Rose Pedals . . .: Italy - France

Day 2 - Saturday, June 9
Courmayeur to Arvier
45 miles
5,702 ft. climbing

Woke up to beautiful sunny skies and a crisp 50ish degrees - a substantially better start to the day than yesterday’s clouds and rain. The improved weather was most welcome today because today we would be traveling to a different host town. Our final destination today would be Arvier (pronounced “R-V-A”). There were several route options today ranging from a minimum of 29 miles and 2,700 feet of climbing to 45 miles and 5,700 feet of climbing. We, of course, chose the latter and had a great day of riding - big climbs with crazy fast descents. First, we descended out of Courmayeur for about 3 miles, and then began a gentle climb to Thuile. From Thuile, we chose to continue to climb to the top of Col du Petit St. Bernard - the summit of which was on the Italy-France border. It was a spectacular climb; the clear skies provided fantastic views of the Alps. It was about 8 miles to the summit of Petit St. Bernard, with some tough grades and a strong wind that was either a headwind or a tailwind depending on which direction you were going on a switchback. I could feel the air get chillier as I ascended, but, the climbing kept me sufficiently warm. Reached the summit (and crossed into France) around noon. It was very chilly and windy at the summit with patches of snow everywhere. We stopped at a little café at the summit for a hot drink and a bite to eat. Art & I shared a big bowl of lentil soup. Fortunately, I am bilingual to the limited extent that I know how to say "please" and "thank you" in both Italian and French, so I was OK with conversing with the waitress. We warmed up enough during lunch to get back on the bikes to start the descent back to Tuile, where we would turn-off to do another climb up the Colle San Carlo - a shorter-distance climb than Petit St. Bernard, but steeper. After the fierce descent from the top of Colle San Carlo, the route became a gentle descent all the way to our hotel in Arvier. Had dinner as a group at a local family-run restaurant; lemon rice with shrimp, which was as delicious as it was rich. What a great day of riding! Perfect weather, challenging climbs and magnificent views - who could ask for anything more?