98 km

1279

4:43

Left in good time. Sad to leave our little warm haven.

Misty foggy morning when we left but the sun came out.

Stunning scenery enroute

Best ride yet – easier gradient – first climb over 17 km was at 4 percent.

New pavement into montreale – must of been for the Italian giro that came through here.

Great descent into L’Aquila. Road detour because of newly paved pavement. No directions on the detour. What was going to be our fastest ride slowed us down a bit trying to navigate getting back on track.

Lost Peter on a roundabout – he went ahead – the dark clouds were looming wanted to get to the hotel before the down pour.

Made it tbere before the rain came.

Bikes were muddy Peter cleaned them off with a hose.

Hotel on the outskirts of’Aquila which is disappointing as would have been nice to see the center which had been badly affected by an earthquake in 2019.

Nice cocktail in the lobby where we met a German couple around peters age. He was a retired musician. They were travelling through Italy in a camper van.

Had dinner – good but atmosphere was like being at a wedding reception – very big and only 4 tables being used.

Sleep was okay – having night sweats and woke up early.

Today we go through the beautiful gran sasso before we end up in Santa stefano.