We finally began Lionheart today. Being woken at 4.30am by an awesome thunderstorm was a pretty inspiring way to start the day.

Luckily it cleared up quickly!

Todays route

We made our way by ferry to Punta Sabbioni. Being Saturday, a lot of cruise ships were arriving in Venice… we had counted 5 before 9am!

One our guides Max taking the obligatory selfie with Venice…

My GP, Dr John Hoar

Peter catching up on some sleep, before we even start!

Some the Lionhearts…

We spent the morning riding  through tiny fishing villages and along the Sile River on flat roads that flank the famous River Piave. This area had been an essential barrier and battleground for the Italians during the First World War but is now a maze of viticultural and agricultural Tetris.

The Piave river has been a battle theatre for two major conflicts: once in 1809 and again in 1918. The more recent is more well known since it became a decisive victory for the Italian army under General Armando Diaz and a significant defeat for the Austro-Hungarian Empire during WWI. The entire river became the defensive line with most of the fighting near Conegliano and Treviso

we also rode on a lot of tree lined narrow lanes which were usually stunningly pretty and lots of fun.

Lunch made up of lots of local produce and Gelato…

After lunch we started to climb which was a serious challenge in the heat, but the country side was also changing as we moved into some rolling foothills…

The area of Prosecco is of course famous for the bubbly wine with the same name. Made from glerna grapes, the name of the beverage comes from the town where it had originated. Unlike Champagne, Prosecco second fermentation is traditionally in stainless-steel tanks.

As we moved into the hills three of us got dropped off the back of our group but were able to eventually chase them done and rejoin by working as a small team and helping each other out. Reconnecting with them felt like a pretty awesome achievement, however the ramifications for me working at max heart rate for a sustained period would be very telling later in the afternoon. Luckily we stopped for a break and cooled down in a local fountain before setting off at a very quick pace.

I was dropped in the last couple of kms and found the last 500m climb very difficult. However my weariness was quickly replaced with awe on arriving at Castle Brando Castle .