A rest day in Susa

June 13, 2025 was our first and only full rest day on the Milano San Remo tour. Instead of recommending interesting big rides for us, the advice from Bike Dreams was to actually rest. I didn’t really have a choice as I still need to heal and really want to do the famous Colle del Finestre tomorrow. Very few people went riding, “just to keep the legs warm”.

I slept pretty well, in air conditioned comfort and was happy to see Curt walking to breakfast in the morning. Our master mechanic, Hans, had very graciously offered “office hours” at 8:30 on his rest day and many people took him up on it. I cleaned up my bike, had Hans check the headset, then checked my brakes. The front was just about gone and Hans was very ready to help so we installed new pads on the front.

After that I worked on a project I’ve wanted to do for some days: fix our GPS tracks so that the altitude registers properly on our Garmin computers as we climb. I think I was successful but the proof will be in tomorrow’s big climbs. If it works I’ll share them with everyone. I also took a Covid test, negative. I’m not sure if that’s good or bad…

That was it for the morning and I rested, read and did some Strava programming in the afternoon. It was brutally hot outside and wandering around did not appeal. Dinner was at the same friendly pizzeria across the street, with Tom and Blair. We had pizzas and beer and discussed matters of world importance. I feel somewhat rested and ready for a big climb in a short distance tomorrow, and some gravel riding. Curt sent around a great video that shows the famous Colle del Finestre we’ll attempt tomorrow.