After a relaxing day off, it was time to saddle up and ride. Here we get organized at the hotel garage where we had stored our bikes while on our ‘mini holiday’ rest day..

A short way out of town this field of blooming sunflowers welcomed us into the first village of the day we climbed.

Rick was joined by a new friend who did not want to leave his salty hand!

emJay glides by looking happy and fresh!

Barb is happy to be going downhill AND in the shade!

We passed this big field of what appeared to be hemp. Or was it medical marijuana? No samples!!!

Papa Frank and Rick shared a warm greeting!

Here is the historic view of one of today’s hill towns….

. . . and here is the same view today, with Billy working his way up the hill.

It was a challenging day, 55K and significant hills. But oh the views! One hill town, after another, graced with a church or a castle.

Up, up we would go,  getting ever closer to the town center.

You know it’s high when you ride  by the regional cell tower!

Marci and Bill enjoying another gorgeous morning of riding.

The downhills are fun! Three from our group ride down through the countryside on the road near the bottom of the photo.

Our approach to Casorzo and time for a little lunchy.

We met up with a group of young bikers from the Netherlands, also traveling with a service that moved their luggage from town to town.

Just down the street, we found a grocery store that had everything we needed for lunch. And of course parked and ate in the shade. If you can get out of the direct sun it is actually quite lovely.

Fresh fruit and veggies . . . and nothing is ever packaged or wrapped in plastic..

A deli counter with bread, meats, cheeses and desserts. Something for everyone!

Maressa sliced our ham, prosciutto and soppressata, thin. FRESH!!

Her colleague, Sofia, was quartering a yummy watermelon….

. . .  which was too much for Billy to pass up!

we finished up with cream puffs and chocolate éclairs.

. . . on the way out of town, we noticed this clever (and creepy) light fixture as we stopped in some shade. The glass abdomen is the night light.

A study in weathered Piedmont doors. All the town we rode through were like ghost town, regardless of the time of day. Most Italian’s leave the area for holiday during the month of August. Where do they go . . . to the beach!!!

One vineyard had its wares out to entice you in for a sample. We checked . . . the bottles were empty!

In addition to grapevines laden with ripening fruit, the roadsides were also rich in fruit trees, like these apples.

. . . and these . . . apricots? Name the fruit!

Yet another scenic town. You have plenty of time to take it all while when SLOWLY . . .  riding up steep hills!

emJay checks out this historic church. The tower in back is actually from a much older structure, and sits ‘catawampus’ on the newer building.

. . .there wer three of rour stretches of gravel we rode over during the course of the week. Several were very steep descents, an some   walked them.. Two who rode  . . . fell! They had the scrapes to prove it.

And yes it was HOT again. Still over a 100 degrees on the bike at 4:00pm. We all agreed the hills would seem A LOT easier to cycle up if it wasn’t so blasted hot . . . and there was a little breeze. It was calm all week. Where is a cooling headwind when you need one!!

After the gravel road, we came upon this beautiful vista of the valley below, and the community of Casale Monferrato.  The big climbs of the trip were behind us. YIPPEE!!

Here we settled in to our inn, Hotel Canadieri!

We passed this rustic building on our way to dinner. Great colors! The restaurants are never far away usually only a 5 – 10 minute walk.

Our restaurant, Cicinbarlichin, actually means “finger licking good”! Here is a clever use of an old workshop table.

Happy diners! This restaurant was recommended to us by the wonderful restaurant owner from Asti the previous night. Our reservations were as early as we could get them, 7:30. We were the only ones there.

A family of about 20 soon arrived to celebrate this young lady’s eighteenth. Here is proud Grandpapa and his birthday girl!

Dinner was excellent. Here is Barb’s choice of spedini . . .

. . . Tom and Rick tried the sous vide chicken breast with mango chutney sauce.

The servings were generous! After enjoying her primi piatti, Marci begged others to share her next dish, aubergine parmesan.

BillyB finally got the hamburger he had been craving the whole trip. They even were able to supply some ketchup! He said it was the best he had ever eaten.

By 8:30pm, the place was full to capacity. All these people, two pet dogs and only two waitstaff. They were busy!!!

. . . with full tummies, at 10:00pm we ambled to our hotel. Italian dinners are ALWAYS a 2-3 hour affair but are ALWAYS a very casual and relaxing experience!