Enjoying the sun and the Italian dolce vita

A smooth and sunny day led us all the way to the lovely little town of Bra. We were lucky enough to stay in the Tarano Valley, nice and flat (what a relief!), surrounded on all sides by rolling vineyards.

At the far end of the valley, entire stretches of land are covered with hazelnut trees - the famous Piedmont hazelnuts. Bra itself is the birthplace of the “Slow Food” movement, and you can really feel it here: a deep appreciation for good food and good wine is part of everyday life. Everything feels charming and idyllic… until the moment you spot farmers spraying pesticides, half of which seems to end up straight in the river. Organic or not, those hazelnuts probably carry a bit of everything in the soil…

Cycling means constantly making decisions and adapting to the unexpected. There’s always something: a road closed for construction, a path blocked by a rockfall… and then you’re left choosing between options. Do we take a long detour? Head up into the vineyards? Try the flat path that’s not really suitable for bikes? Will there be dogs along the way? How long is this rough stretch going to last? Do we keep going or turn back?

It’s not easy to decide when you don’t have all the information. We’ve had to turn around at times, or push forward and hope for the best - sometimes reassured that it does go through after all. A lot of it comes down to luck. In the end, just like in life, good decisions depend on having the right information and being able to assess it. 

We carry on our journey, happy and feeling strong. These are our last few days in Italy before crossing into France along the Mediterranean coast. I’ll definitely need to find a worthy substitute for Italian gelato to keep me motivated once we get there!!!