KATHI: Kathi went early to check in for another “first week”. Many students stay at one place for two+ weeks. We kept moving every week.
She found out that her level was a bit higher than even she would have preferred to do. It was different than the first week where the grammar level was too low. This class has 12 students but the room is small (better than the big one last time) and she likes the teacher better. She even asked about moving to a lower level and the teacher said it was up to Kathi.
So, she now has the pressure on. Extra studying to prepare for the next day. She found an iTalki teacher available today to practice speaking outside of class.
She went to a park to study and just as she was needing to leave a 4yo boy wanted to interact. He motioned to her watch and tried to ask her about what she was doing. She was sad to lose the opportunity to talk with a child. He also seemed to want someone to interact with.
CHRIS: Got up, found a cafe for coffee and pastry, was at mototouring at 9:15. Got the bike, packed stuff, then off to WheelUp. There an especially helpful saleswoman found for me gloves, jacket, rain pants, bungie net, and a phone holder. These would all prove extremely helpful during the day.
Rode out on an avoid-tolls-route over the mountains to La Spezia. Got gas as I was leaving Milan. On the way, temps were 25°C but dropped to 14° in the mountains.
Stopped at a Conad for milk, bread, and cheese before hitting the mountains. Rain was threatening, so I wanted to stop and put on my rain jacket and rain pants. Just as I was saying, next opportunity to stop, I’m doing it. Rain drops starting pelting me. I quickly pulled over and in the next minute, it started to pour! Then hail. For 10 minutes is was fierce. I hid under a tree. Then it lightened up and I headed out. Got away from the rain quickly, but then I was in and out of light rain several more times. I never got seriously wet. Just wet hands and feet, but the feet dried in the scooter protected foot well area.
Stopped at a park to eat a bit more 24km from the end. Arrived
5:05pm. Checked into a pretty nice place for €58 then went for a
walk around; Had a really good pizza, Luixxx. Going to bed early in
hopes to maybe hit Parco Regionale Naturale Alpi Apuane tomorrow on
the way to Livorno. I am hoping I can fix my ferry booking mistake
if I get there early enough.
Milan to La Spezia
| Time | Minutes | km | kph avg | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8:30am | leaving Hotel Convertini | |||
| 8:49am | 0.2 | recording started after breakfast (at Nico Cafe?) | ||
| 8:50am | 27.2 | 1 km | 3 | |
| 9:17am | 10.3 | waiting for Mototouring to open | ||
| 9:27am | 3.6 | 0 km | 3 | |
| 9:31am | 15.9 | packing up the scooter at Mototouring | ||
| 9:47am | 57.9 | 12 km | 13 | |
| 10:44am | 3.4 | Buying rain pants, jacket, gloves, etc at WheelUp | ||
| 10:48am | 8.8 | 3 km | 23 | |
| 10:57am | 3.3 | heading out of Milan | ||
| 11:00am | 101.2 | 95 km | 57 | |
| 12:41pm | 31.1 | map | ||
| 1:12pm | 61.5 | 55 km | 54 | |
| 2:14pm | 8.7 | map | ||
| 2:22pm | 16.3 | 12 km | 44 | |
| 2:43pm | 0.0 | map | ||
| 2:43pm | 1.3 | 0 km | 1 | |
| 2:44pm | 1.7 | map | ||
| 2:46pm | 18.5 | 11 km | 37 | |
| 3:05pm | 1.7 | map | ||
| 3:06pm | 42.6 | 33 km | 47 | |
| 3:49pm | 27.0 | map | ||
| 4:16pm | 24.1 | 16 km | 40 | |
| 4:40pm | 5.6 | map | ||
| 4:46pm | 19.2 | 9 km | 29 | |
| 5:05pm | 6.5 | map | ||
| 5:11pm | 4.3 | 1 km | 8 | |
| 5:16pm | 1.9 | map | ||
| 8h35m | 6h31m moving | 255 km | 39.1 kph | 76% moving, 124 minutes of breaks |
Kathi and I started this trip 4 weeks ago with only a vague idea that I might get out and do some riding while Kathi does another week of Italian classes. So I didn't pack all my moto gear. In fact, I didn't pack any moto gear except a wind breaker jacket. I thought it might be prudent to pick up a jacket, some rain pants, gloves, a phone holder. So I found this WheelUp store in Milan. What a great place. At least as good as CycleGear in the USA. I got everything I needed thanks to a really helpful sales girl. The phone holder was great and the rain pants saved my ass several times on this trip. It was also nice to feel a little more confident with an armored jacket and riding gloves. All told, I spent a very reasonable €TBD getting fitted out in a way that let me pack light.
Meanwhile, Kathi is back in Firenze doing her Italian class and getting her hair done
on the beautiful ss62 I was getting a little cold and the sky was looking threatening. I was thinking about a conversation I had with Kathi about how Boris got us into rain gear just in time. I started looking for a place to pull over and then I got a drop of rain. I saw this picnic table in a tournate and decided to stop to put on rain gear. I got it on just in time to sit out a ferocious little hail burst and downpour while I hid under a tree. After that, I had only a little bit of on-and-off rain as I worked my way down the mountain.