DAY FOUR - A LITTLE BIT MORE FAR

OUT FRONT OF OUR HOTEL, I was chatting with a dude from Sicily. He and his girlfriend were touring on a sweet KTM 1100 Adventure. I always dreamed of doing just that with Surfergirl sporting...

... shortshorts and a halter top.

Now I'm inspired.

When I told him what we had planned for the day,
he looked at my man powered rig.

That's a little bit more far.

I think what he was trying to say was...

... You fool, that's 50 miles, 2 major passes and nearly 8000' of vert.

Considering this is our "recovery day",
after yesterday's 12,000'
tomorrow's 10,000'.

He had a point.

So, how do we ride all these climbs, 
day after day?

Eat a lot.

Love Watts promised there was no way to gain weight on this trip.

Apparently, I've taken on the challenge,
'cause I'm looking a little plump in the pics...

... even sucking in my ballast.

It's easy to do...

• meat
• fruits
• breads
• cheeses

... because the food is amazing here.

Gotta keep the little engine that could stoked, like this coal fired choochoo 

Towards the top of the first pass

this is a famous one... easy to find on youtube