All fresh and ready after two days in Grenoble (bad weather) I cycled up a hill. I was happily riding along when POOF! 2nd puncture….this time it was the back wheel, lucky I geared up on repair stuff and since there were no Antoinne and Gilbert around this time, I fixed it myself and broke the pump in two pieces while I was at it…
But everything got sorted, got myself a new one in Briançon and headed up the hill again. For the first time this trip I actually arranged some accommodation ahead since I was gonna sleep at nearly 2000 meter and figured it might be fairly cold at night in my tent. It was just as well I booked a bed in ‘la Breche’, a gite in Villar d’Arène, since the same weekend I wanted to cross the Alps there was a big and famous ski match. ‘Derby de la Meije’. So the whole town and surrounding villages where full of happy ski people. I had dinner in the Gite with a group of them. About 1000 people join the match and I did consider to join too but only after a couple of drinks with my room mates Mattieu and Boris. I can’t ski.. They showed me where the party was… they even managed to get me a t-shirt of the whole event 
And when I left the next morning the owners gave me some food for on the road and wouldn’t let me pay!
So the next morning with only a tiny headache I cycled up to the col du Lautaret, I felt great ones I was up there! Couldnt get a huge grin of my face for at least an hour.. and after going down and down and down and down with my feet on the front bags in the sunshine, I went up again… Cycled passed some ski resorts and there was Italy!
I didnt have to cross any mountains anymore but for the craic I cycled across the col del Lys which was a bit heavy but absolutely amazingly gorgeous! I love mountains.. just so beautiful. Im not very fast it took me about 2,5 hour to cycle up 13km…. But I’ll get there and its rather funny to see the surprised faces of the very fast race-Italians.
With easter I stopped at a bar in a small village, Agnellengo. Just about immediately I was handed a nice cold beer and invited to join a group of friends for dinner Alessia, who spend some time in england, showed me around the area in her car and told me it wasnt too common that a foreigner spent time in her village of 150 people.I could even sleep in the bar owners house! So after a real comfortable sleep and a coffee half the group got up at 8 to send me off. With a couple of eggs since it was still easter.
The last couple of days Italy was as flat as a pancake, kinda spooky and surreal, rice fields and completely straight roads with villages where you could see not one person… even the dogs where quiet.
And now? now I’m gonna take a wee break and spent some time with my friend Hans in Andermatt, Switzerland.
Might even have a go at that whole ski-thing myself!
Arrivederci!
