me to alternate flat rides and ones with some climbing. I'm starting to think that by the time we get to Briançon I just might be ready to give Galibier a shot.

This and the next shot are from the front end of the ride, after climbing out of that trench. They look similar to the shots from Rachael's walk, which brought her close to this spot also.

Here I'm doubling back to the southeast, looking across the valley. It's pretty country and pleasant cycling through a small wine district.

Looking up at the primary destination for the ride: Monteodorisio, a ridgetop village with a castle and the church I mentioned earlier. Between here and there is a 3-1/2 mile climb.

I maintain a steady pace on the climb, which behaves itself by staying in the 6-7% range the whole way. I'm conscious of the time though, thinking I need to make it to the top by 6:00. I'm stopped here about at the halfway point to wipe the sweat out of my eyes.

And I'm stopped here just because it seemed like the right thing to do.

So here's the church, the Sanctuary of Our lady of Grace. Let's take a peek inside to see if it was worth the climb.

But first let's read up on why it's even here in the first place.

One last climb, other than the hidden one on the far side I'm trying not to think about.

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Today's ride: 25 miles (40 km)
Total: 327 miles (526 km)

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CJ HornI 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.
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1 week ago

Scott AndersonTo CJ HornYes, 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.
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1 week ago

Kelly IniguezI 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?
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1 week ago

Rachael AndersonI 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.
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1 week ago