Day 27 Tue Feb 26th DionoMarina to Ovada

I'd forgotten what a nice run it was up the Ligurian coast. The sun was shining, the sea was turquoise blue and the easterly headwind had moderated.

Heading NE up the Ligurian coastline

Definitely low season though, just the locals out promenading in the afternoon sun. The snow-capped mountains were always in view and I had to turn left and go through them at some point, heading north to Milan. I'd chosen to do this just before Genoa as the climb to the pass was only around 550m.

Around 5pm and I'm about to head into the mountains SW of Genova

I saw my first cycle tourist today, a Chinese gentleman I think. I was just coming out of Savona and the traffic both ways was heavy so we didn't stop for a chat. There was another guy I saw earlier but I would class him as a tourist, more as a hobo with a bike. He had no panniers, everything seemed to be hanging off the bike in bags and he was carrying a spare tyre around his waist like a hula hoop.

My plan was to turn left and do a bit of climbing before camping in the forest. It didn't quite work out though as I couldn't find anywhere to stop. The snow had been heavy here and the snow ploughs had formed impenetrable banks on both sides of the road. So, I just kept going, over the pass and down the other side, eventually stopping in a car park in Ovada around 10pm. I left the satellite tracker on during the night journey.........in case I got buried in an avalanche (joke Maria!)). It was an eerie descent. There was a full moon and clear sky and I could see I was in a river gorge with snow-covered mountains on either side......it would have been nice to see it in daylight.

Uh huh

Going through a deserted town around 9pm. It's very cold and I'm on the lookout for black ice.

I clocked up 134km for the day and burnt 7,300 calories, which is just as well given the amount of focaccia I've eaten today. I don't think I'll be able to make Milan tomorrow as it's still 140km away