Stinking all the way to Milan (or almost...)

Probably no pictures today - sadly, not much to take pictures of... The beauty that was so capturing yesterday is, um, less so in the flat, agricultural area of north central Italy. In fact, for those of you who've experienced Lancaster County during planting season - that's NOTHING! We actually saw several tankers being pulled by tractors distributing their... contents... along the way. And of course, we smelled it. YUCK!

It was actually a pretty relaxing ride today - we kept a moderate to slow pace, and only ended up doing about 70 miles of the intended ride due to traffic and roads around Milan. There's just no good way to get into a city like this on bicycle, at least that we know of. Rome will be very interesting!

We're now on our way to visit Dennis and Cecelia (and Samuelito!) - the house I stayed at when I first arrived. We are staying with them again, this time as a group, and they will be hosting us for our off day in Milan tomorrow. We're going to watch all or part of the circuit race around Milan, which will be fascinating I'm sure, and I hope we'll be able to see at least some of the sights as well. The rest day will be good, even though I don't really feel that tired yet. The body is a funny thing - after the mountain experience, I've been eating and drinking well, and everything's been fine. It will be interesting to get further on our journet and see how it goes. We have some brutal days back to back near the end of our trip, so those will be a true test.

In Milan, we will be joined by three more - Dennis will actually be coming with us for a week or so, and Roberto and his wife will be joining us in Milan for the rest of the journey. The group will change a bit now, and then again in Lucca when we pick up four more. By that point, we'll be quite a large group! I'm not sure where everything is going to go - it feels like we're "full" already.

Thanks for following along and reading through the first week. I don't reply to all of your comments for lack of time online, but I do read them. It's encouraging to hear your words and get your feedback on all that's happening here. You're welcome to comment if you choose!