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| Gran Fondo Mondiale Franco Ballerini- Lucca- Sept 2013 |
At the end of this summer, I'll be taking a much needed vacation, heading back to Italia for some more cycling. It's sure to be a much different trip this time around, though. No big Gran Fondo, no epic races to watch; just me and my bike, some hills, some mountains, and lots of great food and a bit of relaxation.
As previous readers may recall, last year I went to Italy for a month and in that time, I stayed in four unique and beautiful places (make that three, I still hate Rome). I participated in two Gran Fondi and attended the UCI Road World Championships and Il Giro di Lombardia as a spectator. I visited picturesque towns throughout Tuscany and stayed in a near abandoned- for- the-season mountain top village in the low Alps, just down the street from an icon cycling museum and sanctuary. It was a beautiful, eventful trip.
I won't be doing many of those things this time around, but I hope to have just as amazing of a time. This trip will be only three weeks long. I'll be dividing my time between Verbania, on the shores of Lago Maggiore, and Parma, in the heart of Italy's "food capital", Emilia-Romagna. I plan to ride, of course, but I also can't wait to get back to the markets and cook. Both of these places are new to me, so I'm very excited to see a part of Italy that I've never been to before. It'll be a bit of an adventure, but I have felt so at home in Italy that I'm sure to find that sentiment again.
Since it's a shorter trip, I hope not to spend much time on the train. Both locations are easily accessible from Milano, so much so that I might even sneak in one day to get some of that amazing focaccia and shop for a pair of shoes. I hope to also ride to Reggio-Emilia and Modena and instead a buying lots of cloths this time around, maybe I'll fill any empty space in my luggage with dried porcini mushrooms!
I'm really excited about this laid-back trip. I am far from the fitness level that I had achieved before my trip last year. While I have a few weeks still to train, I have no "racing" goals this time around. I just want to ride and have fun and unwind a bit. It's really the greatest feeling in the world to wake up and remember that all you have to do is ride your bike. As an avid Italophile, I'm a firm believer in the metric system and the right to a proper three week holiday, amongst other things, so I can't wait to have mine.
So, I hope you'll follow along again (or first the first time). I'll be departing the thrid week in August, so watch this space for updates and hopefully some great stories and photographs.
I'll sign off for tonight with some well wishes for Vincenzo Nibali in hopes that he'll be able to win this 101st Tour de France for Italia. Vai Nibali!!
