Our rest day now seems like a distant memory. To be fair, it seemed like a distant memory after the following day - a gruelling 143km day with plenty of climbs throughout the day, peaking at 860m. We eventually arrived at Oriolo in the dark (the second time so far this trip).

We then had a flat but very uncomfortable day from Oriolo to Cosenza. Gone were the coastal breezes, replaced by gusts that only served to warm us up. At least the route was kind...

We then had the killer day and our final day crossing the mountains. In the first 2hrs, we had climbed up to a peak at 1050m (higher than Scafell Pike) and then had another 400m climb to our final destination, Vibo Valentia. Still, we got through it and the views were amazing...as were the descents!

We are now waiting to catch the ferry over to Sicily - WE'VE FINISHED THE MAINLAND!! 240km awaits us in Sicily and then we've completed this journey and will have a couple of days well earned rest! Really enjoyed it so far - 2 more days to get through unscathed and we'll be there!

Stats so far:
Day 1: Brunico - Trento 154km 7hrs 11mins
Day 2: Trento - San Giovanni Lupatoto 114km 5hrs 37mins
Day 3: San Giovanni Lupatoto - Portomaggiore 134km 6hrs 20mins
Day 4: Portomaggiore - Miramare 144km 6hrs 48mins
Day 5: Miramare - Sirolo 126km 6hrs 9mins
Day 6: Sirolo - Pineta 119km 5hrs 43mins
Day 7: Pineta - Termoli 119km 5hrs 39mins
Day 8: Termoli - Orta Nova 121km 5hrs 21mins
Day 9: Orta Nova - Matera 139km 6hrs 28mins
Day 10: Matera - Oriolo 145km 7hrs 4mins
Day 11: Oriolo - Cosenza 124km 5hrs 28mins
Day 12: Cosenza - Vibo Valentia 117km 5hrs 52mins
TOTAL: 1,558km 73hrs 40mins