Day 8 Auron to SanRemo

Final day. As planned for most of us it was never going to happen, as the entire route would have needed us to cover 175 km and 3750 vmt. Chris as always was planning to ride it all but in the end wisely chose to come in the van to the bottom of the 1st climb the Col de St Martin. This in theory is not a particularly difficult one, as the gradient never gets above 8.5% and most is at 5% to 6% over 16 km. However on tired legs and with a heart rate maxed out at 135 (115 in Jeremy's case) it took a long time. Sam was in the van for the climb. Quick coffee at the top and we all descended to the start of the Col de Turini. This is always a very tough climb at the end of a long week and only Chris had the legs for it. We reconvened after a late lunch at Dolceacqua for the final brutal climb to Perinaldo above Sanremo. By the time we got to the top it was 7pm. By then Crhis was looking pretty dead and a scary long descent into SanRemo saw hit get off the bike on a couple of occasions. We got to our Hotel Royale (very belle epoque type palace) at 8 pm. Dinner at the Osteria dei Marinai was great followed by gelato artigianale and a series of drinks back at the hotel. One too many judging by how we felt the next morning.Read more