We both had a rather restless sleep last night for some reason. Maybe the high elevation at 2080m/6800ft, or maybe all the climbing (about 1200m/4000ft per cycling day since Geneva) is taking its toll on our bodies. Whatever the cause, we were happy that today would be rather easy: We would roll down from Mont-Cenis to the Susa valley, losing 1500m/4900ft over 25km/15.5 miles, and then roll on a smaller negative gradient to a B&B near a lake and go for a nice swim.
The easy route allowed us to take more time in the morning and we strolled to the nice exhibition-garden about the alpine flora near the hotel.
On the long downhill, we took several breaks to relax our hands tired from constant braking, and to take in the scenery.
With about 14km to go, we spotted a post-office where we could mail some postcards that we wrote. Getting stamps at an Italian post-office is not that straightforward, it turns out: First, Liz got help from lady A to get the correct queuing ticket (Liz was the only one in the post-office, ironically). The ticket then got her to the counter of lady B, which then referred Liz back to lady A. When lady A punched in all the data of the postcards, the stamp printer produced a sticker almost the size of the postcard, after which Liz requested regular, smaller stamps. This required lady A getting the assistance of lady B, because the only stamps in stock did not have the correct valuation (the price is not 0.90€ anymore, but 1.15€). Ladies A&B eventually sold Liz three stamps to add up to the required value, at which point the required surface area for postage on the postcard was almost back to the original ginormous printed sticker. I was waiting outside and checked in from time to time, wondering what could be taking so long.
By the time the postcards were mailed, rain set in, which turned into torrential downpour close to the hotel. Drenched, we opted for warm showers instead of the swim in the lake.
Total distance/elevation to date: 3117km/23’534m
Rest days: 10
Route and Stats
Relive Video
The 1948 Tour 
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