Arrived in Rome

Miles from Home - 5612.4 miles
Firsts / Highlights - First time to Rome
Miles Ridden - 0 miles
Vertical Feet - 0 ft
Route - No route today.
People - Marina - owner of the apartment. Brad arrives tomorrow.


Visualizza Roma in una mappa di dimensioni maggiori

This post is from May 30, 2009.

Traveling without a bike is a piece of cake. I walked 25 minutes from my hotel in Siena to the train station with my backpack, got through the station easily, changed trains in Chiusi, made my way through the Metro in Rome and walked to the apartment I will be sharing with Brad for the next three nights. I now see why traveling light is the accepted standard. If it weren't for the fact that being without my bike would completely change my reason for being here, I would be all in favor of it. Until I am reunited with my bike next week, I will just enjoy being light.

When I arrived, I met Marina who owns the apartment where I will stay for the next few nights. I am renting (with help from Paula Sears) through VRBO.com. Vacation Rentals by Owner are a bit unpredictable, but this one looks like it will work well. The location is good (3 or 4 blocks from the Colloseum), and Marina spent a full hour with me prioritizing sights in Rome, showing me where to find food shops, restaurants, coffee shops and even a mozzarella shop. Turns out that buffalo mozzarella is the real thing, and you need to go to a shop that sells nothing else to get the best (needless to say, I've already been there). They have a vat of Mozzarella balls soaking in milky water. You ask for a large or small ball and she fishes one out and puts it in a plastic bag with about a liter of the water. I have a pretty good stockpile of breads, pastries, meats, cheeses and olive oil in the apartment. The cheese bread was a real find. To buy the best bread, meat, cheese, tomatoes and pastries took visits to 5 different shops.


Visualizza Possible Destinations in una mappa di dimensioni maggiori

Rome is as far south as I am likely to get on this trip. If you go back to the "possible destinations" map, every pin is a recommended destination (remember that you can zoom and pan the map to see more detail). The blue pins are not yet visited, and the green are either already visited or on the itinerary. The Amalfi Coast south of Rome is probably going to have to wait for another trip. The biggest concentration of blue pins is now in the far north of Italy and Switzerland. I will probably be working north in June. I am actually a little surprised that I have visited as many of these places already as I have.

Tomorrow is the Giro finish and is within walking distance of the apartment. Brad will probably be badly jet-lagged when he gets here in the morning, so I may just prop him up and tell him to watch the fast bicycles go by.

Chianti

Miles from Home - 5499.3 miles
Firsts / Highlights - Chianti
Miles Ridden - 42.47 miles
Vertical Feet - 3,480 ft
Route - View Today's Route Here.
People - Just me



This post is from May 29, 2009.

With my belly full of salami and cheese, I headed off to the Chianti region north of Siena. Nothing fancy with trains or ferries. Just out-the-door riding.

Today is my last day scheduled in Tuscany (more on that later). I realized while reviewing maps last night that I had missed the Chianti region altogether. As it turns out, that would have been a terrible mistake. While riding between hill towns for the past two days has been a good way to see them, today’s ride through the vineyards was even better pure cycling. I would call it 5-star. The description would sound like many other days – great scenery, fields of poppies, interesting old towns, high quality pavement, little traffic, hills and curves. I’m not sure how to differentiate this from some of the other good rides, but put this one on the list if you are going to ride in Tuscany.



Like I said earlier, today is scheduled to be my last in Tuscany. I now enter a very busy week with Brad Frazier coming to visit from Steamboat. I will be taking the train to Rome tomorrow and be there in time to watch the final stage of the Giro on Sunday – a time trial through the downtown artifacts (I hope I get to the right city on the right day this time). Brad arrives later on Sunday and we begin our whirlwind. A couple of days in Rome, then Cinque Terra followed by Venice. Brad flies out of Milan and I continue on my way. Since our week together is going to be so busy, I am going to be off the bike for a full week. If fact, I have made arrangements to leave it here at the hotel in Siena fully assembled so Brad and I can travel light.



After dropping off Brad, I will come back to Siena, grab my bike (and maybe make another trip to the meat and cheese shop), then take a train and ferry to the island of Elba. John Cowell and Callie highly recommended Corsica just north of Elba, but Elba is the closest I am going to get to it. Bruce Hodgkins from Boulder (who I met at the Garda Bike Hotel) told me that the island used to be a regular stop on the Carpenter / Phinney bike camps. In addition to being small enough to circumnavigate in a day and its virtue of being a Mediterranean island, the Carpenter / Phinney endorsement bodes well for its riding quality.

After Elba, the agenda opens up again. Maybe I will head to the Dolomites and attempt some of the great passes of the Alps (Stevio, Gavia and the dreaded Mortirolo).

Since I will be off the bike for the next week, this marks the end of the first month of riding in Italy. It is really only 27 days, but the month boundary will be crossed before my next ride. What a month. Here are some of the key stats. Turns out I’ve gathered a lot of information:

Miles ridden – 1,099.97
Elevation gained – 73,153 feet (from sea level to top of Mount Everest 2.52 times)
Time in the saddle – 77 Hours, 26 Minutes
Heartbeats while riding – 514,642
Average heart rate while riding – 111 bpm
Maximum heart rate while riding – 178 bpm
Average speed – 14.17 mph
Maximum speed – 41.1 mph
Calories expended – 63,642 (software over-estimates this a bit)
Calories ingested - Untold. Lots
Liters of water – (see calories ingested)
Pedal rotations – 371,642 (approximate)
Longest day – 110.96 miles
Shortest day – 6 miles
Riding days – 22
Travel days - 2
Rest / tourist days – 3
Days driving a car - 0
Rain days – 0 (don’t let acknowledging good luck change that luck)
Flat tires – 0 (see rain days)
Mechanical failures – 0 (see rain days)
Broken sunglasses - 1

Return to the Scene of the Crime

After my faux pas with the cheese sampler platter, I decided to go back to that shop and make things right. I went inside and requested my own sampler platter. That was one of the best culinary decisions I have made since arriving in Italy.

The person who I assume is the owner is a bit of a clown. He told me that I was going to get, “the very best” from a “famous shop in Siena”. Then just to be sure I understood, he said, “yum, yum, yum”.

He cut up some salami, roast pork, prosciutto and something I think he called “bull” (I’m pretty sure it wasn’t Rocky Mountain Oysters). Then the cheese guy selected 3 types of cheeses and 2 types of bread. They finished off the platter with a small cup of pesto and some unfiltered olive oil. With that done, the owner didn’t ask if I wanted a glass of wine, he asked what type of wine I wanted. I went with a mid-level Vino Rosso from one of the local vineyards.

I was determined to give away some of my food after my last incident. When a customer came in and was having difficulty deciding, I offered him a piece of my cheese, and after tasting it, he immediately knew what to do. I’m not sure that evens the score, but I felt like I at least tried.

This shop, al Palazzo della Chigiana, is like the Zingerman’s of Siena. They have excellent food and are not afraid to charge for it. The platter is sold by weight rather than product. Anything you get is 50 euro per kg (a little less than $31 / lb) plus wine. For lunch, that gets pretty expensive, but I would gladly do it again.

I can’t share any pictures of this place, although I would like to. The owner is a little eccentric and really does not like pictures taken inside his shop. He has a sign up saying “no photos, no film” in a couple of languages. When someone shows up and tries to take a picture, he pulls out a halogen lamp that he shines in their face and tells them, “is illegal”. The photographer is usually a bit stunned and the customers think it’s pretty funny, but I’m not sure he intends any humor. After my previous experience with stealing his customer’s food, I decided not to press the issue.

When I was finished, I told the owner that it was the best lunch I have had in my month in Italy. He announced that to the other customers in the shop, and then served me a complimentary glass of desert wine.

Giro d’ Tuscany

Miles from Home - 5499.3 miles
Firsts / Highlights - Open jaw train-assisted route, Montepulciano, Pienza, Montalcino and wine tasting with Ron Famiglietti
Miles Ridden - 42.47 miles
Vertical Feet - 3,480 ft
Route - View Today's Route Here.
People - Ron & Lisa Famiglietti

This post is from May 28, 2009.

The 2-train assist was a success – barely. As you know from the plan I described yesterday, I planned to leave Siena by train and go to Montepulciano xxx. From there, I wanted to see 3 Tuscan hill towns that had been individually recommended as well as in the guide books. In order, they were Montepulciano, Pienze and Montalcino. After the last town, I was to ride to a train station in Buonconvento to get back to Siena. I intentionally scheduled a shorter ride because I wanted to have time to spend in the towns along the way.

The first town, Montepulciano, was on my list because I had heard high recommendations, but also because it is where Ron Famiglietti, a pediatrician from Steamboat, has lived for the past month with his wife Lisa learning Italian. Their pre-school son, Primo, is also in a school that teaches 100% Italian. They rented a nice little one-bedroom apartment inside the walled city and have stayed there the entire month, only leaving town by bicycle.

Ron showed me their apartment and gave me a quick tour of the city. After a slice of pizza for lunch, we went to a Cantina (wine cellar) and did a little tasting. I was off to a slow start for seeing 3 hill towns in one day, but it was good to spend some time with Ron.



Next stop was Pienze, another beautifully preserved city. I spent a little time exploring, but not nearly as long as Montepulciano. By the time I reached Montalcino, I felt like Clark Griswold from “Vacation” standing at the edge of the Grand Canyon. I climbed up into the town, took a picture, and said, “Gotta go”. Fortunately, the final 8 miles to the train station were mostly downhill, but I knew that any delay was going to mean that I would miss the train back to Siena. I was in the middle of rural BFE, but the GPS said I was close. I rode into town hoping that the GPS would guide me right to the station without incident. With ½ mile to go, I saw the train-crossing light start flashing and the gate dropping down. Was my own train going to prevent me from getting to the station? I considered sprinting through, but thought better of it. When the gate finally lifted, I rode into the station, and there was my train waiting. I got on and looked at my computer. 3 minutes to spare on a 6-hour ride.



Addendum

I just got back from dinner at the same restaurant where I had the pumpkin risotto a few nights ago. Not only did the waiter remember me. He remembered what I ordered and where I sat. He recommended an antipasto and second course that would be a good contrast to my last meal. This time it was crustini with ewe’s cheese & honey and gnocci with meat sauce. Both were great. The kicker was that when he presented the check, he would not accept a tip. At first, I was afraid he was offended by the size of the small tip (I have been told not to tip like we do in the U.S.). That wasn’t it. He said that I was a repeat customer and he would prefer that I have a coffee tomorrow and think well of their restaurant.

Train-assisted success - Volterra

Miles from Home - 5499.3 miles
Firsts / Highlights - Train-assisted route, San Gimignano, Volterra and descending 18% cobblestones through medieval streets of Colle di Val d’Elsa
Miles Ridden - 62.57 miles (+3 or 4. Forgot to start GPS when I got off the train in Poggibonsi)
Vertical Feet - 6,322 ft
Route - View Today's Route Here.
People - Just me

This post is from May 27, 2009.



I attempted a new technique today. I rode The Machine from the hotel to the train station and took the train for ½ hour to a town called Paggibonsi north of here. This accomplished 4 things. 1) It allowed me to reach some towns that would have been a real stretch if I had done them from the hotel, 2) big sections of the ride would have been out-and-back if I had left from the hotel, 3) being “out there” committed me to my ride (if I didn’t make it back to Siena, I would have none of the comforts of home and have to pay double rent for a second hotel – I made it back at 7:30), and 4) purely by coincidence, the train’s part of the journey was into a headwind, so I had a tailwind for a little more than half of the ride.

Tomorrow, I am going to attempt the ever-perilous double train-assist route. I will take one train to my start location, ride my route and catch a train at another location back to Siena. There are plenty of things that could go wrong with the plan, but I am leaving enough time that I should be able to spend time in the towns along the way and still catch the train. If I miss it, it’s going to be a hard ride back to Siena before dark (or an unplanned hotel with stinky clothes).

The GPS has been nearly a necessity for all of my self-navigated rides, but for the train-assisted route, it worked beautifully. First, the GPS lets me know when to get off the train if I can’t see a station name. I have used that feature a number of times. More importantly, it found a route out of Paggibonsi so I could find the roads I planned for my route. Then, of course, there is the usual benefit of having it beep at me for every turn and traffic circle throughout the day to let you know where to go. I carry a map as a backup, but I almost never need to use it. Everyone who has used a GPS knows that they are not yet perfect, but I would not want to be without it on this trip. The level of detail it has in its maps for all of the tiny little roads throughout Europe is impressive.



Today’s route visited 2 of the medieval hill towns that were on my “possible destinations” map before leaving the U.S. - San Gimignano and Volterra. You can see Wikipedia descriptions of the towns with the links in the “Highlights” section above if you are interested.

If you find yourself in Siena with a bicycle (or and Italian or German sports car), go to my GPS route and do the last 20 miles of today's ride. It is like a cycling test track. A tough climb followed by a long descent with curves, perfect pavement, forest, shade and no traffic. A good way to finish the ride.

I have been hesitant to say anything about the weather, but after a full month with nothing but clear days, I suppose I have to risk the jinx and say it has been great. Apply whatever superstitions you like, but please keep the good weather coming. I can't assume it will stay this good throughout my stay, but I'll take it while I can get it. As I am writing, the wind just kicked up dramatically. That didn't take long. This town has been around for a lot of years, but it sounds like it is about to blow away. Shutters are slamming around town and roofs are clattering. I guess I shouldn’t worry about it. I’m sure Siena has seen a wind gust before.

Sampler Platter

Miles from Home - 5499.3 miles
Firsts / Highlights - Good dose of Tuscan Sun. Meat and cheese sampler platter.
Miles Ridden - 51.00 miles
Vertical Feet - 4,167 ft
Route - View Today's Route Here.
People - Just me



This post is from May 26, 2009.

After getting lost again walking home from dinner last night, I am finally doing a little better finding my way around Siena. I managed to plan and execute a course more-or-less without incident today. The meanderings you can see on the GPS track upon return to Siena were mostly intentional exploration.

In spite of the relatively high dose of rest I have had (I believe it has been 3 of the last 7 days off the bike), I did not feel particularly comfortable in the saddle today. The route was very good considering that I just made it up by looking at paper and GPS maps, but I seemed to want to be standing up and getting off the bike more than normal for a 50 miler. Not really sure why.

I needed a long night’s sleep last night, so by the time I was ready to ride, it was getting too late for my planned train-assist route. Instead, I headed south from the hotel. I did, however, build the train-assist route for the GPS that I hope to do tomorrow.


When I got back to Siena after my ride, I was making my way through the crowded pedestrian street. In front of a specialty meat and cheese shop, I saw a nice looking sampler platter with slices of 3 different types of meat and as many cheeses. A young boy was standing behind the platter and seemed to be tending to it. I tried a piece of cheese, which was excellent. The boy was too young to work in the U.S., but I figured this was a family-run shop. He said something to me, which I assumed was an explanation for the type of cheese I was eating. “Cow’s milk?”, I asked, since I thought I heard a word that sounded like “Cow”. No luck. I then tried one of the pieces of meat. No comment from the boy.

I decided to go into the shop. Although I cannot really buy meats and cheeses while staying in a hotel, I saw some baked goods that looked like good road food for tomorrow. I was nervous about leaving my bike outside for more than a few seconds, and I was unsuccessful getting anyone to help me, so I left the shop. I decided to grab one more piece of cheese before getting back onto The Machine. This time, the boy’s father was there and said, “No…No”. It suddenly dawned on me what had happened. I asked, “Privato?”, and he said, “Si”. Fortunately, “I’m sorry” is one of the few phrases I know in Italian, and I got to use it. I was really embarrassed, but he had good taste in cheese.

I thought about this at dinner tonight from the kid's perspective. "I'm watching our things, just like dad asked. This guy walks up wearing lycra and a helmet and starts eating our food. I ask him to stop, but he just smiles and takes more. Being little sucks. What am I going to do? Kick him in the chins?".

Back to Florence

I will be processing and posting most of the pictures I am taking when I get home, but here is one from Florence that probably shouldn't wait. This will tell me who is paying attention.

0 for 1 on Self-Navigation

Miles from Home - 5499.3 miles
Firsts / Highlights - First pedal strokes in Tuscany. Pumpkin & mushroom Risotto at Guidoricco’s
Miles Ridden - 29.81 miles
Vertical Feet - 2,791 ft
Route - View Today's Route Here.
People - Just me

This post is from May 25, 2009.

Some of you may remember that I nearly got lost on my underwater navigation exam for my SCUBA certification. Getting out of Siena today, I’d have drown if I were underwater. I attempted to locate a bike shop that was only about 1 mile from my hotel, and it took me an hour, 6 miles and 500 vertical feet to do it. When I finally got there, they were closed for the afternoon break.

Such was my first introduction to self-navigated bike travel in Europe. Until now, I have been with bike hotel guides or Experience Plus. I haven’t had to establish or follow my own courses. In my defense, there probably could not be a more confusing city than Siena to get started. Even with the GPS telling me where to turn, it was almost useless due to unmarked streets, incorrectly marked streets, construction, police kicking me off pedestrian-only roads and turns so close together that the GPS cannot differentiate them, particularly with the narrow view of the sky from the little streets. Take a look at the GPS route, and you will see my circles and figure-8’s as I attempted to get out of the maze.

I had hoped to get some route recommendations and tighten my front hub bearings at the bike shop, but the only real success I had was to inflate my tires. While I was waiting for the shop to open, I went in search for some food to get me started on my ride. I didn’t want a full restaurant, just something simple, like, maybe… Pizzaland. Fortunately, there was one just around the corner.

The riding changed dramatically almost as soon as I passed outside the walls of Siena. It became the rolling Tuscan countryside of legend. I can see why this is so popular with cyclists. Quiet country roads, little traffic, rural scenery and the grades are not nearly as fierce as the other locations I have visited before now.

This is certainly the most rural place I have visited yet. Today was just an orientation (apparently needed), but I think I will actually need to plan for food and water on longer rides. At the other places I have ridden so far in Italy, I have never been more than a few kms from the next town and the next sidewalk bar (café). We’re not talking about stretches from Steamboat to Kremmling here, but you could get thirsty if you ran out of water.



My one café stop today happened to be during the magic live-coverage hours for the Giro. Popovich was on a solo break-away on one of the famous white-dirt roads in Italy. There is a special name for those roads, but I don’t remember what it is. Almost immediately after leaving the café, I found myself on one of them. It wasn’t by design. Neither the paper nor the GPS map showed it being unpaved, but having just seen it on the Giro, and because one of the criteria for The Machine was to be able to handle dirt roads, I decided to proceed. As usual, the more difficult path was the more rewarding. I found some beautiful villas and even a castle that most people will never see. Of course, I also found some 16% grades that most won’t find either. It starts to get difficult to keep the rear wheel from slipping on a road bike at 16% on a loose surface. I was able to keep the rubber side down, and overall, it was a good trade-off.

I was startled by how quickly things turn rural outside of Siena. This picture was taken only 1.5 km from the city wall.

There are a number of hill towns I would like to see near here. The recommendations I hear again and again are Volterra, Gimignano, Montalcino, Pienza and Montepulciano. I would still like to do a 2-day tour to pick up a couple of those towns with an overnight out there somewhere. Tomorrow, I think I will go for the train-assist. Ride a train in the general direction of Volterra, then get off and ride the rest of the way there and back to Siena. The train will extend my reach and motivate me to get back if I want to eat and sleep. It also avoids doing an out-and-back route that is sometimes unavoidable on unfamiliar roads.

So far, my experience is that city hotels in Europe are more typical of what you are warned about with European travel. Expensive, noisy and lacking in the amenities the American take for granted. I rarely do this, but I had to ask to be moved to another room last night. Mine was almost in the lobby and next to a marble staircase. Since there is no elevator, the stairs get a lot of traffic and I could hear every step and word said in the lobby. Today, they moved me to the third floor, which seems to be quieter, but is sweltering with no A/C. Fortunately, I have a ceiling fan. That shaved head seems like a good idea right now.

Bathrooms here are a new adventure every day. Today’s has a tile floor and a curtain in the corner. There is no type of shower pan to keep the water in a specific part of the bathroom. There is a drain in the floor on the same side of the room as the showerhead, but that is the only thing that differentiates it from the rest of the bathroom floor. There are also an infinite variety of toilet flush mechanisms. I have not seen a U.S.-style handle yet, but just about everything else. The most common is the two-button system. One for the big flush and the other for the little flush. Choose your flush based on the desperation of your situation.

If you don’t hear from me for a few days, I am probably lost riding around the Tuscan countryside. I will have my credit card, so I can’t imagine being lost could be too bad. I’ll make it back for my luggage eventually.

Not as good as I thought I was

I knew that the Italian spelling for Florence was Firenze. I knew that the Giro had a stage finish in Firenze this year. So far, I had it right. What I MISSED was that the finish was in Firenze on Friday, the day I arrived, and the stage finish on Sunday that I thought I would pick up by spending the weekend in Florence was actually in Faenza which is nowhere near Firenze. It's looking like the order of the vowels really does matter.

For Giro watching, it looks like my last chance is going to be on the final timetrial in Rome. I have an apartment and a railroad ticket, so I'm hopeful that I really will be there.

Day of Museums

Miles from Home - 5473.6 miles
Firsts / Highlights - City exploring.
Miles Ridden - 0.0 miles
Vertical Feet - 0 ft
Route - No ride today (or the next couple of days).
People - Just me

This post is from May 24, 2009.



I had a day of playing hard-core tourist today. I don't get as much from that as actually DOING something, but when you have 48 hours in a city like Florence, you kind of need to just collect trophies. My trophies were:

The Academia (home to David - you may recognize the shadow of his rather familiar pose).

The Uffizzi Gallery - Museum of Italian renaissance art.

DaVinci Museum - This was not an A-list attraction, but it looked interesting, so I went in. This was a collection of models built from DaVinci's drawings. They were not functional, but they were 3-dimensional and helped me visualize what Leonardo had in mind. It is so impressive to realize how far his concepts were ahead of his peers ability to create them.

Piazza della Signoria - center of historical Florence and home of a good number of statues and scale replicas.

Pitti Palace - just took a quick walk along the front. It was too big to take on with the available time.

Santa Croche - Tombs of Michelangelo and Dante.

Il Duomo - The famous domed chuch. It was built hundreds of years before the design and engineering capability existed to built a dome, but they knew it would eventually be possible, so the built it and left it uncovered for a couple of centuries.

Ponte Vecchio - a bridge built in 1345 lined with jewelry shops across the Arno River.

I decided to ship home about 7 pounds of things that I can live without. The weight of my lugguge getting from city-to-city was becoming a problem. I felt pretty good about finding 7 pounds of excess until I learned the cost for shipping. It was about $100 for 7-day delivery. I didn't need it there in 7 days, but that was the least expensive option available from the fairly rare shipping company that I found. Ouch.

Time to lug my bike and slightly lighter backpack to the train station. Heading to Siena for the next week.


Visualizza Siena in una mappa di dimensioni maggiori

Florence

Miles from Home - 5473.6 miles
Firsts / Highlights - First time to set foot in Tuscany.
Miles Ridden - 0.0 miles
Vertical Feet - 0 ft
Route - No ride today (or the next couple of days).
People - Just me

This post is from May 21-23, 2009.


Visualizza Florence / Firenze in una mappa di dimensioni maggiori

I left Lake Garda yesterday and moved from bike riding in the countryside to big city adventures. My original plan was to go directly to Siena, but the hotel closed out availability for the first 2 nights of my stay. I could have stayed at Garda for a couple of more nights, but my bike was already packed, so I decided to improvise. End result, I’m in Florence (a.k.a., Firenza).

The guide books say that the Academia and Uffizi require reservations months in advance, but I was able to get both last night when I arrived. I am heading to the Academia now to see Michelangelo’s David. Later, the Uffizi for one of the great art collections in the world.

The Giro has a stage finish in Florence tomorrow, so I will stick around for the circus before catching a train to Siena.

It’s easier to bleed money while in the city than the countryside, so I am going to head off and try to keep my credit card idle for as much of the day as possible.

Panoramica

Miles from Home - 5370.1 miles
Firsts / Highlights - Last day riding Lake Garda. First topless sunbathers.
Miles Ridden - 57.33 miles
Vertical Feet - 2,806 ft
Route - View Today's Route Here.
People - Yesterday’s theme was Colorado cyclists, today’s theme was ski industry connections.
Roger & Helen – Basalt, CO
Gary & Brenda – Whistler, BC – property managers
John – Whistler, BC – Intrawest employee. Former partner in Whistler Heli-ski, now guide
Mike – Whistler, BC
Maurizo & Alberto – Guides



This post is from May 20, 2009.

I just finished my final ride at the Garda Bike Hotel. It has been fun riding with the Aussies, Fins, Coloradans, Canadians and the Italian guides, but it is time to move on and sample something new. Next stop is Siena as a base camp for exploring Tuscany. There are no bike hotels in the area, so I am going to be on my own to explore solo. I plan to get a hotel in Siena for a week, but not stay there every night. I think this will be my chance to do some light touring where I strap a change of clothes and a credit card onto The Machine and head into the countryside. I don’t have a route set yet, but I do have some towns I would like to see.

I think I am going to stay at this hotel an extra day tomorrow to get some planning done while I still have an Internet connection. I need to plan my touring route and the following week when Brad Frazier arrives for a whirlwind visit.



Today was a much easier ride than yesterday. Less distance, less climbing and less pace. There was still a bit of fatigue in my legs, but after the first climb, I felt all right. The ride was called Panoramica due to the well-earned views of the lake.

Maurizio is amazing. Sixty-five years old and does this every day without a break. He said today that he rode 1,000 kms last week. Not only is he doing those distances week after week, he is nearly always on the front doing the most difficult riding into the wind. He speaks about as much English as I do Italian, so there isn’t a lot of conversation. He just speaks Italian as if I understand, even though he knows I don’t. Occasionally I get the drift. The English phrase that he uses over and over is, “come on, come on, come on”. It isn’t so much encouragement as a command. It means, “be decisive – get through the intersection”, or, “close the gap”. He has recently added, “come on, baby” when there is no safety element to his command.

I probably will not be making any posts for the next couple of days, but my itinerary (in the right hand column of the blog) will be updated as my plans solidify.

4 Lakes – Big Daddy Ride

Miles from Home - 5370.1 miles
Firsts / Highlights - First century ride of the year. 7 km tunnel at –7% grade. 7 hours of saddle time.
Miles Ridden - 110.96 miles
Vertical Feet - 6,485 ft
Route - View Today's Route Here.
People - 5 of 7 guests riding today were from Colorado (?!)
Bruce & Tracy – Boulder, CO (last day)
Roger & Helen – Basalt, CO
Mika & Ira – Helsinki, Finland. (last day) Found out today that Mika is a harbor worker in Helsinki. This is their first trip away from their 4 children (3, 5, 7 & 9).
Nicola & Maurizo – Guides
Anrea – drove van



This post is from May 19, 2009.

Today nearly ended for me before it got started. We had a big ride scheduled with over 100 miles of riding and two substantial climbs. Departure time was set for 9:00, but at 8:57, I was in the lobby and everyone was just milling around. I assumed it would be another late start, so I casually went back to the bike locker to get my bike. I figured I had a little time, so I wiped down my chain, lubricated it and filled my tires. Apparently, as soon as I left the lobby, Maurizio realized that it was 9:00 and they needed to leave immediately to catch the ferry crossing Lake Garda at 9:50. He rallied the group and they were off. Five minutes later, I showed up to an empty lobby. The front desk clerk said that the van driver could take me to the ferry, but he was nowhere around, so I decided to start riding. I later found out that the route I selected wasn’t the most direct, so not only was I behind, I was taking the long way to get there (we won’t talk about the wrong turn and construction stops in addition to bad route selection). Fortunately, the van found me and drove me the last 3-4 miles and pulled right on board just in time to pull away from the dock. Other than a little ribbing the rest of the day, I was back on track.

The hotel rotates their rides so that a guest staying for a week will never ride the same route twice. Today’s ride is the pinnacle of their weekly schedule, and as far as I am concerned, their crowned jewel. It is the longest and among the most challenging that they do. It requires more logistical planning than others because of the distance covered and the time it takes to complete. Since we departed the lobby at 9:00 am and did not return until 6:30 pm, we had a van to follow us all day with extra clothes, lunch, snacks, water, and hot tea (very refined).

We crossed the lake by ferry like we did a couple of days ago, but this time had the van with us in addition to our bikes. Rather than ride back along the lakeshore, we headed into the mountains surrounding the lake. There is a narrow flat ribbon all around the lake, but as soon as you go 50 feet inland, the climbing begins. Let’s just say that we went more than 50 feet inland.



The name of today’s trip was “4 Lakes”. Not too much explanation required. The name doesn’t tell you, however, that we also traveled through 3 Italian regions. We started in Veneto, passed through Lombardy, into Trentino and back to Veneto. That is the equivalent of riding in 3 states in one day. Mountain ridges separate the lakes; so moving from one to the next took us over a pass into another world. The first climb of the day was the most spectacular. Leaving Lake Garda, the road passed through a national park-like area on a very lightly traveled road. It was a bit worrying when I saw a sign for the town at the top of the first pass that said it was 27 km ahead. After suffering on the 25 km Alpe di Siusi, I thought this might be a very long day. The climb was challenging, but nothing like Siusi. The grade was considerably less and there were opportunities to recover along the way. Several people commented that the road was a “cyclist’s paradise”. I couldn’t argue with them.

The lunch and snack breaks were something to look forward to. For snacks, they brought an industrial size pan of apricot pastries. Lunch was penne pasta and pizza.

Maurizio revealed the secret of his energy and power. He pulled out a kilo bag of Parmesan cheese chunks and started dipping them in honey. Not little nibbler size pieces, but chunks the size you would buy in a cheese shop (the photo is one of the small pieces). Not 1, but 2 or 3. I tried it, but couldn’t believe I was eating it. Yes, it was good, but it’s not a taste I think I should develop unless I plan to do a lot of 111-mile rides.

Tunnels were an interesting part of today’s ride. The first was close to a km long and was not lit. Fortunately, it was straight and you could see the far end, even though it was a small point of light. There were no cars, so navigating was just a matter of pointing your bike toward the light and hoping there were no big road divots. This is one case where "going toward the light" is the only good choice.

After the second climb of the day, we did something I have never done on a bike. We entered a 7 km tunnel that declined at a 7% grade! That is like descending a pass inside a tunnel. There is absolutely nothing to give you a horizontal reference, so it looks as if you are riding on a flat road, but coasting at 35 miles per hour. Fortunately, this one was lit and the van was following behind us to protect us from any cars. I wouldn’t choose to do it every day, but it was a pretty exciting experience.

For the techies, you may wonder how I knew that the tunnel descended at 7% since GPS should not work inside a tunnel. I was a little surprised at first too that I was getting readings, but then I realized that elevation is a function of barometric pressure which doesn’t need a satellite link, and speed/distance can be measured by the wheel sensor when the satellite link is lost. With elevation and distance, the GPS can measure grade. If you look at the GPS track of the ride, you will see a very straight segment running north near the northern-most point of Lake Garda. That was the tunnel.



Last comment is that the “The Machine” passed its first century test with ease. I have never done an “easy” century, but this was the most comfortable I have ever been. 110 miles without and significant neck or shoulder pain is something to celebrate. Thank you to Brock for getting the fit right.

Day Off in Verona

Miles from Home - 5370.1 miles
Firsts / Highlights - Visited Verona (by foot)
Miles Ridden - 0 miles
Vertical Feet - 0 ft
Route - No ride today.
People - Triumphant return of Bruce Hodgkins

This post is from May 18, 2009.

Between yesterday’s fast 70-mile ride and tomorrow’s 100-mile+ hilly tour of 4 lakes, I decided it was time for a day off the bike to go to Verona.

My hotel is about 20-25 miles from Verona, so Nicola, the hotel owner, gave me a ride to the bus stop down by Lake Garda. It’s funny how little things can trip you up. When he dropped me off, he said that I must flag down the bus rather than assume it will stop for me. I agreed and he went on his way. I didn’t think to ask, “what does a city bus look like?”. I could have tried to flag down every one of the 50 busses that passed in the next 45 minutes, but instead, I decided to stand out by the road and look like someone who wanted to be picked up. The bus was ½ hour late, but it eventually arrived and stopped without flagging. Buying a ticket was the next trick. For most transactions, you have a cash register display or restaurant check to tell you how much to pay. There are a few situations, however, where your only communication is verbal, such as getting on a bus. I can understand numbers very slowly, but this bus driver did not accomodate. Nothing says dumb American like holding out a fist full of change and letting the bus driver take what he wants. Studid tourist.



Exploring Verona was interesting. As you can tell by my photos, I am a bit fixated on food. It’s hard not to let that happen in Italy, particularly when you need to eat so frequently to ride. I had a pizza and 2 ½ liters of water. The gelato, pasta and basalmic vinegar were just window-shopping this time.



I mentioned in a previous post that I met and rode with Bruce Hodgkins from Boulder at the hotel. He is the owner of Excel Sports, and is visiting Italy to celebrade his 50th birthday. His racing resume includes wins in Colorado on the Mount Evans Climb and Ironhorse races. Both impressive efforts.

His goal for his 50th was to come to Italy and compete in one of the famous Gran Fondos. A Gran Fondo is a very large citizen’s race that taps into the fanaticism about cycling in Italy. Yesterday was the Gran Fondo Felice Gimondi with 4,000 racers (3800 men, 200 women). Bruce and Tracy drove over for it on Saturday, both planning to compete, but Tracy was less concerned with her results. Even with his success racing in the U.S., Bruce did not know what to expect. He didn’t know the course, didn’t have anyone as a team to support him and had never participated in a European race. He returned to the hotel at Lake Garda on Sunday night with incredible news. On his first Gran Fondo, he had won! He finished 37th out of 4,000 overall and 1st in his age classification. It was the effort of his lifetime. 3 hours and 44 minutes of all-out effort with an average heart rate of 159. Happy 50th birthday!

Nicola opened a big bottle of bubbly, and the chef made a victory cake. You couldn't hope for a more modest winner.

On the personal front, I found a solution for my grey hair. I cut it all off. My shampoo budget just went down and my sunscreen budget went up. I’m not ready to post a picture yet because I am still trying to get over being startled every time I walk past a mirror.

Sunday Club Ride

Miles from Home - 5370.1 miles
Firsts / Highlights - Fastest ride I have done in Europe.
Miles Ridden - 70.01 miles
Vertical Feet - 2,276 ft
Route - View Today's Route Here.
People - Met Eros Poli

Met Roger & Helen from Basalt, CO. Roger operates a wine store in Aspen and Helen teaches Cross Country skiing.

Luciano from Melborne was the last remaining Aussie on his final ride. He bought a Pinarello Prince bike on this trip and wanted to get every last possible ride before flying home this afternoon. Katie – you will be glad to know that when I mentioned that I was from Steamboat, he said, “Ah… Champagne Powder”. We have an ally down under.



This post is from May 17, 2009.

Today, the hotel guests joined forces with a bike club from Verona to do a 70-mile club-style ride. Our guide-of-honor was Eros Poli and the club was called Le Amis d’ Eros (friends of Eros). Eros is a former professional bike racer from Verona. He has won Olympic Gold medals, finished second in the time trial world championships and, most famously, won a very unlikely stage in the Tour de France. He is not built like the typical wiry cyclist and definitely not like a climber. He stands out in a crowd at 6’4” and, I’m sure, over 200 pounds. That is a body built for speed and power, not floating over mountaintops. His typical role was to lead out Mario Chipollini for sprint finishes. The lead-out rider has to be a very powerful sprinter himself in order to build the speed the finisher needs to make the final dash for the finish line. Chipollini is considered one of the best sprinters in the history of cycling, so leading him out for his finishes was an important role.

No one would suspect that Eros’ career highlight would come in a famous climbing stage on the Tour de France. If anything, you would expect him to win a sprint, but that is not what happened. On a 200 km (124 mile) stage in 1994 over Mt. Ventoux, he went on a solo break-away with 106 miles remaining. A solo break-away that far from the finish almost never succeeds, but since he was not a threat in the general classification, the peloton allowed him to go. He rode alone all day and built up a 22-minute lead by the based of Mont Ventoux. The peloton would normally not allow such a large lead to develop, but since he was all alone and due to his size, he was not considered a climbing threat. By the top of the climb, however, he was able to preserve an almost 4-minute lead and was able to fly down the descent and get the stage victory. A stage is only 1 of 21 days in the Tour de France, but a single win is enough to turn a career into a legend. It is rare wins like this that keep riders attacking during these races with overwhelming odds against success.

So, that’s Eros’ story. We rode in a pace line all day with Eros like a locomotive on the front. Usually a pace line alternates the lead so that everyone shares some time breaking through the headwind. On this ride, Eros just sat on the front and more than 30 riders followed like baby ducks behind him. My little chain ring almost could have been left behind at the hotel this morning. We moved along at a pretty good pace all day. Even through there was a stiff headwind on the way back, Eros just sat on the front and powered through.

There was one real hill on the ride when the course broke away from the lake and into the hills. It was substantial with an 11-15% grade after a long flat ride along the lake. About half way up the climb, I saw that I was coming up on Eros. His bike was creaking under his weight and power. I was a bit surprised that I appeared to be making up ground on him. I reasoned, well 1) he has just lead a pace line for 25 miles on the flats, maybe he doesn’t want to use too much energy on the climb, or 2) he is not built for the hills, maybe he is going to go over the top slowly and catch up to us later, or 3) maybe I’m just that good. As I went past him, I looked over and saw that none of my theories were correct. He was talking on his cell phone. If my heart were not beating at about 160, it would have sunken in my chest. I kept going, accepting the consolation prize of passing him, even though it didn’t mean much when he was riding at a conversational pace with one hand on his handlebars. Just before getting to the top, he had finished his call and stood up out of the saddle. He accelerated past me and crested the top of the hill (bastard). I’m pretty sure he stole my lunch money too.

South Lake Garda

Miles from Home - 5370.1 miles
Firsts / Highlights - Ferry crossing of Lake Garda during ride, vineyards, olive groves, Simione – a castle fortress town, band playing on lake-front piazza, lemoni gelato, local truffle tortolini.
Miles Ridden - 54.95 miles
Vertical Feet - 1,994 ft
Route - View Today's Route Here.
People - Ride was with 5 Australians, 2 Italian guides and a Yank. The Aussies were on their international version of the “Men’s Club” that we started this year in Steamboat. They went to Hotel Dory 2 years ago and here this year. Fun group of +/- 50 year olds. They plan to come back next year in May to Lake Garda, then possibly fly down to Sicily.

Met Paola Pezza. She is the Italian 1996 mountain bike Olympic gold medalist. Now she and her husband own a bike shop in Bardolino along the lake.

Our guides today were Nicola and Marozzio. Nicola is one of the brothers who owns and manages the hotel. He rides with the groups a few days a week. Marozzio is 65 years old and rides 20-25,000 kilometers every year. When he decides to bridge from the back of the group to the front, he can out-motor anyone else in the group.



This post is from May 16, 2009.

My cold is currently at bay. I don’t dare be smug and say I have it licked, but I hope it is waning.

The ride today was not the hilliest or quietest roads we have done, but it was very enjoyable. The Aussies were on their last day and feeling a bit melancholy about leaving and celebratory for the great week they have had. We rode along the lake from town to town stopping for coffee in one, gelato in another. A ferry ride in the middle made for an interesting navigational element.

After the ride, we went down to Liaze for a drink between the after-ride snack and dinner. I didn’t realize from riding past it for the past two days that the town is not just the lakeside tourist community you see from the road. When you step through the thousand-year-old fortress gate, you find that there is an entire pedestrian medieval town. Ancient European ambience full of restaurants, bars, bakeries and such. Although I have not visited very many of the famous cities yet during my travels, I think I am finding that I like these little towns that no one has ever heard of and will never show up in a guidebook.

Had a great dinner with the Aussies. They have befriended the chef and head-waiter during their stay, and rather than order from the menu, they just have the chef send whatever he wants to serve. The highlights tonight were tiny locally made tortellini served in butter with locally found truffles. They were spectacular with the Valpolicella wine grown in the vineyards surrounding the hotel.



Tomorrow is Sunday, which means lots of bikers on the road. Although the Aussies will be leaving, a couple from Aspen just arrived and the couple from Finland will be rejoining the group. In addition, a cycling club from Verona is going to join us, so we should have about 50 people on a 118 km ride.

Something Completely Different

Miles from Home - 5370.1 miles
Firsts / Highlights - Riding the cobblestones of Verona
Miles Ridden - 52.10 miles
Vertical Feet - 4,136 ft
Route - View Today's Route Here.
People - Ride was with 7 Australians, 2 Finlanders, 3 Italian guides and a few Yanks.



This post is from May 15, 2009.

Since I am usually the one pressing the shutter, I thought I should post a picture of me to prove that I am really here.

Today marks the transition from "vacation" to Something Completely Different. I have been in Italy for 2 weeks now. If this were a vacation, I would be going back to work on Monday. Now begins a new perspective.

I re-joined the Bike Hotel culture today. We headed out on a ride with about 20 riders from Melborne, Australia, Finland and Colorado.

There was some light rain in the morning. I don't mind getting stuck in a little rain once I am out there, but I rarely set out on a ride with the sky leaking. It didn't look like anyone else was bailing out, so perhaps peer pressure got me to do the right thing. I went on the ride.

The course promised 4 passes before lunch and a spin through the walled city of Verona. I only see 3 on the GPS profile, so I guess we got shorted. It was a little unusual and interesting to have a city as part of ride. We usually stay out in the countryside. Having a significant city at the far point of the ride made this one memorable. If you switch to the satellite view on the link for "Today's Ride", then zoom in on Verona, you can see the coliseum we rode past as well as the fortress bridge that we crossed to get over the river.




Unfortunately, the rain returned as we left Verona. What was a pretty series of hill climbs on the way out turned into a 20-24 mph pace line on the way back. I have not done much pace riding in a while, so it was a good challenge. Perhaps a bit more challenge than necessary since I found my rear brake dragging when I got back to the hotel. I'm not sure how long it was doing that, but I may have handicapped myself a bit.

This bike hotel (Hotel Veronello) is a little different than the one in Riccione (Hotel Dory). Dory has been established longer and has more cyclists for any given week. Where Dory had about 100 riders divided into 4 groups by pace and distance, Veronello takes a single group with multiple guides (3 today). We rode as a full group for parts of the day, and split up for other parts. The "Type-A" group (which I went with today) rode over all of the hills. The "Happy" group sometimes went around them or took shortcuts. We regrouped in Verona and all worked on the paceline to get us back to the dry refuge of the hotel as fast as possible. It was a fun group with the unusual attribute of being 100% English-speaking, except for 2 of the guides.

Shifting Gears

Miles from Home - 5370.1 miles
Firsts / Highlights - Arrived at Lake Garda Bike Hotel, pistachio gelato.
Miles Ridden - 15.02 miles
Vertical Feet - 570 ft
Route - View Today's Route Here.
People - Had dinner with Nicola Verdolin, owner/manager of Hotel Veronella (where I am staying). He is a friend of Stefano from Hotel Dory and a member of the Italy Bike Hotel group that was started by Stefano.

Also had dinner with Bruce and Tracy from Boulder, CO. Bruce owns Excel Sports and imports Italian bikes and clothing to the U.S.. Bruce and Tracy are going to be on tomorrow's group ride and doing a Gran Fondo (4,000 person citizen bike race) on Sunday. Bruce is here celebrating his upcoming 50th birthday. Looking at him, I wouldn’t be surprised if he comes back from the Gran Fondo on Sunday night with a win.


Visualizza Lazise in una mappa di dimensioni maggiori



This post is from May 14, 2009.

No stage viewing today. I may catch one of two more live stages, but the intensity is going to drop off considerably starting today.

Today was the first day since I have arrived in Italy that has shown any sign of a slower pace. I still transferred to a new city, moved into a new room and went for a short ride, but compared to the past 2 weeks, it was pretty casual. I planned to take a day off the bike, but after arriving, it just didn’t seem right to be sedentary. I had time for an afternoon nap, though, so all in all, it was a pretty easy day.

Experience Plus was kind enough to drop me at the hotel, so I didn’t need to break down my bike or do any train travel. I now have a full week with no logistical challenges.

My immediate impression of this hotel is that it is more than just a “bike” hotel. It is a “sports” hotel. They have a complex of perfectly manicured soccer fields where they can host team camps. Everyone in the lobby is either in cycling spandex or soccer sweats. The other difference I notice is that the food is a step above Hotel Dory. Although Dory was good, this restaurant has a very good chef and you are able to order off a menu rather than a buffet. My room rate includes lodging, breakfast, pocket lunch for the ride, after-ride snack, 5-course dinner, guide services and laundry. I can’t imagine why I will need to leave.

The other initial impression of the hotel is that they will have a good variety of riding. They have flats around the lake, hills, mountains, ancient towns, cities, vineyards and olive groves. I suspect every day is going to be very different than the last.

Why is it that with every organized ride in Colorado people think they are getting a late start if they are not on the road by 7:00 am? Italians are on my schedule. Giro stages start around noon or 1:00. Tomorrow's 100k ride with 4 passes starts at 10:00. That's the right idea.

The pictures on today’s post are from my short spin around the south eastern corner of Lake Garda.

Corragio

Miles from Home - 5354.1 miles
Firsts / Highlights - Mountaintop finish, Bolzona, bike paths, epic climb, strudel in the Alps, castles, Tyrolean food and culture.
Miles Ridden - 50.39 miles
Vertical Feet - 6,178 ft
Route - View Today's Route Here.
People - I am going to start including the people I meet along the way in the heading section of each post. Although I have been with Experience Plus for a number of days, I have not mentioned everyone’s names:

Michele and Stefania - Our Italian group leaders, guides, logisticians, translators, sommeliers and good people.

Don and Jane Volta - Kirkland, WA (near Seattle). Retired couple on their 8th Experience Plus tour. Turn 70 this year. Just completed a tour through Turkey.

Marvin and Margie Amernick - Basalt, CO and Delray Beach, FL. Retired couple on their ~12th Experience Plus tour. After a week of traveling alone, they are joining the third-week Giro tour with Experience Plus for the finish.

Bill Plutnick - Owingsville, KY (near Lexington). 46 year old, easy-going defense contractor. His wife was at a conference in Sicily, so he decided to follow the Giro for a week. They are meeting in Rome Thursday.

This post is for May 13, 2009.

My cold set back in last night. I woke up with little energy, but today was the final and biggest climb of my Giro week. The pros don't get to take a day off when they don't feel well, and either do I if I want to watch the race. The Giro stops for just about nothing.

Italians shout a lot of phrases at the racers. One that is reserved for the suffering riders who are obviously having difficulty just getting over a climb is, “Corragio”. It means, “dig deep, summon your courage, keep going”. Alpe di Siusi was the climb at the finish of Stage 5 today. It is a monster that starts in the river valley and climbs nearly to the top of the Dolomites at the mid-station of a ski resort. The length of 25 kms, grade of 8-10% and elevation gain of 5,000 feet make it a challenge on any day. For those from Steamboat, it is the equivalent of a steeper Rabbit Ears, followed by a 5km recovery at an easier grade, followed by another steeper Rabbit Ears. Climbing it today required me to tap into all of the corragio I could find.

It isn’t much consolation, but Lance had a pretty difficult day on the climb today as well. He ran into a spot of bother and finished 3 minutes behind the lead group that included teammate Levi Leipheimer. Today all but eliminated Lance from contention in the race. He looked exhausted at the finish.

Our day started with a van transfer from our hotel in Trento to a little town called Ora. Stefania got the other riders started on their way and then took me to a Pharmacia in search of cold medicine. Explaining symptoms to a pharmacist without a command of the language is a real challenge, so having a translator was a huge benefit. I got my medicine and began to chase down the rest of the group.

I caught them fairly quickly and rode along some amazingly well-developed bike paths into Bolzano. These bike paths went through vineyards, tunnels and around castles. Since they were formerly train tracks, there was infrastructure that could never be funded for a project that started as a bike path. By the time we arrived in Bolzano, the world had turned decidedly Austrian. Signs were in German first, then Italian. Architecture was Tyrolean. Food became very hearty with good dark bread, pretzels and streusel. We stopped for lunch in the city, which was well-maintained and picturesque. There were lots of pedestrians and bicycles throughout the center of town.

The weather forecast indicated that we might get some rain, but it wasn’t to be. The entire week of following the Giro ended without a drop. That was fortunate, because the climb that was about to begin didn’t need any help to make it a challenge.

The stats for the climb provided a pretty good indication that this would be a tough one. What the stats didn’t show was that when I was stopped at the bottom, my head was on my handlebars and I easily could have fallen asleep. Not the energy level you want to approach a big physical challenge. I decided to use a mental game to get up the climb. Rather than a 5,000 foot climb, I decided that I would do five 1,000 climbs. That way, when I got to 500 feet, I was half way to my first climb rather than only 10% of the way to the top. That tactic worked pretty well for the first 1,500 – 2,000 feet. After that, I had figured out that no matter what I said to myself, this climb was not going to end.

By the time I was 4 km from the top, the racers were only about 30-45 minutes behind me, but I didn’t know that. The police hadn’t cleared the road yet, so I assumed I still had a couple of hours. When I reached the summit, they had blocked the final 500 meters and the racers were only about 20 minutes behind. I would like to think that knowing they were chasing me would have motivated me to increase my cadence over those final 4 kms, but I don’t think Denis Menchov touching my back wheel would have made me go any faster. My heart rate was only idling at about 145-150 bpm, which is high, but not indicative of an all-out effort. I think the cold combined with my body calibrating its hemoglobin for sea-level riding just converged to make this a difficult day. It would have been fun to see how I could have done on such an epic climb feeling well, but getting to the top with adverse conditions creates it own rewards.



I could have turned around and headed down the hill looking for a good vantage point for the finish when I was blocked with 500 meters to go, but by that point, there was a goal to be achieved. I wasn’t going to turn around after getting so close. I got off my bike and pushed it through the grass and crowds parallel to the course until I figured I had reached the elevation of the finish line. I could then be satisfied that I had made it. Right about the line where I declared victory, I found a woman in lederhosen selling streusel and water. With one of each in hand, I found a spot to watch the big screen TV of the racers approaching with the race course in the foreground. Success.

As a frame of reference for how big a 5,000 foot climb is, the descent after the race back to the river valley took 50 minutes. That is 50 minutes with barely the need to turn my pedals.

Here is an article that compares the climbs of this year's Giro to climbs in North America. http://www.dailypeloton.com/displayarticle.asp?pk=14733

BTW – the camera decided to come back to life. Not sure how long it will last.

Big Ass Alps

Miles from Home - 5354.1 miles
Firsts / Highlights - WWI Tunnels, Category-2 climb, bike museum
Miles Ridden - 50.5 miles
Vertical Feet - 5,829 ft
Route - View Today's Route Here.


View Trento in a larger map

Today had a couple of significant climbs. I was riding with Bill from Kentucky who told me when we reached the top of the first that it was the hardest thing he had ever climbed. I told him that his record wasn't likely to stand very long, because our last climb of the day was going to be even tougher. He agreed with me at the end of the day, but he made it up both with a smile.

First off, I am sorry to say that my camera has officially given up. What I thought could be managed by keeping a fresh charge on my battery is apparently something more severe. I charged it twice last night, and when I fired it up this morning, I couldn't take even my first picture. That was really unfortunate because there were plenty of interesting things to see today. I will look for a replacement battery, but I don't expect much luck unless I can get to a bigger city. I may try to get one shipped from Amazon to the bike hotel I will be checking in on Thursday. Following the Giro, my address changes every 48 hours, so there is no way to have anything shipped. If the battery doesn't solve the problem, then I guess I will need a new camera, but by the time that arrives, a lot of photos will be forever lost.

The ride started this morning with a good route selection. In order to get from our hotel to the Giro route, there was either a fairly busy modern road or one that was built by the Austrians around WWI that gets very little traffic today. Obviously, we took the road less traveled. Turning onto the road, you could see far ahead into a mountain canyon. It looked as if it was a box canyon with sheer rock walls at the top going up 500-1000 feet. I couldn't figure out how a road could get past such an obstacle. As we got closer, the walls looked bigger, but still no obvious way to get through. After what had already been a difficult climb, the crux move came into view. There were tunnels stacked up on top of each other climbing the last 500 vertical feet. Each tunnel had a 10-12% switchback inside it, so what looked like 2 tunnels stacked on top of each other was actually 1 tunnel with the entrance below and the exit above. There were 5 such tunnels to get to the summit. To make it a little more interesting, the road narrowed to 1 lane so that you had to wait for a traffic light to let you know that traffic was going your way for the next 5 minutes. I didn't want to meet a truck coming down the hill in the middle of one of the tunnels, so I rode hard to clear them before I suspected the downhill light would turn green.

At the crest of the hill, Bill and I stopped at a cafe for a bottle of water. We saw a very fit couple come running up over the hill. They had ski poles for hiking, but this was obviously a morning run, not a casual hike. After a quick stop at the cafe, they turned around and headed back to the tunnels at a running pace. Bill and I dropped down the big descent and spotted some mountain peaks poking through the haze. I had come to think of the climbs we had been doing as mountains until I saw these peaks. We had been riding hills. These were mountains. We had reached the Big Ass Alps.

The second climb was scenic but not epic. One of our tour guides, Michele (Mi-Kell-a) pointed out that the forest smelled like garlic. The wild garlic is in bloom, so even a hike or a bike ride in the forest of Italy can get you thinking about food. After stopping for a lunch consisting of prosciutto-wrapped asparagus with cheese, bread, pasta and salad, we got back on our bikes for the final climb. This is the point where we intersected with the Giro course and rode their first category-2 climb of the race. We were about 2 1/2 hours ahead of the race and only had 11k to cover, but there were quite a few vertical feet to be grabbed before the mutants arrived. The bottom of the climb was the most difficult, but you never know that when you are doing it. It started off at a grade that never dropped below 8% and was quite consistently 10%. There were a few sections of 12%, just to make the 8% hurt a bit more. It was not a consistent grade, however, and there were some sections of 7% past the halfway point to provide some recovery. It occurred to me that I felt as if I was recovering whenever I hit a grade that was the same as Rabbit Ears Pass. If this climb had been longer or did not have those recovery sections, I suspect it might have been a category-1. For the last 500 meters of the climb, the crowds were getting fairly large, so I pulled Ray's video camera out of my pack and started recording as I rode. I hope the video captures what it is like to climb up through the switchbacks with the big crowd assembled. I won't be able to post it until I get a memory stick reader. Not sure when that will be.

It was rewarding to see that the mutants were impacted by the climb we had just done. The race was fractured by the hill. There was a 10-minute gap from the first to the last riders, which was very unexpected for such a short climb. I'm not sure what it did to the GC standings, but I expect there were some changes today. Where I saw them pass, Lance was safely in the peloton, right were he would strategically choose to be. After they dropped over this climb, they had another comparable climb to the finish. That's a pretty good dose of pain for one day at the office.

Speaking of category-1 climbs, I think that is what we have in store tomorrow. I haven't seen the official race profile to confirm it, but we are climbing Alpe du Siusi, which is a single 5,000 foot climb. Again, not a consistent grade for the entire thing, but I would guess that its length might earn it a category 1.

After descending from the big climb of the day, we loaded into the van and shuttled to Trento to be within striking distance for Stage 5 tomorrow. Sadly, tomorrow will be my last day with Experience Plus chasing the Giro. I hope to see another stage in Milan and the final time trial in Rome. But tomorrow will be the last day of dedicated race spectating.

Sorry for the lack of pictures. If you want to see other people's pictures of the areas I am riding, go to the "View Today's Route" link at the top of any of my posts. When you get the map of the ride, click on the "More..." button on the upper right corner and select "Photos".

Stage 3

Miles from Home - 5396.1 miles
Firsts / Highlights - First third-category climb of the Giro. I made the front page.
Miles Riden - 50.8 miles
Vertical Feet - 3,966 ft
Route - View Today's Route Here.



Quick update today. Rode much of the third stage course, including the only somewhat significant (category-3) climb and the finish area. After viewing the mayhem in the finish area, I rode back up the third-category descent and watched the racers come through. This was the first opportunity for the riders to win GPM (King of the Mountains) points. This part of Italy has never hosted a Giro stage in its 100 year history, so the towns and Prosecco vineyards were all dressed up in pink.

I was on the front page of the Italian newspaper (Gazzetta) during the team time trial. I told you I found a good spot. I'll post a picture of the pictue later.

These are long days chasing the Giro. Start riding at 8:30, ride and spectate until 7:00 or 7:30, eat a 4-5 course dinner, go to bed, repeat. I'm not saying they're not good days, but they're long.