Giro d' Italia

Video Preview

2007-10-01T15:48:00.001-07:00

Here is a preview of the video for this years trip; I had to do something with my insomnia!

Its 2:35AM and Im UP!

2007-10-01T02:32:00.001-07:00

Wow, I woke at 1am...very much awake! I guess I must be home! See you soon.

To Paris!

2007-09-30T00:58:00.000-07:00

Whew! Made it through the Venice airport.

Sunrise at our Agriturismo

2007-09-29T21:59:00.000-07:00

Ciao

Day 16 - headed home!

2007-09-29T21:42:00.000-07:00

Its dawn in Roncade (or very late in Seattle on Saturday) and I'm headed home. Guy departed for the airport early as Bill and I got a few extra winks before grabbing our plane to Paris.

Grabbing some breakfast here at Ca Serena as I hear the roosters doing their thing to the early morning light.

Bill still needs the menu inglese on our last night.

2007-09-29T11:22:00.000-07:00

Day 15 - Treviso

2007-09-29T11:02:00.000-07:00

A quick 30min spin after a big touring around day and Guy sports his new Pin kit at dusk.

New Duds!

2007-09-29T09:28:00.000-07:00

Last italia ride!

Guy has Shopping success!

2007-09-29T08:40:00.000-07:00

Mile Euro Later

Pinarello Factory Store

2007-09-29T08:34:00.000-07:00

A stop in Treviso for Guy to go gaga

Lunch!

2007-09-29T04:16:00.000-07:00

Classico!

2007-09-29T03:45:00.000-07:00

Tourista!

2007-09-29T03:38:00.000-07:00

Floating grocery

2007-09-29T03:33:00.000-07:00

is Venice sinking or waters rising?

2007-09-29T03:25:00.000-07:00

Notice the first floor

Anne and Rob

2007-09-29T03:23:00.000-07:00

Bella

2007-09-29T03:22:00.000-07:00

Canals!

2007-09-29T03:15:00.000-07:00

Grand Canal from our parking structure

2007-09-29T03:00:00.000-07:00

Venice!

2007-09-29T02:59:00.001-07:00

Italian drives through park gate.

2007-09-29T02:31:00.000-07:00

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Day 14 - Trenago and Castello 55K and 3600 feet climbing

2007-09-28T21:14:00.000-07:00

After the break in the clouds, Anne and I got restless so at the first sign of good weather we jumped on our bikes and headed toward my favorite climb, magic climb up to castegne...yet a differnet way. We went higher than before going through a town that had (reportedly) no exit or a deadend at 5 kilometers. I thought it might be a washout we could walk around.

Reaching the end of the road, we came across an older gentleman with a soft felt cap foraging for fresh fungi. He gestured that the road was closed and we magically were able to determine the road was passable by bici or velo!

Ann and I snuck across two barricades to find a freshly poured concrete bridge. I tested a section and it seemed hard enough to walk across (no wanting to turn around as it would be 5 kilometers up hill). We made it across, however we left a few shallow marks from our cletes and tires on the last 5 meters of concrete that had yet to harden completely.

Free to desend down the back side of the ridge, we noticed how suddenly today the lighting was softer through the vineyards and olive trees today...fall was upon us!

We stopped in Trebagno for some gelato as Anne and I were both in negative calorie land and had about an hour ride to get home.

After trying to locate the ride up to the Castello, we b lined ourselves back to Buon Albergo coming across 6 Italian cyclists headed our way. We spun with them for 5 or 6 kilometers until the town sign into Ferrazze, were I gave the wink to Anne, we jumped out front and sprinted to the finish, waving and yelling Ciao upon reaching Musella.

Stats for the day:
55 Kilometers
3600 feet climbing
4 hours and 20 minutes
1800 calories burned
2 sets of foot prints and tire marks in newly formed Italian bridge
1 pallino gelato
1 great pesce dinner in varo
3 songs heard by Italian guns and roses band
1 full day in Italy remaining!

Guns and Roses?

2007-09-28T14:03:00.000-07:00

Yes we finished with dinner and we found a local band playing guns and roses covers. Wow, and were in Italy!

Gelato Stop

2007-09-28T07:50:00.000-07:00

Trebagno after 3 hours of riding and 3500 feet of climbing!

Kodak Moment

2007-09-28T05:36:00.000-07:00

View to verona

A village

2007-09-28T05:25:00.000-07:00

Just some spot on our route!

Bucolic!

2007-09-28T05:19:00.000-07:00

moo

A snap of me!

2007-09-28T05:06:00.000-07:00

Another climb!

Above Verona!

2007-09-28T05:05:00.000-07:00

Climb above Catagne.

Up magic hill

2007-09-28T05:02:00.001-07:00

Ann cranking

Groundhog Day?

2007-09-28T05:02:00.000-07:00

I see my shadow

Day 14 - a rainy night brings sunny day?

2007-09-28T01:58:00.000-07:00

Burst of sunshine on our second to the last day of riding, stay tuned!

Day 13 - 88K 4 hours 20min and 5700 feet of climbing some at 19%

2007-09-27T23:04:00.000-07:00

Pat, Christi, Guy and Lisa strolled out of Musella (our winery) around 10am for a few hours of climbing through the hills and hill towns above Verona. The landscape is filled with vineyard and low walled streets with fruit hanging over. We knew we were in trouble when pat decided to head up another no cheveron hill that started with a sign requiring tire chains. It was some climb as we ascended into the heavens noticing the temperature drop and the dearth of elements no longer growing by the side of the road.

Reaching the saddle in the mountain, we paused and I loved the feeling of my heart beating out of my chest.

The ride down that hill was rythmic and sweet droping down into a sweet little town where we warmed ourselves with some cafe and chocolato caldo.

After a great pizze lunch where the pizze is so thin its like a cracker, Pat found us another "no cheveron" climb where some of us seemed to have met our pizze again. Reaching the top, almost wanting to walk the bike up this road that could have stairs we reached the top mounted and proud. Reveling in our accomplishment, Pat looked over to the three of us and said, "ok, this is all a nice feel good moment, but let's go.". We chuckled, followed his tail back home to Musella where Gracella had dinner waiting for us.

Dinner at the winery!

2007-09-27T12:01:00.000-07:00

Pear and Ginger chocolate muffin!

2007-09-27T11:48:00.000-07:00

Iwith an amazing amarone desert wine! Wow! We had pumpkin risotto before this stuff!

Atop another no cheveron climb

2007-09-27T08:06:00.000-07:00

Ouch! 18 or 19%

The bierra here is good.

2007-09-27T04:25:00.000-07:00

Finetti

2007-09-27T03:29:00.000-07:00

Bella

2007-09-27T02:13:00.000-07:00

Climb over to Tregnago

2007-09-27T02:11:00.000-07:00

1.5 hour into ride and 2120 feet so far!

Bills Game Plan

2007-09-27T00:54:00.000-07:00

Christi Packing up for the Day

2007-09-27T00:52:00.000-07:00

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Day 12 - suiting up for another Amorone region ride!

2007-09-27T00:48:00.000-07:00

Day 11 - small ride through Amarone Region

2007-09-26T22:35:00.000-07:00

Today was a rain day...so most of us slumbered late and long. Pat, Christi, Deb, Todd and Deb ventured into Verona for the rain, well wind day. Rob and Anne did as well but in a separate vehicle. I walked the vineyards above then later convinced Guy that he needed to go for a ride up this amazing hill behind our winery. It was about 1.5 hour ride yet we climbed 1600 feet, one of our shorter days. We then completed the day with a visit to our favorite in town pizzeria...where Wednesday was PASTA night!!!

Vines over Verona

2007-09-26T04:02:00.000-07:00

Notice the super red limestone soil of this DOC where they grow corvina the primary grape that makes the flavor of amarone. It has a way of making the grapes soft when even very young.

Olive Grove!

2007-09-26T03:57:00.000-07:00

Day 10 - overcast

2007-09-26T03:13:00.000-07:00

Wow, a good storm last night with ample wind this morning makes a rest day sound even better. I'm headed for a walk in the vineyards.

Fromaggi

2007-09-25T12:56:00.000-07:00

Agnello

2007-09-25T12:34:00.000-07:00

Yum!

Degustation Menu

2007-09-25T12:22:00.000-07:00

Wow, the food is amazing here in trento. Squid pasta with nero ink, duck pasta, rabbit salad with quail egg, this is amazing food!

Waiter that opens our bubbles with a HUGE knife!

2007-09-25T10:31:00.000-07:00

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Dinner in Trento

2007-09-25T10:20:00.000-07:00

We begin with a sparkling rose from the trento region.

Bill packs up

2007-09-25T09:20:00.000-07:00

Clocktower Meeting spot

2007-09-25T09:19:00.000-07:00

We just had an excusite ride through the apple villages above trento. It was a phenomenal 80K day with 4,000 feet of climbing. We are now hunting down some food here near Trento.

Bill reliving the climb

2007-09-25T04:51:00.000-07:00

Fondriest factory Stop

2007-09-25T03:44:00.000-07:00

Directions to velo shop?

2007-09-25T03:35:00.001-07:00

In Cles, Todd and Deb ask directions.

Day 9 - cruise around Verona and wine tasting

2007-09-24T13:54:00.001-07:00

Today was pretty mellow for all. Rob who is now nursing a broken collarbone from a wipe out in a hot turn on yesterdays decent, put the group in slow motion too.

This mornings breakfast started later for everyone. Guy and I were first to motor out the door as we jumped on our bikes at 11am to track down the bike store. Reaching the store after 12pm, it was closed until 3pm, like all stores in italia.

Guy headed for Verona and I rode for the hills solo. I rode for 2.5 hours and took in about 50K winding through the vineyards just north of our villa. The soft almost tuscan hues were warming to my sole. After climbing for an hour, my bum was notably sore so I headed back.

Upon my return, Todd and I went for a canoe ride on the acqueduct then a spin into town for fromagi and Todd grabbed some gelato. I lead him out for the sprint to the two town signs.

At 5pm the winemaker gave us a tour of his wines, we did kartwheels on the lawn and had a picnic of group gathered foods! Great time!

Tomorrow we seek a mountain pass before the expected storm front moves in.

Our gelato fest

2007-09-24T11:54:00.000-07:00

Back at the winery we went to the best gelatoria to get a sample platter for our picnic dinner. The guy at the gelato shop was confused at the request, but he obliged.

Our wine maker tasting!

2007-09-24T08:50:00.000-07:00

Its a personal tasting lasting 2 hours!

Details

2007-09-23T10:17:00.000-07:00

Italian Dogs don't know English

2007-09-23T10:01:00.000-07:00

Except for NO and other tones you can express that "feel" similar, Tina, the dog pictured here has no clue what treat, go for a walk or sit mean. You'd think with a name like Tina it would know a few words of English.

Verona Sky

2007-09-23T09:55:00.000-07:00

Day 8 - Verona to Fane and Lake Guarda

2007-09-23T09:35:00.000-07:00

Guy and I small hurded it today so we could mellow spin and nurse our knees that took a beating in the dolomites from consecutive days of 8,000 feet of climbing with serious gradients.

We left our gorgeous winery villa around 10am after an amazing breakfast that included local fromagi, fresh honey made right here at Musella and fresh walnuts picked from the grounds. Wow the combination was splendid, yet Christi commented that the flavor was like eating a chicken mcnugget with honey sauce (I think that is a good thing).

Back to the ride...
Guy and I made like urban couriers heading into Verona, a gorgeous city that was full of people and pagentry. It was a festival and you could feel the joyful spirit in the air. After enjoying a cafe in the square, we mounted our bikes and headed for the hills known for growing amarone! Yum!

We rode a ways, then climbed a ridge above Verona, actually seeing the names of the giro racers on the road...yes, we were on their route and climbing well.

After climbing nearly 3K feet, we quickly look for food as I was hitting a wall and Guy was getting quiet. Yum, a wonderful trattoria that filled our bellies. The help staff was hilarious as we had no languages in common.

From there we motored to lake guardia where you could smell the harvest and the crush of wine in the air. Our real mission to the lake was for Gelato then the 2 hour TT back to our villa.

Guy and I collapsed on the gorgeous soft lawn as the dogs played with us.

We just got wind that Ron Millar in our group, who just joined us yesterday, broke his collarbone on the ride. We are stalling dinner until they return from the hospital.

More to come...

Look at the créme

2007-09-23T05:24:00.000-07:00

YUM!

More Verona

2007-09-23T02:21:00.000-07:00

Cafe in Verona

2007-09-23T02:19:00.000-07:00

We had to stop in Verona, a beautiful city with lots of people dressed in Shakespeare type outfits. Its warm, church bells ringing throughout the city and we are cafe-ed up and headed for the hills.

In Italy even the food is happy

2007-09-23T02:04:00.000-07:00

Sent from my SmartPhone...please excuse NotSoSmart typos

Men Dancing In Tights

2007-09-23T01:52:00.000-07:00

An integral part of any European cultural experience

Pizza

2007-09-22T11:27:00.000-07:00

Every town has a pizzaria, and every one of them has a brick oven, because its the only way to bake it.

Muesella Winery Verona

2007-09-22T09:08:00.000-07:00

We just arrived to our wine villa in Verona. Omg! Pailio, the winery owner has a chef preparing meals for us two days in advance AND the winemaker will be giving us a personal 2 hour your through their amarone wines! Stay tuned kids!

Down 2 Bolzano

2007-09-22T05:30:00.000-07:00

Family Wagon

2007-09-22T05:26:00.000-07:00

On the road to Verona.

Day 7

2007-09-21T22:52:00.000-07:00

Morning view and wake up from the Dolomiti

Day 7 - passo di gaiu

2007-09-21T07:49:00.000-07:00

We checked out of our hotel and headed to another little gem at the base of passo Di gaiu.

We left passo falzerengo for the back side of the huge peaks we have awed over for the last three days.

The weather has been nothing but spectacular with clear skies, puffy clouds and days that probably reach mid 60s, which is perfect when you are climbing.

Today was a short 30K day with 3500 feet of climbing and magnificent climbing up the back of Giau and it 29 turns (each numbered) reaching the heavens or just 2233 meters.

Back at the hotel with the most wonderful decent, we pause for dinner at a local gem.

Yes another amazing day in the dolomites. Tomorrow we head for Verona and our winery stay for a week.

Here is the Profiile of this climb featured in the 2007 Giro!

Day 6 - 126km 8K feet of gain

2007-09-20T11:24:00.000-07:00

So in the words of Beth, it was an EPIC ++ day. We rolled out at 10am and rolled in about 7pm. This did include 3 cafe stops, a lunch stop and of course a strudle stop.

We thought the ride would be a mellow three valley ride, but it was a mellow one valley ride with 2 HUGE passes the final summit at 6900 feet. That wasn't so bad until the nearly 4000 foot drop at dusk in shorts at a temperature of around 38 or 40 degrees. I'm now burried in down post a hot shower to warm myself.

Oh and I burned about 3700 calories and ate about 2K. I guess I can have gelato again tonight! Ill have some for you to Cindi.

Ciao!

Top of the No Chevron Climb

2007-09-20T10:37:00.000-07:00

Arguably the most annoying climb ever. would....not.....END!

2168 meters!

2007-09-20T09:18:00.000-07:00

Decend home

The road less traveled!

2007-09-20T08:10:00.000-07:00

Another no chev road.

Pretty!

2007-09-20T06:29:00.000-07:00

Flat ride???

2007-09-20T05:50:00.000-07:00

No chevrons but the STEEPEST climb we've done. 15-18% for 6 miles!!!! Ouch!
Good thing we had liver.i

Day 6 - ride around the west passes Dolomiti

2007-09-20T03:58:00.000-07:00

We set out at 10am today for another epic ++ ride. More to come.

2.5 hours into ride - Lunch in Valdora

2007-09-20T03:56:00.000-07:00

Now having to eat we order lunch in German. We are having Tyrolian soup and some pasta. Pictures to come if I don't eat it first.

Latte Anyone?

2007-09-20T02:42:00.000-07:00

Mmmm Breakfast!

2007-09-20T02:40:00.000-07:00

Still in calorie deficit!

I...can't....move.

2007-09-19T22:28:00.000-07:00

If someone is reading this, can you have some breakfast and pain killers sent to room #1 at the Hotel Astoria? I think i'll just lie here for the next week or so.

Day 5 - cortina, 3 passes, 132K and 9K feet of gain.

2007-09-19T13:34:00.000-07:00

Guy and I rose early and decided to take a small hurd for an early spin and without big hurd decision dynamics. So we left early, cold early for a ride that was to include the Marmalada, yet Lisa put us on the wrong road toward Austria.

Making lemonade out of lemons, we decided to do a BIG loop around the Tre Cicore peaks that would take us over 3 HUGE mountain passes (in this year's Giro d' Italia bike race) in nearly 6 hours of riding over 130 Kilometers in 9 thousand feet of climbing. After the final climb with pitches exceeding 12% for long periods, we realized we were in huge calorie deficit as we had burned over 4,000 calories and had consumed just 1500. Oh boy!

It was at this moment I told Guy that I would like to enjoy my first beer ever. He was happy to help and he ordered me up a wonderful hefiwiesen. We then dined with a fine Amarone, and some fromage, speck, pizze, goulash and pane. Didn't replace all the loss, but tomorrow is another day!

I'm now exhausted and planning for bed. I hope I wake at decent hour, because tomorrow we ride again!

Satisfied!

2007-09-19T08:31:00.001-07:00

We just summitted Tre Croci

2007-09-19T08:28:00.000-07:00

Gelato Stop #1

2007-09-19T06:41:00.000-07:00

Our Lunch Stop!

2007-09-19T03:59:00.000-07:00

Best view in town after 2.5 hours of riding and 4 more to go.

Tre Chime

2007-09-19T01:24:00.000-07:00

Bella

Wow its COLD!

2007-09-19T01:22:00.000-07:00

Small hurd left early, real early, cold early! Guy and I are stoping every 3K for warm beverage here in dolomites. He just got a brain freeze before this last stop. Its gorgeous though!

Gwert

2007-09-18T11:14:00.000-07:00

We just snuck into this vinoteca and the proprietor suggested this gwert from aldige. Fabulous!

Fun with Food

2007-09-18T10:35:00.001-07:00

Cortina wine and cheese and crackers! Nice Bill and Todd.

Gwert

2007-09-18T10:35:00.000-07:00

We just snuck into this vinoteca and the proprietor suggested this gwert from aldige. Fabulous!

Fun with Food

2007-09-18T10:16:00.000-07:00

Cortina wine and cheese and crackers! Nice Bill and Todd.

Gwert

2007-09-18T10:08:00.000-07:00

We just snuck into this vinoteca and the proprietor suggested this gwert from aldige. Fabulous!

Reposé

2007-09-18T04:41:00.000-07:00

A day of rain, so we rest as tomorrow is to be magnificent!

Guy orders Pizze!

2007-09-18T03:44:00.000-07:00

We arrived in cortina just in time for lunch.