Bike. Eat. Sleep. Repeat.

What a lovely day on the bike! No jaw dropping scenery today, but plenty of warm sunshine and smooth, easy roads with very little traffic. At moments it even felt like we had the whole wide Po Valley to ourselves, surrounded by open farmland and quiet horizons. One of those days where you just ride, clear your mind, and let the kilometers roll by. We left Lombardy behind and crossed into Piedmont, making our way to Alessandria.

It has now been two and a half weeks since we set off on this cycling journey, and we are only halfway through. I have never traveled this long on the road before, and I was curious to see how it would feel. So far, everything is going beautifully. We are lucky to be in good shape, with no pain and nothing broken. We sleep amazingly well - deep and long hours. The regular, active part makes us feel super healthy. Fingers crossed it stays that way. What I enjoy most is having these long days where the only goal is to move forward, almost like a kind of joyful meditation. This is one of the things I was looking for with this trip: to disconnect and create a completely different rhythm of life.

Without even realizing it, we have settled into a natural routine. Tasks seem to fall into place on their own and repeat day after day. Pascal goes out in the morning to pick up croissants, or rather « brioche », since they are quite different from the French ones. In the evening, he plans the next day’s route, while I write the blog posts. We have also developed little habits when it comes to packing and unpacking our things. Everything has its place and its order. This goes in the left pocket, that fits perfectly over there, always in the same sequence. It is funny to see how the brain creates these small systems to become more efficient, repeating tasks so we can focus on something else. After a few days, the journey feels lighter and more enjoyable because we think less and less about the logistics.

We have plenty of time to chat about everything and nothing, and to laugh a lot too. It feels really special to give ourselves this kind of time. 

Tomorrow we leave the Po Valley behind and head into the rolling hills and vineyards of Piedmont, getting closer to the Alps.