Prelude Stage - Malpenza to Milan

We have found a small outpost of internet nestled in the foothills of the Alps,so standby for a make-shift blog update.

The trip got off to a harsh early start, with the team up and bundled into the van by 3.30am,bound for Gatwick. We managed to get our unwieldy bikes through the crowded terminal and onto the plane,praying we'd see them again in one piece. Thankfully once on Italian soil we were reunited with 3 complete bikes,and set about reconstructing them. With fully operational steeds we disposed of our spent bike packaging and hit the baked Italian tarmac for the first time.

The 42 mile ride into Milan turned out to be a pleasant jaunt along a sunkissed canal towpath, where every few minutes were punctuated with a leathery old semi-naked Italian dude cycling past. We stpped at a friendly bike shop to add some prper air pressure to our tyres, and after we'd zipped along the remainder of the canal,we stopped in the shade for a much needed ice cream and juice break, then set about following the canal for the final few miles, watching Milan's buildings grow around us.

After a bone shaking ride through the cobbled iner city streets, we found our hotel and made contact with one of our Italian support crew - Marco. After a cooling shower, we headed out into the hot evening to meet Marco for a quick pizza and Peroni before strolling to an ancient amphitheatre in the heart of Milan's central park,which would be hosting the night's entertainment - Arcade Fire.

As we sat on the stone steps watching the band take to the stage,our thoughts were disstracted by the task of trying to abate the tide of mosquitos that were using us as an all-you-can-eat buffet. What seemed like a merciful stoke of luck turned out to backfire as the specal anti bug formula sold to us by an astute peddler was proving an irresistable attraction to the cloud of mozzies! The only effective repellant was crazy and wild dancing, a technique we used with such gusto that it got a mention from the band!

A great evening was capped of with a midnight 'gellatino' on the way back to the hotel, and a lovely chat with the hotel's regular guest, a 79 year old multi-lingual world travelling lady who was keen to make sure we appreciate how beautiful everything is, cheers to that!