Well what a day it was today. Day 6 was revealed to be a 212km transition from our previous hotel just west of Milan down to the border with France, and it proved to be a belter.

I woke up in the morning refreshed and finally free of the ridiculous sick feeling that had been plaguing me for the previous three days. I loaded up on breakfast still apprehensive that as soon as I got exposed to the heat outside it might all go wrong again, but thankfully it didn't.

The day was largely flat, moving us from the paddy fields through vineyards right across to the mountains. So for 150km we split into groups and powered our way through Italy. There's a real knack to riding as a group at speed, and I think after a few days of practice we are starting to get the hang of it. Certainly we ate through the distance both quickly and comfortably.

I was delighted to say that from a personal point of view, I finally felt good again. I had the strategy for dealing with the heat absolutely nailed, and was able to get stronger and stronger as the day went on. It's a funny thing about cycling that you never know when your next bad moment might hit you, so you really have to enjoy the good moments when you can, and today it was a 212km long good moment.

The heat was still oppressive, reaching 42 degrees celsius at one point, but as we got closer and closer to the hotel we began to climb and with that came a much more forgiving drop in temperature.

To get to our overnight location, we turned off the main drag and onto one of the most fun roads I've been on in a long time. It undulated, it flowed left and right, and all the while it was surrounded by the backdrop of the mountains that straddle the border between Italy and France. Such was the lush greenery on the horizon, all I could think of was the approach to Jurassic Park in the helicopter. It was outrageous.

The cherry on the top of the cake today was a nice little punchy climb that took us up to the hotel - only 500m long but enough for me to stretch my legs ahead of some proper mountains again tomorrow. I'm so glad to finally write that I enjoyed a day again, especially one as long as this!

My video diary is now up on YouTube, and features some actual smiling and happy words! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBqCkcRczH4

With only two days left, I am so so close to my fundraising target. Any one of you could be the one who takes me past that point, and believe me when I say it, I will be so so delighted when that milestone is hit. If you want to be that person, or just want to help get someone else closer to being that person, sponsor me here: www.justgiving.com/simon-lewis-fireflies-tour-2019

Cheers!
S