Review: Schwalbe Ultremo ZX Tubeless Tires

Earlier this year, Schwalbe introduced it's first tubeless road tire. Based on it's popular race tire, the Ultremo, which is a available in standard clincher and tubular versions, the Ultremo ZX tubeless tire is said to have the lowest rolling resistance of any tire in their line-up. It is currently available only in 700x23 and comes as a set, including two tires, mounting fluid, sealant (rebranded Stan's) and a valve core remover.
I have been running tubeless road tires for three years now. The tubeless system first peaked my interest when I spoke with a Campagnolo rep at the Philadelphia International Championships race in 2011. Soon after, I purchased a set of Campagnolo Shamal Ultra 2-Way-Fit wheels and the rest is history.
I have been extremely happy with the tubeless set-up. In three seasons of riding these wheels, I have had only one flat. Granted that I am not (knock on wood) especially prone to flats on any set-up, the tubeless system with Effetto Mariposa Caffe Latex Sealant has saved my ass more than a few times. On a ride where three riders in a paceline simultaneously flatted, I road on for another sixty miles before realizing that I had a piece of glass lodged in the rear tire which the sealant had closed up. I rode the last fifteen miles home with that chunk of glass in the tire and then swapped out the tire in the comfort of my own basement.
It wasn't until a cut tire in the middle of July of this year, that I began thinking about the pros and cons of running tubeless on my solo trip to Italy. It was with that cut tire, which was too far gone for the sealant to work its magic, that I was stranded about twenty miles from home. Removing a tubeless tire, fitting it with a tube and running it as a standard clincher should be do-able. but there was no getting this thing to work on a hot, humid New Jersey day. Three destroyed tubes later, I was calling for a ride. And with that, my faith in tubeless started to fade, at least while traveling alone in a foreign country.
Thus began the search for and great deliberation over tires, latex tubes, tubeless or not, etc. Up until this point, I was running Hutchinson Fusion 3 Tubeless tires. As you might well imagine, by the advice of my local bike shop, I ended up going with the new Schwable Ultremo ZX Tubeless, and hence my review.
The primary reason I went with the Ultremo ZX was that I was told by the shop owner (who recently converted to these tires), the shop mechanic and some articles online, that these tires would mount much more easily than the Hutchinsons, which sometimes take two people to wrestle on (this by the way is my only contention with tubeless, they are a bit of pain to work with). In fact on some rims they might even mount by hand. I wasn't getting my hopes up. Campagnolo wheels push the limit as far as radius for tubeless so mounting any tire by hand would probably be a task too great for my wimpy climber's arms. I am happy to report that while they didn't mount up by hand, they were a fair bit easier to persuade onto the rims with the help of a nice tire lever. I figured if I did get a flat somewhere in Italy, at least I'd have a chance.
The good thing about tubeless is once you mount them and add the sealant (I went with the familiar aformentioned Caffe Latex in place of the Schwalbe Stan's sealant) you don't have anything to worry about. Cutting right to the chase, I rode these tires for a month up and down mountain passes in the low Alps of Lombardia, over the winding sali scendi of Toscana, bounced around over the ancient cobble streets of Roma (the possiblitiy of lower pressure with tubeless made this somewhat more bearable) and put them through the paces of two Italian Gran Fondos. I can say they performed superbly in all capacities. From the heat of the Tuscan sun to the mythic mist and rain of Lombardia, from the steep slopes of the Muro di Sormano to the pancake flat roads to Pisa, these tires excelled.
I am a convert for sure. The Fusion 3s served me well, but the Ultremos are in a class of their own. They are race worthy, but seem durable enough for heavy training. Their puncture resistance is second to none, and unlike Hutchinsons "race" tire the Atom, they are actually true to size. I am impressed through and through. Though I only have about 1000 miles on the tires, the riding I did in Italy was quite the thorough test. They handled superbly in the rain and ate up the switchbacks, going through the corners like being on rails. I swear I could hear them squeal like fancy tires on a Ferrari as I cut through the apex of the turns. They inspired confidence.
So, if you already run road tubeless, give the Ultremo ZX a try the next time you replace your tires. You won't be disappointed. If you don't run tubeless, consider it. There is a bit of a learning curve to setting them up and they do take a bit more work to maintain (replacing sealant every six months), but the work is worth the reward. Less rolling resistance, no possibility of pinch flats (nothing to pinch), better ride quality due to lower pressure, greater puncture resistance overall, and so on. Sure, I've done a hell of a lot of cursing when setting them up at times, but the pros certainly outweigh the cons, especially when on the Schwalbe Ultremo ZX Tubeless.

Updates From Home

Well, I'm back at home. Back to the routine of going to work, paying the bills, and riding what now seem to be very flat roads in and around Hunterdon County, New Jersey, USA. It is lovely here at this time of year. For the first time in years it seems like the weather is working out for a really nice changing of the leaves. Oranges, reds, yellows, and light browns stand out amongst the grayer skies of autumn. If I didn't get many falling leaves in Lombardia, I've certainly got them here. Despite that, I do miss the Italian terrain, the long climbs and consequently long descents. And, I find myself missing arugula in every grocery store, fresh tomatoes, and most of all, porcini. Things are different here and although I was only gone a month, those things seem even more noticeable now. Even the roads beneath my tires feel somehow different, despite the fact that these are the roads that I know best.
On Sunday it's the "season end" ride for my club, the Covered Bridges Ride. The metric century covers a lot of the beautiful bucolic countryside in Bucks Country, Pennsylvania, just across the a River from my house. It's a great ride, passing through a handful of preserved covered bridges along the way, and it'll be nice to run into a lot of familiar faces that I haven't seen since before my trip. While I rue riding at 8am at this time of year, when I'd rather be riding in the warmer mid-day, it's still a classic in this area that for me signals the end of the "fast" season... time to bundle up and go slow on the heavy bike with fenders is fast approaching. We can only hope that the weather will stay decent this winter and the first World Tour race (Tour Down Under) can't come soon enough.
Today I checked my results and photos for the two Gran Fondos (Gran Fondi) that I rode in Italy. The results are calculated by this company Mysdam which sells or leases timing chips for events all over Italy. They give you time splits on the climbs as well as categorical ranking and overall ranking. For the Gran Fondo Mondiale Franco Ballerini I placed 81st with an average speed of 33.32km/hr over 130km (900 riders in that event). In the Campagnolo Roma Gran Fondo I placed 475th with an average speed of 33.62km/hr over 104km (5000 riders in that event). In both events I came in a bit over 30 minutes after the winner. I am more than happy with that.

The Mondiale Gran Fondo was photographed but the site that they posted the pictures on doesn't seem to work. However, I was able to get the photos from Roma Gran Fond very easily, albeit for a bit of a fee. Just like the event itself, I'm a bit disappointed with the photos. Granted that I am sure it's quite a difficult task to photograph an event of this magnitude, I don't think they hired the most talented photographers. Even the general photos of the event were nothing special. I've posted here my favorite personal photo as well as a group shot of the start. I have a feeling that the start shot was nothing special so they Photoshopped the hell out of it to make it look artsy. Whenever I take a bad photo, I mess with it in Photoshop and sometimes you can make something cool. And, yes, this photo is cool, but I can't help but think that the photography leaves a bit to be desired. I don't mean to rag on the event, but I was generally disappointed and I wouldn't recommend it to a friend.

Heading home, and future plans.

Tonight is my last night in Italy. Tomorrow morning I head to airport for a 9.5 hour flight home to a suprisingly warm New Jersey. Although the trees have probably lost their leaves, and Halloween is just around the corner, I'm hoping to hold on to summer for just a little longer. Certainly being in Roma has helped me do that. It has been very warm here, which has been the most enjoyable thing about this place. There are a few good things about Roma and I got to experience them all today.
First, here is this gelato place called Gelato dell' Angelo which is on a little seldom traveled street called Via del Panico near the Ponto Sant' Angelo (near the Castel Sant' Angelo). It is by far the best gelato I've had in all of Italy. It's made right in the shop and it's actually cheaper than many others. Since today was my last day here, I had to go for it and get the 6Euro cup and try some more flavors. Absolutely the best!! If you come to Roma, it's worth walking over there (and go to the Castel Sant'Angelo while you're at it) to get their gelato. They have a sign at the doorway that says something along the lines of "gelato that you'll never foget." They are totally right. I went there last year, and it was so good I remembered exactly where it was to go again. I went yesterday, and you wouldn't believe how far out of my way I walked today to go there again.
Second, Trastevere. This old part of town has the best restuarants, the cheapest prices and somehow remains quaint in this gigantic city. On the recommendation of the hotel clerk, I went to a place called Ristorante Il Corte del Montecristo. Great food, hidden away on a little back street. I even got a pizza for the plane tomorrow. After a month of eating all around Italy, there is no way in hell I'm eating airplane food. If the whole plane smells like Porcini, oh well. The Italians on the flight will understand.

Third, the Basilica at the Vatican.
My day started out by going to Vatican museum. Once you're in there, you're stuck. It was even worse than Versaille last year. You can walk at your own pace, you can't change direction. There is one path through the place and the crowd is rediculous. I felt like we were cattle. It was the most terrible experience. And it all led to the Sistine Chapel. Before the Sistine Chapel, they make you go through the modern art. It's like they put that there so you get really bored and it builds up your anticipation. But the time I got to the Sistine Chapel, I was completely sick of it. As far as I'm concerned after a while it all looks the same. I don't think I even looked up. There must have been 5,000 people in that one room. At one point, after exiting the chapel, there was a women who worked for the musuem pushing a cart. I could tell that she was taking the fastest path out of there. I employed my bike racing tactics, "got on her wheel" and moved right up the pack, straight out the door. It was miserable and a complete waste of about $27. I thought I had finally found a place that I dislike more than Roma itself, that being Vatican City.

After taking the Metro back to my hotel to eat some lunch, I then decided I should probably go back to see the basilica. I took the Metro back, but only to Piazza del Popolo so that I could get my gelato. That turned out to be an incredible walk. I guess my knowledge of the city's geography is slightly off. I then walked back to the Vatican, went through the security, and finally to the basilica. Ok, that place is amazing. Granted there were tons of people, it's so unfathomably fast and beautiful. If I were the Pope I'd just go in there at night when no one else is around and sit in a chair right in the center of it all. You can only imagine how beautiful it must be if it were empty. Or maybe it would be really creapy. Who knows? Maybe not even the Pope.

And forth, if I come to Roma at the end of every trip, it really makes me want to go home. It's an interesting place, I just have no interest in it. It's not for me. I find more beauty in the olive trees or bunches of Tuscan kale, in wheels of cheese, and in switchbacks and tiny mountaintop chapels. This will be my last trip to Roma. Next time I come to Italy, I will fly to and from Milano if possible. Roma makes me ready to come home, or at the very least get out. For as much as I love Woody Allen, I can't see how he loves Roma, Paris, and New York so much. Granted I don't think I'd like LA just as much as he doesn't, I belong in the country and small towns. I'm exhausted.
So, a little summary:

Best meal I ate: Tortellaci Spinachi e Ricotta ai Funghi Porchini at Osteria Cento Poveri, Firenze
Best ride: Gran Fondo Toscana Franco Ballerini, felt like a true pro bike racer that day
Most beautiful scenery: Chianti
Best day in general: BOk, this is tough but the ride though Chianti to Siena, taking the train back after eating a great sandwich and gelato, then catching the end of the bike race. Any day I get to see some amazing scenery, ride my bike and see a bike race is a pretty great day, especially when you're in Italy.
Worst day in general: Arriving in Magreglio after five hours of traveling to only have potato chips for dinner.
Favorite people I met: Everyone, you've all made this trip so special. To everyone I've met and got to know along the way, thank you so much!! You can't even begin to know how much I mean that.
Best gelato: aforementioned place in Roma, but that place in Orvieto had the best cone
Best bakery: Forno Vecchio, Firenze
Best pizza: Regina Magherita, Osteria Cento Poveri, Firenze
Worst food I ate: Penne al Arrabiata, some place in Roma
Favorite market: There was something really special about the market in Orvieto
Favorite thing I bought here: Those shoes.
Thing I wish I could have bought:, but didn't or couldn't: More shoes.
Best road I cycled: Madonna del Ghisallo at dusk.
Worst road I cycled: Every road between Firenze and Pisa.
Most memorable bike race watched: Team Time Trial, Worlds for the people and Il Lombardia for the racing and atmosphere
Favorite off the bike activity: Madonna del Ghisallo Santuary and Museum
Most memorable moment of the trip: Dropping a group of 40 riders on the "Cima Coppi" of the Toscana Gran Fondo, coming over the top alone and grabbing a bottle from the souigneer (actually just a volunteer in a Conad shirt). That moment in time was perfect.

The Furture:
I don't know what my future is with Italy but I know Italy will be in my future.
I've also learned a lot more about myself on this trip. I feel like a lot more is possible. I think this trip will prove life changing. If anything, that trip has helped me to recognize that I want to change my life, and that is life changing enough.
What I do know, is that this blog will continue. Why stop writing? Am I going to keep you all up to date on the mundane details of my daily life... no. But I have a whole bunch of product reviews that I want to write based on things I've used on this trip. Aside from that, I'd like to continue to write about cycling, food, traveling, music, whatever else. Keep an eye on this space. Just because I fly home tomorrow doesn't mean the blog will end. Lot's of ideas flowing!
With that, I bid Italy "arivaderci, see you later". 

First some more food pics...

 

 

 

 

The amazing people you meet traveling:

If you recall, back on my second day in Lombardia, I mentioned that I met a whole lot of people, walking around Varenna with my bike after a ride up the Esino Pass. Well, one of those couples, Nancy and Steve from the Bay Area, California took some great photos of me by the Varenna Ferry Dock. It was a real chance meeting. They had just arrived and wandered over to the dock to find out some information for a ferry ride the next day and I was buying my ticket to get back to Bellagio for that memorable night-time ascent of the Ghisallo. They are avid cycling fans and in comunicating with Nancy over the last few days via email, I feel, although we only met briefly, in that time we made a great connection. One of the greatest things about traveling alone is that if forces you to talk to other people, whereas I see a lot of young couples or groups who seem so introverted. They can't seem to be bothered, and they want to do it all on their own. When you're by yourself, others quickly become friends, they can help you, and they, even more than all the scenery and all the monuments and all the gelato in the world, are what you will remember most about your trip.

Below are the photos Nancy took. The rare smile is a result of ascending and descending the Esino Pass, meeting Edoardo Bianchi's great-grandson, eating a pizza covered in arugula, and more than anything, Nancy and Steve's friendliness. If it's alright with them, I'll post their photo later as well.

*I know you're probably sick of looking at photos of olive groves, vineyards, Duomos, piazzias, markets and food... so I hope this makes you happy, Mom!

 

Campagnolo Roma (not so) Gran Fondo... and a bunch more

Well, where do I begin? Just as I feel about the city of Roma, I feel about this post... overwhelmed. Yesterday, I came back to the hotel with so much to share with you, and then the internet was down. So, this post is going to be the Moby Dick of blog posts, just warning you now.
Chapter 1- Yesterday.... all my troubles seemed so far away.... wait a minute, that's not where I was going with this.
Ok so yesterday, I had an entire day in Roma to do whatever I pleased with only one objective, sign-in for the Granfondo, get my jersey, check out the convention, get my timing chip, etc. I decided I might as well take the scenic route (which is pretty much any route in Roma) to get to Circus Maximus, where the sign-in and convention where. Now, a quick observation about Roma: like I said the juxtaposition of very, very, very old and new here make it very unique. If you were to come across any of these monuments, buildings, etc in any other city, especially in the US, your mind would be blown. But in Roma, it's just part of everyday life.
After circumnavigating the ancient ruins, I turned up some little back street, completely void of tourists. About half way down the street started the biggest traffic jam I've seen in Roma yet. I wondered what was going on? As I got closer, I realized it was the farmer's market. YES!! I entered, thinking, I'm not going to buy anything, just going to look around. But then there was cheese. Piles of scamorza, vats of mozzarella in every shape imaginable. Then there was bread, big crusty loaves, rolls filled with spinach. And a man selling dried figs. There was a lot more, but that's what I left with. Paired with my arugula and tomatoes, this was going to be a nice cheap lunch.

I've said it multiple times (to myself, that's who you say things to when you're traveling alone). If you eat every meal in a restaurant while in Italy, you're missing out. When I arrived here four weeks ago, I went straight to the dollar store (Euro store actually) and bought a bread knife, a cutting board, a vegetable peeler, a big plastic bowl and a colander. With that and my AG Russell Folding Chef's Knife, and a fork and spoon, I had a small kitchen for salads and sandwiches. In my "pantry" was a bottle of good Tuscan olive oil, a bottle of balsamic vinegar, a couple of bulbs of garlic. and some salt. The markets of Italy filled in the rest. I can honestly say that stumbling upon this market was exponentially more exciting to me that my visit to the Parthenon or the Trevi Fountain later that day.

I digress, as usual. From there, I walked around the corner and came upon my first intended destination, the Gran Fondo "extravaganza". It wasn't all that grand, I guess I was expecting a trade show to fill up the entire Roman park. Just a little expo, but anytime I see giant Campagnolo banners, displays of Sidi shoes and racks of saddles, I get pretty excited. I had designs of sneaking back to the Granfondo start area with a pair of scissors and cutting myself a section of Campagnolo barrier banner, but it didn't happen. After getting some stickers and brochures, buying a Gran Fondo t-shirt, I decided it was time to actually get on with the sign-in. After my experience with the Gran Fondo Toscana, I was prepared for a boatload of confusion and hassle. It was not to be, I went up to each of the booths, each labeled clearly, got my one-day race license, my packet and race numbers, my jersey and goodie bag, and my time chip. Now, this is where they get you. They give you this beautiful Sportful jersey and back in the convention area, they sell the matching bibs and socks. A lof of riders wear their team bibs as much for representation as teammate identification on a road filled with 5000+ riders all wearing identical jerseys. But I had to match, so I gave in to the bibs and socks. I figure, where am I going to get a set of good quality kit for that price anyhow, and how many of my friends at home are going to have that kit (none)?

With registration complete, I took the direct route back, past the Arch of Constintine, Palentine Hill, the Colosseum, and so on. I figured when in Roma you gotta walk by this stuff. But wow was it crowded. I was told by someone today that they spoke with a woman who has lived in Roma for 40 years and she has never seen it this crowded (specifically the Trevi Fountain).
Speaking of which, after my glorious homemade lunch I went for a wander, accidentally passing the Trevi Fountain, stepping into the Parthenon, walking all the way up to Piazza del Popolo, back to the Spanish Steps, running into a massive Communist Party rally, and then back to the hotel. I figured walking ten miles through hilly Roma would be a good "warm-up" for the Gran Fondo today.
Chapter 2- Today... the Gran Fondo
Kitted up in my fancy new digs, I left the hotel, not yet even bright and early, at 7:15am to line up for the Gran Fondo. Roll out was at 8am but with that many cyclists, I figured it was important to get there with enough time to avoid the rush. I don't think I've ever seen that many cyclists in my life!
The ride started by passing the Colosseum and out some insanely bumpy cobbled roads to the outskirts of the city, where we picked up a nice wide highway, closed all for us. There was a big sigh of relief amongst the group when we finally hit smooth pavement. Finally no more dodging lost bottles.
After about 10mi the first climb started. I had taped a cue sheet with the vital info for the climbs to my stem (just like the pros) so I knew that this climb was an easy 4.7% for 4.7mi with the last 400 meters being 15%. The hardest part of the first climb on any Gran Fondo is dodging the slow people and when you're a good climber, that's pretty much everyone else. The 15% section was really easy, especially after doing the Muro di Sormano last week. After a stretch of descent and flat road, we were onto the second climb. A bit longer, a bit steeper average, but not as steep max. As we came off that climb, we almost immediately started the next climb. It was at this point that I became very confused. I knew there would be three climbs, and we were only about 45mi into the ride. I figured that I must have missed something and there were more climbs.
A bit later, on the descent I noticed a sign, Arrivo 30km. WTF? Did I miss a turn? Now instead of being on the Gran Fondo course, I was on the 100km Classico course. I didn't see any turn off, no one else turned off. By the time I got to the finish at 104 km, I was pissed off. I rode straight through, and right back to the hotel. How could they do such a poor job marking the course? Granted I didn't feel tremendous today, not like I felt at the Worlds Gran Fondo, I still was expecting to ride 160km. It wasn't until further inspection of the website, that I noticed, contrary to the race packet, that the route had be changed so that the Gran Fondo was now only 104km. So I had done the whole thing. But what a bunch of crap! A 65mi Gran Fondo? What's so Gran about that?! With the expectation of spending 5 1/2 hours in the saddle, the little over three hours that it took to blaze through 65mi seemed like it was done and over in the blink of an eye. The climbs weren't hard, there was little nice scenery, the road condition was generally terrible. I didn't stick around for the pasta party. Have you ever tried to cook pasta for 5000? I'm sure it sucked.
The whole thing was a real disappointment , especially after how great the Toscana Gran Fondo was. Moral of the story, if you want to cycle in Italy, you'd best stay in Tuscany and further north. Now I know.
Chapter 3- Later Today/ Tonight

After another splendid homemade lunch, I decided since the Gran Fondo was quite easy, and I had plenty of energy to walk around, it was another wander through Roma. I think the best sights are the small streets , the people and as I said earlier, the markets. I walked all the way back to Circus Maximus to return my timing chip, then made my way up the Tiber for miles, until finally ending up at the Spanish Steps, where I sat for quite a while amongst the massive crowds. After this while, I had to go back to the hotel. Having to use the bathroom in a town filled with running fountains is some unusual form of torture, I'll tell you!

At dinner this evening, I had the pleasure of running into this lovely British couple for the third night in a row. They have been here on the tail end of a cruise that they had taken in celebration of their 50th Wedding Anniversary. They are absolutely lovely people and a great pleasure to talk to. Though originally from London, they have since moved out to the countryside of Britain's Lake District, a place that I always hear my dad talk about from his bicycle touring days. We talked about everything ranging from their travels, cycling, food, etc. Amazing people!

Roma... I'll try harder not to hate you this time.

I don't really like Roma. Did I say that already? Yes, I know it's the Eternal City, history all around, beautiful churches, fountains, sculptures, monuments, winding hilly cobbled streets, the ruins... all of it so iconic. I think what intrigues people most is the juxtaposition of the ancient and the modern. People living in a place that people have lived for thousands of years. But despite all of that, Roma is a big city, and I've come to realize that I don't like any big cities. At least I haven't yet been to a big city that I really liked anyway. I don't consider Philly a big city. And for the record, I have a love/hate relationship with Philly anyhow.
But this time, I am going into it a lot less fatigued, even more in love with Italy, and with an open mind. Luckily, I've already been to a lot of the big sites so I don't have to deal with all of that. Maybe not waiting on line at the Colosseum will help my mood. But I hate that things are overpriced, I hate that it is all so overwhelming, I hate having to wade through all of the tourist shops and BS. There's almost too much of everything here. It's like New York in that regard. But I'm here. I wouldn't have been here if it weren't for the Granfondo, but I've got to savor every moment and try to enjoy Roma.
I arrived here in the early afternoon. I knew exactly where I had to go, that being a major benefit of having been to this place before. What I did not take into consideration was that in addition to having to walk 700 meters from the station to my hotel, I also had to take on what must have been 500 meters of train platform. It was a real pain in the ass. I decided that packing the bike up, taking off the wheels, rear derailleur, pedals, saddle/ post and bars was way too much work to travel on a regional train for a bit over an hour. Boy, was I wrong!! Just getting to the train was a pain, carrying the gigantic bike bag, wheeling my suitcase and trying to wheel my bike. Luckily I met some nice people from Portland who helped me on and off the train, but once I got beyond that, I was on my own. It was certainly a learning experience. Now I know never to try to do that again. It must have taken me an hour to go less than a km. I was constantly switching hands, rolling positions, etc. I tried strapping the bike bag to the suitcase and wheeling it. That didn't work for long. I must have switched back and forth four times. Finally I got here somehow. If it is any consolation, the hotel is on Via Firenze. I don't think the road will take me to Firenze, but I can pretend.

Aside from eating some overpriced food, wandering a bit, finding a grocery store and some other boring stuff, the real highlight of today was visiting Cicli Lazzaretti. It must be one of Roma's olderst bike shops, in existence since 1916. The place was pretty small but they are a big-time Campagnolo center. It was a classic Italian bike shop, packed to the gills, bikes and frames hanging from everywhere, shelves up to the ceiling. It made me feel like I was back at Wheelfine Imports (if there is one thing that Michael has going for him is the true Euro bike shop experience). Highlights included a complete framed Campagnolo 50th Anniversary groupset, a set of 80th Anniversary Campy Bora wheels, a special addition Campagnolo Granfondo bike and a Colnago Ferrari "city bike" suitable for a millionaire. I can say that I was a bit disappointed in the size of the shop and the inventory, but it was a cool experience to see another legendary Italian bike shop. I think it got hyped up a little in my mind after reading about it online. Rossignoli in Milano is still the best bike shop I've been to in Italy... so far.

Once I got back to the hotel, it was too early for dinner so I went for another wander down Via Nationale. The problem with Via Natizionale is that it is dominated by clothing shops that fit into my price range. It's not the famous shopping district of big-time designers on Via del Corso, just shops with nice everyday Italian clothes made in Italy, cheap enough to be tempting, expensive enough to be quality... and run down my bank account. Like I said, I don't have the spare space or weight to bring back a lot of stuff, but some of this stuff is too good to pass up. I don't have to search for size extra small here. Hell, I shouldn't be an extra small anyhow but in America I am. My American underwear says size small/ child. WTF?! Anyway, here I'm a size medium.
Luckily I stumbled upon this place (photo below) after I bought a few shirts so I didn't have to mull over this many options. The woman in the shop said that they only have one shop in the US because people are too fat and wear their clothes too big in America. I hope one day they can open one up in New Jersey. I think they'd do really well in Jersey.

And I've definitely grown an appreciation for why my sister has so much clothing (she works in the fashion industry, and a major benefit of being short is that she is the same size as the samples, so she gets a lot of stuff really cheap or free). If you're surrounded by great clothes, you just want them all!!
Tomorrow, I hope to check out a few attractions that I didn't get to see last time, plus I have to go sign in for the Granfondo, check out the Granfondo convention, and try not to do any more shopping for the sake of my wallet and my suitcase. I think I'm already doing a better job of not hating Roma as much. I'll try to continue with that outlook tomorrow and we'll see how it goes. If only I could see Roma through the lense of "To Rome with Love" or better yet "Roman Holiday". Then we'd have something here.
P.S. Another observation is that these places are definitely more beautiful at night, at least the big cities anyway. Last time I was in Italy, we barely walked around at night. I think we really missed out.

Orvieto Market Day

Thursday from 8:00 to 12:00 is market day in Orvieto. The Piazza del Popolo, usually either empty or a parking lot at night if I recall correctly, is magically converted into an open air market. I don't know how long this market has been going on but I would be willing to bet a very long time. If not in this piazza than in another, probably all the way back to Etruscan times. And it is still thriving like mad to this day.

The market is primarily made up of food vendors, though discount clothing, shoes, fabric, bedding, yarn, toiletries, leather goods, and more make for a diverse experience. But by far, the most exciting part is the food. And it's not just fruits and vegetables. Although produce is the primary food good featured in this market, there were at least two trucks that were basically Italian delis on wheels. Every type of cheese, cured meat, bacala, etc; it was all there. I couldn't believe that. I've seen vegetable markets before but this was something else. There were at least two stands selling dried fruit, nuts, olives, and candies.

The vegetables were incredible. I wished that I had a kitchen. Not being able to buy anything beside a few carrots and radishes to go with my tomato and arugula salad was excruciatingly painful. Never have I been so emotionally moved by a crate of Tuscan Kale, piles of Fava, bundles of herbs gathered from the side of the road, whole bushels of dried hot peppers. And the characters of the maket; the friendly vendors, and the flocks of Nonna with their compression stockings and wire grocery carts. One day, I will be one with them, shopping at a market somewhere in Italy, but next time for real.
After a visit to the market, root vegetables, clementines, walnuts and licorice in hand, I moved on to my favorite little bakery in town. Everywhere I go, I end up finding a favorite little bakery and instantly become a loyal costumer. Unlike in Firenze, where I had a kitchen and bought loaves of bread, cheese, olives, etc. I couldn't do that here, so snacks are all that I buy. And this bakery had plenty of snacks. Aside from the amazing chocolate pistacchio biscotti that I've been using as cycling food, this bakery must be known for its grissini, aka breadsticks. They must have a dozen and a half different varieties of grissini. So far, I've tried: rosemary/sea salt (favorite savory type), sun-dried tomato/ onion, black olive, chocolate/ hazelnut, and fig/walnut (WOW!!). Just to get good fresh figs in the States is hard, none-the-less something like this. I'm in love. When do you walk in your local bakery and get something like this? And it's cheap, just like everything at the market. Good, quality food is the norm here and you don't have to go broke eating well. To quote an excerpt from an emotional Facebook post from earlier in the day, "People here eat whole foods without having to the pay the Whole Foods price."
All the while, it was raining quite hard. That didn't stop anyone. Every Nonna was rushing around like squirrels gathering nuts (some literally were, it's chestnut and walnut season here) unabated by the persistent rain. One observation about Italians is that even if it's merely drizzling, they have their umbrellas up. I felt one drop and bam, ten umbrellas went up in a matter of seconds. The don't like to get wet. You can always spot the British tourists when it rains. They're the ones without umbrellas wearing short sleeve shirts.
Because of the rain, my planned ride got pushed back further and further in the day. By the time I was able to leave, the roads still wet however, it was half past two. Definitely not enough time to get in the 100km I had planned and be back before the next downpour. I knew a shortcut for my route, taking out a climb and about fifteen miles, so I decided that would be the course of action. Ride distance at this time of year in Umbria is often determined by how much time you have between the morning rain and the afternoon rain versus how wet you are willing to get. If you have the motivation to get soaked through every day, then you'll be fine riding a lot in October. I got soaked and filthy yesterday. I wasn't about to do it again today. As I got into the ride, the wind really picked up, stronger than any wind I'd experienced in my time here. Then the black clouds rolled in. It was time to head home. Unfortunately my penultimate ride in Italy was cut short, but in 25 miles I was able to do 3000ft of climbing and see some amazing back-roads through vineyards and olive orchards as far at the eye could see. As the wind blew the moist air through the grapevines, you could smell that harvest time is soon upon us.
And my bike still got filthy. Wet roads lead to filth in farm land. At least when it rains, all that gets washed away.
With much less riding then I had hope for, but a lot more walking, I am through with Orvieto, moving on to Roma in the morning. I don't particularly like Roma. I don't really like big cities. You can have New York, Roma, Paris, London, etc. I'm fine with Philly, Firenze or better yet Hunterdon/ Bucks or Chianti. But it's off to Roma. All roads lead there apparently, but I'm taking the train. My final stop on this beautiful trip. In Roma I have a few unchecked boxes on the tourist list and it's not exactly a cycling city so no riding other than the Granfondo on Sunday. Tomorrow I go back into tourist mode, camera slung across my back. No matter what I'll still never stoop so low into the tourist scrum as to wear a backpack on the front or take iPad photos. Oh the horror!!

*Self-editors note: If I sometimes switch tenses, my bad. It drives me nuts, but lots of times I am writing these posts while lying in bed after a long day, ready to pass out. Please excuse these errors. I do my best to proofread, but sometimes things slip through.

If I've learned anything in Italy, it's how to ride in the rain.

Today's forecast was for sunny skies, and patchy showers around. My cycling route must have fell right into those patches. The ride took me through the Umbrian countryside surrounding Orvieto and dipping into Lazio a little further southwest. It started off beautiful and sunny, but at this time of year, weather moves through quickly and one minute you can have blue skies, the next minute black clouds and pouring rain. I left my rain jacket at the hotel today. I figure it was warm enough to get by with just shorts, a jersey, a wool base-layer, and arm warmers. Luckily I was right, otherwise today would have been a bit unpleasant.
My ride basically had two "destinations" today. The first came only fifteen or so miles into the ride but it was the most notable one. Civita de Bagnoregio, an ancient town sitting out of a little "land island". A few people still live there, there are a few restaurants and a hotel or two catering to tourists. There is no way to get there besides this modern foot bridge that you must pay to cross. It's cheap, it helps preserve the town and the bridge which is well worth it. Getting there on a bike is nearly impossible since the foot bridge has some steep stairs so walking in bike shoes was part of the game plan today. The town is like nothing I have ever seen. It should be one of the wonders of the world, but then they'd get too much traffic. The town has been eroding at the edges over time and it's one of the most dramatic things I've ever seen.

Once I left Bagnoregio, it started to drizzle. The further south I went, the wetter the roads were. As I turned west, the rain really started. It wasn't pouring but steady enough. Fine, no problem. The only annoying thing here is that the roads are "tired". They are in decent condition at their best. Not any big potholes but just steadily bad pavement. Luckily traffic was minimal and I could ride down the middle of the road on the smoothest parts when possible. Umbria and Lazio aren't the cyclists' paradise that are Tuscany and Lombardia. The scenery is nice though. If Chianti is the land of grape vines, Umbria is the land of oil trees. There are tons of frantoio here, little olive oil factories. I would normally be really excited about anything olive oil, but seeing as how I don't have the spare weight or space to bring back lots of oil, these oil factories were of little interest to me. One day I'll come back with an empty suitcase for clothes and an empty suitcase for olive oil.
As I ventured further I came upon the gigantic Lake Bolsena. The lake at one point in time was actually a volcano. What must have been an incredibly violent eruption occurred and the volcano blew to bits, forming much of the geographic landscape that makes towns like Orvieto and Bagnoregio so spectacular. By the time I got there, my Garmin had died (must have forgot to charge it after my last ride in Magreglio), it was raining quite hard, the roads were in less than ideal condition and it was quite dark from the rather ominous rain clouds above. This made the lake look quite scary. It's so big and dark and you can really get a feel for the fact that it was a volcano. For some reason it just didn't look at all inviting.
When I got to the town of Bolsena, I stopped for a second under the overhang of a local bank to eat a few biscotti before embarking on the "biggest" climb of the day, back towards Orvieto. There is something that is so great about climbing in the rain. You just feel like such a pro. And the climb was easy. That week of climbing in the Alps has made anything under 7% seem like a walk in the park. I was flying up this climb! A group of hikers were braving the weather and a few of them turned and yelled "Vai, vai, vai" to cheer me on. That's always encouraging.
Luckily, this climb and the final descent back to the edge of Orveito were freshly paved, which was very welcome. As I approached Orvieto, the view of the town from a few kilometers out was remarkable. The town is small, but when you can the whole panorama of it from a distance, it looks so much larger, the tower and the Duomo look so much more prominent. It's a view of the town that I'm sure a lot of tourists don't get, and I am so fortunate for the bicycle, as it affords me the unique opportunity to really see this place. Unfortunately, in stopping for a photo, I then got stuck behind some camper all the way down to the base of the town. You're wearing out my brake pads people!!

As I climbed back up to the center of town, the sun comes out. Of course! The problem with riding in the rain, although it makes you feel epic, is that you get dirty, your cloths pick up every grit from the road, and the bike gets filthy. It's easy enough to clean the bike at home in the bike stand, but without that, a few hours were spent post-ride cleaning the bike, rinsing the filth from my clothes and hanging them to dry out my hotel window, and stuffing crumpled-up Gazzetta dello Sport in my cycling shoes, with hopes that it would help them dry for another ride tomorrow.
And, chances are I'll get wet again tomorrow. It's just that time of year. Whether it rains for five minutes or five hours, it doesn't matter. Once you're wet, you're wet. Tomorrow, I hope to get in a metric century with some better climbing. Today was too flat. I also think ridewithgps is lying to me. If today's ride had 5000 ft of climbing in 50 miles that I must be in phenomenal shape. I guess we'll see on Sunday at the Campagnolo Roma Granfondo. If I climb like a champ, I can say, "oh, well, I was training in the Alps last week so... haha". If I ride like crap than I know I ate way too much gelato.

Saliscendi... in a different way.

I'm sitting in a hotel lounge in Orvieto, Umbria. With every phase of traveling there are some form of challenges. Whether it's the fourth floor walk up in Firenze, potato chips for dinner in a deserted Magreglio, or recently failed wifi and no self-service laundry in Orvieto, every phase of this trip presents new challenges. And every one of these challenges, however small they may be, become more easily dealt with and taken in stride with the experience gained as a traveler. None of the "inconveniences" are major (well, maybe if I couldn't get any food in Magreglio without a car, that would have been a deal breaker), but each deviates you from the plan a little bit. I'm learning to deal with it. Traveling helps you learn how to deviate from the plan. That's what makes it interesting.

Because I have never been to Orvieto before, I had planned to do a day of tourist activities, the Duomo, roam around town, and so-on. Upon arriving here after an epic day of traveling (riding a bus, four trains, a funicular and another bus from 7:30am to 3:30pm), I was "pleasantly surprised" that the hotel wifi was down and that there was no laundromat in town. Laundromats aren't a big thing here. Either you wash and hang your cloths yourself, or you pay someone to do the whole thing. I found the nearest Lavanderia... they were closed. Back to the hotel to ask for directions to another one. This one was across town, but luckily town is really small. Like most businesses here, be they restaurants or lavanderias, this place was family run. The woman's son spoke a tiny bit of English and I, despite not drinking wine, know that secco (as in prosecco) means "dry". I wasn't sure if they used dryers, but I had to make it clear "non secco fabrica tecnica" otherwise I was going to end up with a $1200 pile of melted cycling clothing.

So, with my clothes entrusted with this family until 6pm the next day, it was predetermined that I would not be cycling until Wednesday. With that, today became a tourist day. I must admit, it was a little strange, but enjoyable to sling the camera over my shoulder with the hand-drawn map in my pocket for my first day as a tourist on this trip. Thus far, I haven't really done anything touristy. This was the first time I paid to get into so place, followed closely behind by some obnoxious tour group.
First, let me say that this place is unbelievably picturesque. If I told you, imagine a typical town in Italy and you magically had the ability to sketch it out, you would probably draw something that looks like Orvieto. Yes, it is a popular tourist destination, but unlike Firenze, it isn't filled with tourist trap restaurants or too many stores selling hokey pasta covered aprons or blue Italia sweatshirts. It's everything you'd expect Italy to be, and it's especially beautiful at night. Practically every street is cobbled. The walls that elevate the town above the Umbrian countryside, created by volcanic activity and erosion, feature beautiful ramparts that you can stroll along. The streets are narrow and winding and it's preserved antiquity to the max! Just beautiful!
In spite of that, there isn't too much to do here, by the way of tourism. That's not to say that it's boring in any way. I could spend a long time here just strolling the streets, every one unique and romantic, especially after rainfall, the ancient paving stones glistening like diamonds under the light of antique street lamps, which line the main passages.

I hit the main sites today. I started with the Duomo. It's facade is ornate and so grand in stature, a magnificent edifice in comparison to rest the town of two to three story terracotta-roofed stone houses. The interior is quite bland, especially considering that in many ways (the alternating green and white stone construction and colorful facade) it reminded me much of the Duomo in Siena, which has the most elegant and dare I saw gaudily decorated interior I've yet seen in a Duomo. However, the two chapels on the sides of the main pulpit (I think that's what you call that thing) were beautiful and painstakingly detailed.

Many thoughts struck me as I wandered this great cathedral today: 1) I am so consumed by the process that must have ensued to create such a structure and decorate it in such a way. No one does anything like that now. It's all about efficiency. And that leads to boring architecture. What incredible paint jobs, and the frescos, even so much as laying each stone to alternate colors, and the geometric tile jobs on the floors. That amazes me. 2) The Catholic Church has a lot of money (yet they charge 3 Euro to get in). 3) I don't know the slightest thing about Catholicism. I look up there at Jesus on the cross and I see him as a man, and dying that way had to really, really suck! I am very intrigued about the whole thing. It's quite a story, certainly as a literary work anyway. 4) I'd like to travel somewhere where Jesus is not the "God of choice". It would be interesting to see people with that spiritual connection to another deity. But no, I'm not going to Israel. Too bad China has gotten so Christian, Buddh would be cool. Maybe one of my Indian students will take me to India to lean about Hinduism.
Anyway, yes, I digress. This is what happens when I don't post for a few days! My next stop was... I don't remember. I did a lot of walking today. Oh, right! I went under the city into the caves. How could I forget that?! Across the piazza from the Duomo there was a little shop that sold tickets for Underground Orvieto. Be it for a well, food storage, wine storage, olive oil production, pigeon raising (a typical Umbrian dish), mining, or even refuge during times of war (as recently at WWII), the network of caves, essentially peoples' basements, were a major part of Etruscan life in Orvieto. It wasn't so much of a network, as it was tunnels from individuals' houses. Today, through excavation, a few of these manmade caves have been opened as a fascinating underground "museum". While quite fascinating indeed, I was honestly more excited about the incredible amount of wild rosemary growing on the side of the path to the caves. Wild rosemary is as important to this area's cuisine as the wild boar. It's like nothing I've ever seen. Bushes of it four feet high! (Look at the picture below Mom. That's how much rosemary I want). Then I found a big patch of wild fennel (not the bulb type), and then wild thyme, and even wild arugula. No, I wasn't in someone's garden, I'm in Umbria!

After strolling the ramparts for a bit, stopping in an intriguing bakery for rosemary sea salt breadsticks and chocolate pistachio biscotti, I was off to lunch (ravioli filled with mozzarella di bufala in a simple sauce of pomodorini and basil) then my next tourist stop, to climb the clock tower at the center of town. Though not that high itself, the tower is at the highest point in town and very strategically located. From there it was an incredible 360 view of the town and surrounding Umbria and Lazio as well as a bird's-eye view of the Duomo. This was the first time ever that I climbed a tower in Italy without waiting on line... a notably unique experience.

My last tourist destination was in the complete opposite direction, and I don't mean on the other side of town (actually it was but that's not the point). I mean, I climbed to the top, now I was going to descend to the bottom. Il Pozzo di San Patrizio (St. Patrick's Well), an ancient well commissioned by a fearful Pope who hoped to use Orvieto as a refuge if Rome was sacked and need a reliable water sources. The construction was innovative. Basically it feature a double helix design, wherein a staircase with steps wide enough for a donkey carrying buckets, winds its way down the well. At the bottom, you cross a "bridge" over the water and ascend a separate similar staircase back up. It's really cool! Definitely the first and maybe last time I climb inside a well.
So, in that way I did my fair share of saliscendi today. Between the stairs and walking from 10am until 10pm, I'm pretty fried. Aside from tourist activities, there is plenty of great clothes shopping here. I definitely have a weakness for Italian shoes and sweaters. I just want them all! Italians are shaped like me. The aren't gigantic like Americans, so the clothes here actually fit me! And the style definitely suits me, so with that I am constantly distracted by sweaters, shoes and shirts that are just impossible to find in the US. I have serious plans to come here one day with an empty suitcase and stock up. Between that and the food (the food is everything you might expect...times a million), I really need to live here. It has to happen. Just walking down the street from the cheese store, to the bakery, and to the fruit and vegetable store, it's magical. I just need a tiny house with an outdoor oven and a little plot for a garden, and I'm set. I'm going to figure out a way to make it happen because America just isn't doing it for me. Hell, somehow I even love eggplant over here!

The big thing in Orvieto at this time of year is tartufo... truffles. The are bountiful and comparatively cheap. Combine that with porcini (they actually do) and I'm in mushroom heaven (yes, I know that truffles aren't technically mushrooms, but tomatoes aren't technically vegetables, and peanuts aren't technically nuts, so...). I've yet to have any tartufi. That's on tap for dinner tomorrow after some good cycling in the Umbrian countryside. With that, I'm off to bed. I've probably left something out, but I'm sure you're sick of reading this book of a post by now.

The town is elevated on a plateau. Even today, of course, the city and its geography are not except from the passing of time. There is now a technological effort to preserve the town from landslides and erosion.

At some point today someone asked me what time it was. I wanted to say, just look up, or listen for the bells every 15 minutes.

Inside the well (pics above and below).

Piazza della Republica. I guess every city in Italy has one of these now that Italy is a Republic.

Street work is a bit... different here. Every stone is removed by hand. At some point they'll put them all back.

Oh yeah, I also went to this cool theater today. Just like any theater now-a-days, they have a vast array of performances, but opera still is a mainstay. This is Italy afterall.

Il Giro di Lombardia

Il Giro di Lombardia, also know as Il Lombardia, also known as "La Classica delle Folgie Morte" (The Race of the Falling Leaves) was today. The weather was less than ideal, light rain for most of the race, but nothing compared to the downpour last year, or even more recently, last week at the Worlds. This race is definitely a lot harder though. While this race had only four major climbs compared to the up and down (saliscendi) of Toscana, the climbs here are a lot longer and a lot steeper. These are the Alps. These are mountain pass roads. Okay, not the Stelvio or the Gavia but really hard climbs none-the-less. Combine that with rain, a particularly sketchy descent off the Colma di Sormano, and you have one hell of a race.

The usual allotment of about 180 riders or so started the race. By the time they got to where I was watching from, on the steep upper slopes of the Madonna del Ghisallo, there was Thomas Voeckler and a pursuing pack of no more than forty, with few big names (Gilbert and Contador) popped out the back. Luckily it wasn't pouring, and I was even able to forgo my borrowed umbrella for a while to get some nice pictures. The best thing about switch backs is that you can watch the riders come up them, and then run to the other side before they get there to get another photo.
The excitement was greater than the Worlds. I think the weather dampened things a bit in Firenze. Plus, in the Worlds race, you get to see them come a whole bunch of times. In a point-to-point race, you get one shot to get that photo and cheer your favorite riders on. It was a stacked field too so there was a lot of cheering (though the tufosi will cheer for everyone, even the fat touring cyclists coming up after the race is well and gone). Also, the first official's car has a PA speaker on the roof. That insight into the race combined with the sound of the helicopter makes for an electric atmosphere. The anticipation is even more exciting than the race itself sometimes.
As usual, with bike races, I spent a lot of time waiting around today. Luckily with my hotel being less than a kilometer from where I wanted to stand to watch the race, I was able to sit inside and stay warm and dry, watching the live stream on Rai Sport on my iPad until they hit the base of the Ghisallo. Finally at around 3:30 I made my way down there, the racers came by, and it was back to the hotel to watch the finale online.

I was really rooting for Voeckler. He rides with panache and really goes for it. Sometimes it works out gloriously for him, other times, it's an epic effort that just leads to failure. Unfortunately for him, it was the latter today. He got caught on the final climb with 10km to go to the finish. But a great effort and made the race very exciting. You can always count on him for that. I was originally rooting for, like most of Italy, Vincenzo Nibali, but unfortunately he crashed really hard at the base of the Colma di Sormano and climbed into the ambulance with only 90km remaining.
So, if you didn't watch, or haven't read online yet, defending champion Joaquin Rodriguez, by attacking in the last kilometer of the steep final climb and holding off Valverde on the descent into Lecco, won the race. It was surely a great redemption for him after coming so close last week in Firenze. New World Champion Rui Costa was unable to hang-on on the flat roads before the final climb and slipped back after putting in a little work for teammate and today's runner-up Valverde.

All in all, it was a great race. It's the last big race of the season, the last bike race I'll see this year. Upon waiting for the riders to come along today, I realized nearly every bike race I went to this year it has rained. Granted it didn't rain all week for the Worlds, it more than made up for it on the final day for the biggest event, so that's what I'm taking into consideration. Regardless, bike racing is great, especially when you get to see the big stars fight it out over here amongst the tufosi in Italy.
This will conclude my Lombardia chapter of my trip. Tomorrow it is off to an entirely new experience in Orvieto, Umbria. I heard it is a wonderful place. It will be nice to be back in a town to walk around at night, and seeing the sun again is much anticipated. All in all, my time here "living on top of the mountain" in Lombardia has been spectacular. The quiet surrounds and the smell of burning wood lingering in the cool moist air reminds me of home. I've meet so many great people, rode so many amazing roads, it's been an absolutely beautiful experience.

Dan Martin was hoping for victory and he came close. He managed 5th after failing to follow Purito's (Rodriguez) attack, then suffering a mechanical or crash in the finale (not sure what happened).

Ivan Basso was another hope for today, but I think his time in the spotlight is gone. A lot of other racers of his generation, Dave Zabriskie, Juan Antonio Flecha, Marco Pinotti raced their last race today. Maybe it's time Ivan to hang up the wheels (even though I said the same thing about Horner and look at him. Ivan was riding strong at the Vuelta until he was forced to abandon due to hypothermic conditions).

Rui Costa near the front in his new Rainbow Jersey. He went with the white shorts which is not customary and flies in the face of tradition, but maybe we is thinking to next year, when he's switching to Lampre. There is no way he's wearing neon pink and blue shorts with a white rainbow jersey. That would look worse than AG2R's shit brown shorts (which by the way, look a lot worse in person than they do on tv, I was surprised).

Captions for selected photos above:

Philippe Gilbert just couldn't hang in there on the climbs today, even though he has twice won this race in the past. However, it allowed me to get the best shot of any cyclist I've ever gotten so, thanks for falling off the back Phil!

Voeckler parts the tufosi, who, even though he is French, were supportive of his brave efforts.