I got over the hump! After a long and winding road I reached the San Bernardino Pass. It’s not Grand St. Bernard or even Petit St. Bernard but nonetheless a big hurdle for me and Greengo. It was difficult but I was relatively fresh from my night’s sleep. The view from the top was gorgeous: you could see snowy peaks and green valleys down below.
My hopes for a long descent have materialized: there was 25 km of twists and turns going down. I was happy I came from the other side. Going up from here would have been much more painful, if possible at all – the ascent too steep and long.

When I got to the bottom of the valley it was hot and muggy, but at least the road was flat. Soon, however, I had to climb another mountain pass. It was smaller but it turned out to be more difficult. At times I was pushing my bike and worrying about heat stroke.

By the time I got to Lugano, a typical vacation spot, I was not at all interested in any sightseeing. I just wanted to pitch my tent and call it a day.

Today in numbers:

115 km – distance covered
7h – riding time
1h5m – time by which I beat Google’s estimate. Either I am Speedy Gonzales or Google sucks
2066 m – height of San Bernardino Pass, the one I crossed today