Milano San Remo Stage 7

Sestriere, Italy to Briançon, France

Strava: 73.45 km, 998m, 3:21, 167 shifts

Today’s stage was a pretty easy one so even though I wasn’t feeling strong I knew it would be doable. We left at 8:30, starting with a 200m climb to the top of the town of Sestriere. I followed the track for the descent but there was a better route available – should’ve paid more attention. Still any downhill is a good downhill in my book. A bunch of us stopped at a café in Oulx so as to not arrive at lunch too early.

We had even more downhill after that, but eventually the climb for the day started, up to the Col de l’Échelle. It was about 8.5 km and somewhere I didn’t notice, just before the switchbacks, we passed into France. The climb was relatively moderate, just under 600m and had a couple of really cool tunnels hacked out of the rock.

Looking back while climbing to Col de l’Échelle

Lunch was a couple of km along the road from what felt like the pass, in the most beautiful spot we’ve had yet. I sought out the shade but some people actually moved into the sun – the mountain air was very nice. I had a relaxed time, savoring the food and the views, knowing early check-in to the hotel was unlikely.

The last 20 km of the ride was downhill but into the wind. At the end the route snaked an intricate path through the old part of Briançon which felt like a little sightseeing. Soon I arrived at the hotel for a round of soup and snacks. Even though it was early I could check-in and after a shower and laundry had a long, very deep sleep. We are on our own for dinner tonight, but it’s Sunday, when many restaurants are closed. After checking about 20 closed restaurants, I made a reservation for four of us at l’Alpin even though I couldn’t really read the online menu.

We walked over at 7 and sat outside. Using Google translate we were able to figure out the menu and got started with a round of drinks. We talked Blair into ordering his beer avec sirop – I told him it was a local specialty. He picked peach and claimed it was really good. When our food came, I think we were all happily impressed. Afterwards Tom said it’s the fullest he’d been since he left home, and he gave me one of his pieces of toast with blue cheese. It’s great to go local and go big sometimes. The Bike Dreams staff saw us and attempted to get a table but were sent off. We told the waiter they were the Dutch Mafia. After a round of digestif – Curt had Armagnac, Blair and I limoncello, Tom beer – we walked home and called it a night. Big day tomorrow!

Milano San Remo Stage 6 – the Finestre!

Susa to Sestriere via the Colle delle Finestre

Strava: 45.2 km, 2,153m, 4:21, 56 shifts

Phew, I am tired and used up from a 45 km ride! Now I can tell you from personal experience that it’s very different riding the Colle delle Finestre vs watching the Giro d’Italia coverage of it. Those guys are something else. Some of our fastest riders were talking about a goal of climbing in double the new Giro record time. [Simon Yates, in “the climbing performance of his career”, summited in 59:23 on May 31, 2025.] I found out later that our Portuguese hotshot, Raul, was the only one of us who managed double – he did it in 1:54:14. Sick old Nathan was trying for triple, beating ~3 hours, and I made it considering moving time, but not considering total time. Read this page describing the new record and the climb, “one of the hardest and longest climbs in cycling”.

Doesn’t look too bad on paper, today’s route sheet

We had a two km warm up, gently downhill from the center of Susa. Then the Finestre starts and the first section is the steepest. Something like two km at 14%. Since I was expecting it to be insane, it didn’t actually feel that bad but it woke me up, that’s for sure. Then there’s a section of about 30 switchbacks some of them ridiculously short. I think it averages 9-10%, but it goes through a nice forest and wasn’t super bad for me, although I was sweating a lot. At about 10 km, the pavement ends and there is a beautiful place to stop for cool, fresh mountain water. That was my first stop, after about 1,000m of climbing. I drank a whole bottle, had an electrolyte pill and a banana, then carried on, up the very famous 7.8 km long gravel section.

I was imagining that it would be all dusty but for most of the way it was somehow a little wet and lots of the way was pretty smooth. There were a ton of other cyclists riding up, some on E, some on mountain bikes, some on gravel bikes, but mostly on road bikes. There were also motorcyclists, and since it averages 10%, their tires spin a bit and kick up dirt and rocks. I really liked the signs every kilometer, although thanks to my recomputed GPS track, all the climbing features on my Garmin were working perfectly. The 7.8 km counted down and I made it to the top, with a couple of photo stops – it is stunning once you leave the trees. The final switchbacks do not let up but by then you can see the summit with lots of riders gathered.

Curt was up on top, having completed the climb despite barely being able to walk due to his crash the other day. Hard man. We took some photos and talked to some other riders and tried to dry off – my clothes were all soaked. I ate and drank, then headed down on the paved road.

There’s our paved road descending toward Sestriere

The descent was nice, such a difference! I dried out but got stuck behind slow motorcyclists and one slow car for a while. My new brakes were breaking in, and all was good. I hit the main road far below and had a last 14 km section to go to our hotel, just before Sestriere. There were a few cooling rain drops at the bottom, but that dried up all too quickly. It got slowly steeper and hotter, and wow, was I working hard. When I finally got to the turn off and coasted down to the hotel I was so happy! I was cheered and sat in the shade for a few minutes before having a great lunch with a nice asparagus soup by Wijnand.

Our room is pretty nice but has the small kind of shower stall. It’s square shaped, tiny, and the doors open barely wide enough for me to get in. Is it not-so-subtle encouragement to stay slim and light? After putting my laundry out on the deck I went downstairs to the spacious living room and we hung out for a long time in the afternoon. I had one beer but bought lots and we ran out the whole supply (well, he was down to only Heineken which is essentially the same thing).

I wrote up this post, video chatted with Katie and did some reading before dinner. I don’t think anyone particularly loved it. The vegetarians were definitely an afterthought and ended up with various non-meat options. I had unseasoned tofu and vegetables. We all had to eat the lasagna course which the waiter swore had no meat but … maybe it did. Dessert was a chocolate blob for most but a couple of the vegetarians like me received a large serving of delicious berry ice-cream. I could see I wasn’t the only one pretty flamed from the ride. Luckily our ride to France tomorrow looks relatively easy on paper… I am going to sleep like a stone tonight.

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.

Milano San Remo Stage 5

Ceresole Reale to Susa

Strava (to lunch only): 79.89 km, 789m, 3:06, 200 shifts, 84.3 kph max speed

After the worst night of sleep on the whole trip, I didn’t feel great at breakfast, but knew the first part of the ride, at least, was going to be fun and easy. We took off at 8:10, headed downhill. Within less than a kilometer we had to choose: tunnel or the bypass route from two days ago. Wilbert strongly recommended the bypass as the safe option since the tunnel is 3.5 km long and steep. But I had done it before and knew it was smooth, clean, well lit and safe. So I didn’t hesitate, straight in. Almost right away the angle increases and you are suddenly going fast. Once I passed the gallery window I looked down and was already at 80. It was so well lit I could keep my sunglasses on. I did slow down a tiny bit for one slight curve but then was back to over 80. The whole thing was over in less than three minutes, so fun. It’s a speed record for my new bike and also my all-time underground speed record. The bike felt like part of me, so solid, without a hint of vibration. I wonder how fast we could go if I pedaled all out at the start, tucked and never touched the brakes? Next time!

After the tunnel it’s another 30 km of descent, although most of it is not very steep. A few hammerheads passed me as I was not putting out much power. Traffic was light but the air got hotter and more humid as we descended. I rode with Geoff and Graham for a good long way, through a bunch of towns, up and down, very nice country roads for the most part. Geoff found us a nice café at 60 km and lots of riders ended up stopping there.

Cold drinks are so great on a hot humid day

The last 20 km to lunch had more climbing but I felt weak and slow. It was getting really hot and I was melting on arrival. I hoped shade, food and drink would help things but in the end I felt too weak to crank out another 70+ km with over 1,000m of climbing. So I accompanied Hans in the lunch van again. We took the rider’s route and cheered them on as we passed. At the top of the Colle del Lys we stopped for a little while and loved the cool, dry air. Then we drove down to the valley and did a final 30 km gently up to Susa. When we got out at the soup spot, oh man, the temperature felt like 38° with humidity. Brutal riding conditions. Raul was already there but headed off to the hotel for a cold shower without waiting for soup. Soon the other hammerheads arrived, John said he was at his limit. After soup and snacks I rode the final 1.5 km to the hotel. We checked in and I was really glad to see our room has functional A/C. After a cold shower and doing laundry, I felt a bit better. Curt arrived later having had a little mishap similar to my crash in Spain two years ago – you’ve got to watch those cars that suddenly stop right in front of you! I’m hoping he’s not too sore tomorrow. He had to ride 45 km post-crash.

We were on our own for dinner so walked around the corner to a pizzeria. After two rounds of beer, great pizzas, and a round of amaro, things were looking up. Back at the hotel the bartender showed off the local beers he had and I tried a dry-hopped Pils that was quite good. It’s still very light at 21:20 and it’s time for bed. Just another Milano San Remo day.

Dinner time across the street – Graham, Nina, Curt and Nathan

Pizza tonno e cipolla (Tuna and onion pizza)

Milano San Remo Stage 4

Ceresole Reale → Colle del Nivolet → Ceresole Reale

Strava: 40.69 km, 1,296m, 2:53, 108 shifts

When I looked out the window this morning the crystal clear view of the peaks was stunning. The weather looked perfect for a climb up high in the mountains. I walked over for breakfast at 8 then we started out. Everyone went at their own pace and I fell in with Louis and Carien and ended up doing the whole climb with them. It’s about 20 km each way, starting up the gorgeous valley, then winding past the last trees, and up into a series of switchbacks ending at the first of the lakes that feed Torino’s hydro power system. Then we climbed past a couple more lakes, and finally up to the summit nearly 2,600m up. Today’s trivia: if you add up the number of times Louis, Carien and I have gone around the sun, you get 213, which is exactly triple one of our ages.

Hans drove up and shot photos of us climbing

The road is closed to all but foot and bike traffic for the last six km which made it really nice. But even down where it’s open I was surprised at the lack of traffic on a 100% perfect weather day. There was lots of snow alongside the road up high and near the top, you had to be careful since the shady side had ice on the road. I saw one hiker take a tumble.

Since there was no time pressure, as we climbed we stopped for photos and snacks several times. At the first snowbank, Louis started a snowball fight with Carien, kids will be kids. When the fight started again on the summit, someone said, “Louis is 76??? Do you think he’ll ever grow up?”. I said, “I hope not!”

From the top I went a little way down the other side to watch the snowplows working hard down below on the high dirt road I rode last September with Wytze, Andrew and Daniel. That was such a different day than today, amazing it was really just a few months ago. After more photos, it was time to head down. Since I had stopped so many times on the way up, I went straight down and was back at the hotel in 36 minutes, that’s vs two hours and 36 minutes for the climb! I had snacks, then went to the other hotel for a shower. Finishing by noon feels like a rest day! Then I realized I was still hungry so I headed back down for a long, relaxed second lunch with Wijnand’s best-ever soup – mushroom! Eventually I went back and napped heavily.

Dinner was similar to last night, filling and good. Pasta with asparagus and shrimp, then a spinach “omelette”, and a chocolaty dessert. With lots of water. Wilbert gave us the briefing for tomorrow’s longer stage, 153 km. If we survive that, we have the single rest day of the tour to look forward to.

Milano San Remo Stage 3

Oropa to Ceresole Reale

Strava: 106.99 km, 1,915m, 5:33, 281 shifts

I woke up a little early and got to have a nice video chat with Katie at 6am. Breakfast this morning was a little slim, small pieces of white bread but with unlimited chunks of decent cheese. And each person got one still-warm croissant, the most awesome type, with fruit filling, so good. And unlimited juice. So after a lot of juice and a lot of cheese and bread it was time to pack.

Today we had a choice of tracks. The regular stage three track was all paved and the special 3a track included four km of gravel and saved about 12 km of distance and at least 300m of climbing. No brainer for me! We headed out at 8:15 and took a side road that did a little up and down but generally had very little traffic and was easy and fun. After maybe 15 km our gravel route split off, and I think about 10 people rode it. It didn’t have much climbing and the actual unpaved section was less than three km, fun to ride and not too rocky. Soon we came out in the town of Andrate and there was a nice looking café in the shade so we stopped. Riggo bought us drinks and I ate a banana since we were halfway to lunch.

All this time I was trying to gauge how I was feeling. I knew I was better than yesterday but did I have it in me to do the whole stage? After our snack, I took off and rode to lunch – lots of descending, then a short, hot 300m climb. I arrived very sweaty but felt better quickly, sitting in the shade eating and drinking. Maybe not full strength but I was definitely up for continuing even knowing what was ahead.

I was toward the front of the pack when I left and we had more descending, and lots of rolling with some climbing. It was about 60 km from lunch, but the kicker was the last 10 km, all up, getting steeper and steeper. I steeled myself for that, in fact, I had descended this road last September so I knew it was very, very steep. I kept going, with a couple of stops to cool off – if you stop just inside a tunnel, it’s shady and there was a slight tail wind of cool air that was magical.

Finally I got to the tunnel bypass about five km from the end. I was SO glad to not have to ride that tunnel in the uphill direction. It’s 3.5 km long and we cruised down it at over 70 kph last time. The bypass had to climb a LOT of meters which it did via 15% switchbacks, kind of brutal in the sun. Someone said it was 35° – well it felt hotter. But everything ends eventually and from the top it was under a km of nearly flat riding to the hotel. I arrived to cheers and immediately had soup and juice. I was quite hot but cooled off pretty quickly – we’re up over 1,500m now so the air is better, cooler and drier.

A peek from a gallery into the tunnel we bypassed

A few of us were staying in a hotel up the road so after we stashed our bikes and picked up our luggage, the hotel lady gave us a ride up there. The shower felt awesome and the sun was blasting our balcony for excellent laundry drying.

I rested a bit but didn’t sleep. Dinner was at another hotel, just below our main one. It was a much more appropriate sized dinner for cyclists than last night. I had spaghetti with tuna, then caprese and roasted potatoes. And a large number of glasses of water. Wilbert gave us the Colle de Nivolet briefing for tomorrow and I headed up to the hotel for a long deep sleep, I hope.

PS Two riders went above and beyond the call of duty today. When Jesper arrived at the hotel, he continued up, all the way to Colle del Nivolet, our ride for tomorrow. What’s an extra 1,200m climb? When Eddy was riding up the steep, hot valley, he spied a road switch backing up to the side. He took it, “10km but not even 1,000m extra.” Amazing efforts!

Milano San Remo Stage 2

Lago d’Orta to Santuario di Oropa

Strava (to lunch only): 51.22 km, 752m, 2:36, 123 shifts

I slept pretty well but felt like I could’ve used more. Breakfast was at 7am, and we left as usual at 8:15. The first part of the ride was nice and cool, easy riding around the lake, nearly flat. After a 12 km warmup, we started climbing Passo della Colma, 640m up in 15 km. I felt weaker than yesterday and kept telling myself to take it easy. I rode with Curt, Carien, Louis and a few others, nice and easy. I wasn’t looking at the distance so when we made it I was a little surprised. We took some photos, then headed down.

I enjoyed the descent and got ahead, then continued solo to a town where I had a banana break but it was only a few more km to lunch from there. I did not really feel right…but told myself I’d be better after lunch. That didn’t work at all so I decided to listen to my body and not push. After lunch there was almost 1,500m more to climb, some of it steep. So opting out seemed like a good idea.

After everyone ate, we cleaned up and I rode with Hans in the extra van. We talked for a while then I fell asleep and never saw the hard climb, but I woke up just as we arrived at the monastery where we’re staying, the Sanctuary of Oropa. It’s quite impressive and large and as soon as I got out I felt the cooler, drier air and it felt good. I checked in and took some photos, had a shower, then soup with the early riders. They’re all so tough and it feels bad I wasn’t myself riding today. I took a nap and read a book in the afternoon.

We had dinner at 7 and got a laugh at the first course. The monastery is somewhat austere and each person was served a very plain white plate with plain white risotto on it. The pescatarians were identified with name tags too. My second course was trout with veggies.

First dinner course and my special name tag

After dinner Wilbert explained tomorrow’s stage and I retired early to try and get healthy for a big ride tomorrow.

Milano San Remo Stage 1

Milano to Lago d’Orta

Strava: 109.03 km, 721m, 4:55, 199 shifts

I slept reasonably well and then we were back into the rhythm from the Tutti Dolomiti tour: breakfast at 7, dress, pack, check-out, luggage in the truck, pack the bike, and take off before 8:30. Today was Sunday morning, so Milano was pretty quiet. The stage was split into two tracks. First we followed track zero for three km to the Duomo di Milano for the official start, then the rest of the way was track one. It was nice to see the beautiful Cathedral again, first time since 2013 when I visited my son Beau who was living in Milano then. Wilbert organized us into a line for the photo, snapped once, and said, “Have at it” or something to that effect. Today’s trivia: this stage is my 219th Bike Dreams stage, the start of my fifth tour. There were 109 stages in the Andes Trail and another 109 in the Balkan Boulevard, Paris Dakar and Tutti Dolomiti combined.

The official Milano San Remo starting photo at the Duomo di Milano – I’m in the middle

Off we went, a few km on mellow city streets, then onto a bike path. We followed the path for about 65 km, all the way to lunch and it was definitely well used on a Sunday morning. Cyclists, runners and walkers were all out. The path follows a canal so it very gently climbs – the Naviglio Grande canal climbs only 34m in 49.9 km. So the riding was pretty easy. We changed sides often and I cruised at an easy speed. At 48 km, the fast guys called out and I joined them for cold drinks and a banana, then headed up to lunch at 69 km. It was the normal Bike Dreams lunch, but the overcast by then had burned off and it was sunny and pretty hot. The humidity makes it feel hotter than it is. Someone said it was 31° which sounds about right.

After lunch we had another 40 km, on normal roads, but without a lot of traffic. Toward the end, we did have a bit of climbing, seven short climbs of 50-100m each. Then suddenly I could see the lake and knew I was close. One final descent and I rolled into the hotel. Sitting in the shade, sipping Wijnand’s excellent soup was great. Then a cold shower! Awesome. I was planning a swim in the nice looking pool but relaxed in the A/C instead. A few ambitious riders did some extra today, but I’m saving power for tomorrow, when the real climbing starts and it will probably still be hot. I recharged a little in the afternoon with a nap.

I went down an hour before dinner and had some drinks with riders; the bartender also gave us some snacks. Dinner was at 7, on a covered outdoor patio with a gorgeous view of the lake and the very pretty island of San Giulio. It was a long, relaxed dinner, with four bottles of wine for our table of eight wine drinkers. Seconds were available for each course and we probably ate way more than they are used to. All in all it was a great first day of the tour.

Between two tours

After we finished the Tutti Dolomiti tour in Vernona on June 4, we had a nice breakfast and lots of good-byes. Throughout the day riders with their bike boxes headed off to the airport for the trip home. There were seven of us planning to do the next Bike Dreams Milano San Remo tour and we had a relaxed day without any stress of packing for travel. I had a tasty pasta lunch, and later dinner across the street at our friendly local café. I ate with Blair and John, then called it a night early after a walk to a gelateria.

On June 6, we had breakfast and then packed our luggage in the truck for the drive to Milano. One of our California riders, Skip, had to go home to help family, so we were down to six staying on. We dropped Californians Cathy and Jim at the Verona train station, then headed on the Autostrada to Bergamo. It took maybe an hour, and there we dropped off our Mechanic/Lunch Truck driver, Ben. He was cycling back to Belgium, with paniers, camping all the way. We left one of the vans in Bergamo and squeezed into the other van. Wilbert dropped the six of us off at a Milano suburb where we caught the Metro to downtown. After one quick change, we were at the Gerusalemme station, and our hotel was close by. Milano, like many European cities, has emissions rules for gas/diesel vehicles and our vans are only allowed in the center zone on weekends and weekdays from 19:30 to 7:30.

After checking in, lunch was the first thing on my list. We found a nice little café and had panini and beer. I had a nap in the afternoon and relaxed, then went over to a nearby pub for beers with a few riders and staff. It was another place like the one we found in Verona: supply great beer and people will come. Crowded and fun. Dinner was at a different beer place closer to the hotel, delicious pinsa (flat bread) and IPA. I went to sleep early.

Dinner in Milano at La Birreria Italiana

I didn’t sleep well but I guess it was enough. In the morning we already had some new riders at breakfast. The day was really relaxed with nothing much I had to do. I checked my bike and locked it up as the place didn’t look 100% secure. My new roommate Curt (who I rode with from Paris to Marrakesh in 2023) moved in and I helped him get the routes onto his cycle computer.

In the afternoon we had the tour briefing and it was great to see quite a few friends from other trips in the past. We got our new jerseys etc. It was Skip’s last night so I had dinner with him and the Kiwis, Blair and Nick. Skip had a nice restaurant picked out and I had a delicious pizza with a limoncello spritz. We are all psyched for starting the new tour tomorrow, June 8.

Pizza Rustica: Mozzarella di bufala campana, crocchè di patate, parmigiano e cipolla caramellata

Tutti Dolomiti, final stage 13

Torbole back to Verona, June 4, 2025

Strava: 76.46 km, 351m, 2:59, 88 shifts

Our last morning was somehow less stressful and easier than the other riding days of the tour. Due to the hotel serving breakfast late and the short, easy distance of the stage, we got up later and also knew that there was no threat of bad weather today, only warm sun. We loaded the truck one last time, packed our bikes and took off at 9.

The ride along the lake was magical. We hadn’t had any flat riding like this and the scenery was off scale. This part of Lake Garda really has to be seen to be believed. My tires just hummed as I pedaled easily.

Wilbert told us not to rush, that lunch at 55 km was not until after noon, so make sure to stop early and often. I stopped for photos a number of times, then a group of us stopped in the town of Garda for cold drinks. It was so relaxed sitting in the shade at a café by the lake shore, talking about all our recent adventures.

We had a short ride to our final lunch served up by Ben and Dion, along the bike path to Verona. It was the mostly the standard fare, upgraded a bit, very tasty and very appreciated. Eventually it was time to ride and we headed out in groups to ride the last 20 km to Verona. It was gently downhill, mostly on bike paths, calm and easy. Traffic in Verona was unlike what we’d been dealing with lately but no problem at all. Mike and I were leading a group and thought we were about one km from the bridge where the final ceremony would be. Then we heard yelling and realized it was a different bridge all together and we were already there.

Wilbert and Wijnand put together a fantastic assortment of foods and drinks. Once everyone arrived, including the lunch crew, out came the champagne. Wilbert’s toast amazed me, something like: “Here’s to all of you, the first group to do this tour without requiring a hospital!” I think we were very lucky (and careful) as there really were no biking injuries. We then walked onto the Castelvecchio Bridge for a series of group photos that I think came out well.

The final 1.5 km felt like it took two minutes, then we pulled up at the Hotel Italia, which looked the same as two weeks ago when we left. My new Aussie roommate John is also doing Milano San Remo, and we will have two nights in Verona before driving 170 km west to Milano.

The last seconds of riding Tutti Dolomiti, don’t crash now!

In the afternoon, I relaxed and tried hard not to take a nap – John did the same. A cold shower felt so good. We did last until 7 pm and then went to the final banquet in the hotel dining room. It was a great dinner, with lots of fun conversations. Wilbert handed out souvenir milestone markers made by his dad, and recapped the trip, thanking everyone especially for riding safely. Ben gave out some awards like “Worst design” – to various hotels for various design faux pas. The bravest person was Cathy, for riding in the van with Ben. And best bike cleaner – I got first runner up and Keith scored the win. It was a great ending to a fun and challenging tour. If I had been healthy I would’ve enjoyed it even more but loved it nonetheless. A few days off now to rest is just what the doctor ordered.