Pisa... well somehow the tower looks bigger on pizzeria placemats.

Upon arriving in Pisa after a fairly miserable 55 mile ride, I think it's fair to say that I was a bit underwhelmed. The town itself only consists of The Field of Miracles as they call it and a bunch of touristy stuff surronding it. There is a big airport there, and a large enough train station, but it's not too much to jump up and down about. There were far to many tourists taking the obligatory "hold up the tower" picture, so I snapped a couple of shots, talked to some Canadian cyclists for a few minutes and then I got out of there. I mean, it's cool I guess. The tower really does lean quite a lot. Obviously that's the attraction. It's quite remarkable when you think about it that it's still standing. If it were in America, they would have knocked it down a long time ago, and they certainly wouldn't let people go up it in. Yeah, because one day out of nowhere, it's just gonna fall over. I'm convinced that a) either Italy doesn't have as many sue happy lawyers, or b) suing someone for something stupid like "I tripped over the uneven stairs" or "I didn't realized that coffee would be hot" is not allowed here. If you trip over an uneven stair in Italy, tough shit, they're everywhere and chances are people have been tripping over that same step for thousands of years.

Anyway, I digress as usual. The ride to Pisa was so much less than remarkable, it was actually remarkable. It was only slightly interesting for two reasons. It's good to see that a country that is so beautiful in so many ways has some pretty ugly parts too. And although it seems like everyone is living in gloriously preserved antiquity, there are just as many people living out in the burbs (well, not the perfect lawn and vinyl siding type burbs of America) going about life not picking olives or grapes. The other interesting thing is that I would never think to ride roads like I did today if I were in the States. I'd mostly likely be dead. While I planned my route diligently to avoid the bigger state roads, these pancake flat provincial roads were busy at times, went through many little towns (not the quaint, picturesque Tuscan ruins type either) and lacked any form of scenery until I got within 20km of Pisa (and even that was minimal). Yet, I saw more cyclists on these roads than I have out in the incredible hills of Chianti. I guess when you want to do a flat ride, you can't expect much. But again, the drivers, even 18-wheelers were courteous, never so much as a thought of honking besides the friendly warning, no one attempted to run me over and I was given the respect I deserve as a user of the road, not treated as a second class citizen like at home. While I wouldn't say I was overjoyed with the traffic, it's just part of the ride sometimes. Another observation: people know how to drive in traffic circles here. I mean, they better. There are tons of them. And they all have the same predictable traffic flow... yeah, I'm talking to you Flemington. ("Here's an idea: let's make every circle different, let's completely change the traffic patter of a circle that has been a particular way for years, then we'll see how many times a day people can smash their giant SUVs into each other!")
While I wasn't keen on climbing anything today, and thus avoided some monster climbs that looked scenically appealing, the ride was still tough in it's own way. 50 miles of boring flat roads means no coasting to descend, no getting out of the saddle to climb, and a headwind to top it off. But finally I got there.
Fast forward, I got myself on the train back to Firenze and went right from the station out to the race course to catch the last bit of the U23 men's race. I managed to get a spot within the last 500m and saw them come by for the last two laps. I ran into an Aussie couple that I met in the confusion of registration at the Gran Fondo last weekend and we got to talking for quite a while. Super nice people! I then made my way over to the Napoletano pastry stand and got the last Sfogliatelle. By then, it was getting on dusk and I figured I best be getting back to my apartment.

I decided since I have a fridge full of food (I may have gotten a little carried away at the Mercato) that I should eat a home tonight. Plus all these pastries and pizza had me craving the big bag of pomodorini and arugala that was calling to be made into salad. My go-to meal here, since I don't have a pot big enough for pasta and I don't have an oven, it to make salad and bruschetta. Tonight, in an effort to clear out the fridge since I'll sadly be leaving this amazing city on Monday morning, I decided to go all in and add the remaining mozzarella di bufala to the bruschetta. Wonderful idea! The other great thing is that I bought a fairly good size bottle of olive oil and I can't let any of it go to waste. And, not having a toaster, the best way to toast bread? To "fry" it in olive oil.
Well, enough with the trivial details of my day. Who honestly cares? Besides that, I went for a pre-dinner stroll, basically for two reasons. This city is beautiful at night. And the people watching is good too. Also, I am trying to break in these new Italian leather shoes. It takes quite a bit of walking, albeit in small doses, to break them in. I walked all the way down to Ponte Vecchio, which as would be expected on a Friday night, was packed. Along the way, I found more great bicycle-themed decorations in stores that I thought I'd share. I also found two more vintage shops (Samara!!) and a men's shop that usually gets hidden behind the madness of the San Lorenzo Market, which, aside from having some amazing suits, also had a button-up high-neck cardigan which I've been looking for. I have to make time to get back there before I leave this city.

Walking the course through the city center at night is very peaceful.

The Ferragamo bike is more easily seen at night. It's not chromed out, it's actually gold plated. Even better. Ferragamo clothes are amazing. Their men's section basically sells everything in black and black. That's my kind of store. Perhaps one day I can wear Ferragamo, I just have to get out of the music business and make some money.

I don't recall which designer this was at but they had his and hers bikes dressed up. They looked a lot more impressive in person.

Bike themed decor varied greatly from shop to shop.

I think Louis Vitton missed the part of bike polo where it's not played by distinguished British Monarchs, rather it's played by bearded, smelly hipsters in cut-off jean shorts in cities like...oh... Philthadelphia. Nice try guys.

A for effort...sort of.

So, that's it. Tomorrow is the Elite Women's Road Race, which I'm really excited about. I think the Americans have a good shot with either Eve Stevens or Mara Abbott. Marianne Vos (Dutch) is probably unbeatable, but you never know. That's all for now. Buonanotte!

Toscana- Made for the Bicycle

Today I rode a quintessential Tuscan ride. Through the hills of Chianti, covered in grape vines, olive trees and cypress trees as far as the eye could see, I ended up in Siena, a little less than 100km from Firenze. The landscape is as though it was made for the bicycle, or perhaps the bicycle was made for it. The climbing started within a few miles of leaving the city and in the first 10 miles, I had climbed over 1500ft. For the first 35 miles, I climbed 85% of the time. The final 20 miles I descended 75% of the time. Once I got to Piazza del Campo in Siena, my journey was over and the train would be my means back to Firenze.
It was a slightly chilly day a times. You would get really warm while climbing, but once you hit the descent, the sweat would wisk away, you'd have to zip up and try your best to stay warm. It was the first primarily overcast day since I've been here (of course the sun would come out as I was on the train back, heating up the train car quite a bit more than I'd like). The ride itself was amazing. Most of the back roads in Toscana, in Chianti in particular, are Strade Bianche, as in white gravel roads, that although well kept, are best tackled on a bike with clearance for slightly wider tires. There is a beautiful ride coming up next week called L'Eroica, "the heroic" which features endless kilometers of these Strade Bianche riden on bikes pre-1985. But I stayed away from them. The last thing I wanted was to increase my chance of flatting and being stuck out in the middle of nowhere. But I did get to cover a few of the paved roads on the course and if they are any indication of what L'Eroica is like, I'm sure it's a beautiful and hilly ride. The thing is, the main roads, Strade Provinciale and even some Strada Statale are quiet, scenic beyond belief, and immaculately paved. It's like someone went through and repaved all the roads because they knew a lot of cyclists would be in the area for the Worlds. Actually, I think there are always a lot of cyclists here because as I mentioned before, it's gotta be one of the best places in the world to ride a bicycle.

The race will be coming through here on its way to Firenze.

After climbing gradually for what seemed like forever, it was so nice to descent for a long time as well. The only problem is when the road goes back up, it's like a slap in the face after you've gotten used to gravity being on your side for a while. At one point I did see a sign that said 15% incline. This is after I crested the Cat 2 climb (according to Strava), which was just short of being the longest climb I've ever done by less than 100ft. I'm not sure the accuracy of road signs in Italy, but luckily that 15% was not nearly as steep as I'd expect 15% to be. Also, they have signs everywhere in Italy that point in a certain direction and give the distance to said destination. At one point I saw a sign that said Siena 37 (km, not mi) and not a kilometer down the road I saw another one that said Siena 32. I think someone in the road department here is just pulling numbers out of a hat. So, with a grain of salt, I took the sign that finally said Siena 2. I knew that once I got to Siena proper, I'd still have to climb up to my tourist destination Piazza del Campo at the center of town. But after all the climbing I did, that was an easy effort.

Finally, I arrived, unwrapped the sandwich that I made and carried all the way from Firenze and plopped myself down amongst some other tourists at the fountain across from the city hall (left). I then made my way to a gelateria. If chocolate milk is a good recovery drink then why not chocolate gelato (and straciatella and nocciola-hazelnut) in a cone. Despite the fact that I seem to be eating like a pig here, I'm eating such quality food and proper servings that I think I'm actually getting a bit leaner. I also wonder if not eating soy (aside from a Clif Bar here or there while riding) and getting my protein from nuts and cheese and gelato is actually helping me??? I bought a cycling kit the other day and I bought the jersey in the smallest size they had. If they had it smaller, I'd have bought it smaller. Maybe that's why I keep passing strong looking riders on the climbs (flew by a couple of racer types on the cat 2 climb today).

Aside from that, I was greatly enterained by another accordion player who was set up outside the Duomo in Siena. This guy was really good. Definitely a truely introverted musician. He played a Bach Organ piece that I recognized but can't recall the name of. It was outstanding. I stayed, sitting on my bike, propped against the Duomo like a track racer on the boards in a Madison, and listened to the whole performance. I was able to scratch together two Euro to contribute to his bucket. I have a feeling he made quite a bit of money today, since Europe is all about the coin. They have coins for 1cent, 2cents, 5cents, 10cents, 20cents, 50cents, 1Euro and 2Euro. I don't know why, but I actually kind of like the 1 and 2 Euro coins, but if I get one of those damn Sacagewea dollars at home, I want to punch someone in the face. Must just be my state of mind over here.

Tomorrow I think I'm going to do the Pisa ride rather than big climbs out toward Quarrata. I will have plenty of time up in Lombardia to do really big climbs (45miles with 11,000ft of climbing). I'd rather go see the Leaning Tower of Pisa and check it off the list. But two weeks in Toscana is definitely not enough. You could spend a lifetime here exploring these roads. If there is one thing that I know for sure, I have to start figuring out a way that I can live here at some point soon. America just isn't my cup of tea. I belong in Italy.

Saw this Europcar team car parked along Via Nationale on my way home from dinner.

Men's TT

Wow, today went fast. I mean, there's still a bit of sunlight left but the day came and went almost as fast as TT World Champion Tony Martin. If you don't already know, he won... again. I'm not surprised. Both he and Wiggo were absolutely flying. Yet Martin beat Wiggo by some 46 seconds. Cancellara was 3rd, within a second or so of Wiggins. It was a great race. I got some pretty poor photos, somehow totally missed one of Wiggins, but since they weren't the best shots I just grouped them together in this little collage. From top left to right and so on: Fabian Cancellara,Tony Martin, Taylor Phinney, Richie Porte, Sylvain Chavanel, Marco Pinotti.

Tomorrow there is a break in racing but it won't be a boring days for cycling. Brian Cookson looks like he should (fingers crossed) become the next President of the UCI. Hopefully it'll be the end for Fat Pat McQuaid (ok he's not that fat, be he's "fat" from LA's money so to speak).
As for me, I'm going to ride through Chianti tomorrow and hopefully end up in Siena. I have a loop through Chianti that is 90mi with 11,000ft of climbing but I think I'm going to pass on that and just ride the still-challenging 60mi to Siena, eat some pan forte and take the train back. Depending on how my legs feel Friday, it will either be that flat ride to Pisa or a ride with one really big climb out to Taylor Phinney land, more commonly known as Quarrata.

This was sort of lunch today. Not exactly health food, but don't worry I'll have my salad with dinner. This was just as good as the Sfogliatelle. They don't skimp on the good stuff here, be it cream or olive oil, and quality ingredients are so easily found. Image that, people here actually care about not poisoning themselves with their food and you don't have to go to a store like Whole Foods and pay out the ass in order to do so. Interestingly, we call this a Lobster Tail at home. Here it is called Capo di Aragosta, head of the lobster. I don't know anything about the anatomy of a lobster. Does this look more like the head or the tail?
That's all for now. It's getting on dinner time.

24 Sept- Part 2

Here are some more photos from today and tonight for your viewing pleasure:

Fine Gara Ciclistica- End of the Bike Race

Riding the course to the finish. Maybe not the shortest way there, but the fastest and smoothest.

Crossing the finish line at the Worlds, in my own way.

It seems like half the shops in Firenze (and the surrounding area) have dressed their windows up with bikes, cycling gear or jerseys. Often times they actually have nicer gear than the bike shops in town. Above are just a few of many.

By the way, the last one is a super chromed-out bike in the window at the Salvatore Ferragamo store/ headquarters/ museum. Very hard to get a good pic but it was stunning. A real statement. Oh yeah, Samara, there's a Ferragamo museum now.

Everyone wants in on the action. A chance to ride on the World course between races is a must do.

Osteria Centopoveri comes through again. Calzone with Ricotta and Spinach. Sounds simple enough but you have no idea! Every bite was incredible, I'm not exaggerating. After sampling quite a number of restaurants here during this trip and the last, I've decided I will be eating dinner at Centopoveri exclusively for the rest of the week. There is so much on their menu I want to try and everything has been outstanding so far. It's worth coming to Firenze just to eat at this place. And it's not expensive either.

Piazza Santa Maria Novella is a favorite of mine and it's always beautiful and lively at night. Samara, look what they did with those big sandy areas. Nice grass and flowers. Looks a lot better.

And, of course, what would a roam around town be without the Duomo. It's an amazing building. There is so much to look at on its fasade (and the whole building for that matter). A thousand trips here and you'll always see something you hadn't seen before.

My view writing this is so typically Tuscan.

Musical observations of the day: an accordion player on the street beside the Duomo was very good tonight. He really captivated me with what sounded to be some dark Baroque sounding organ music. But he lost me with Pachelbel's Canon in D. I hate that piece. Maybe it was that stupid Vitamin C Graduation Song that killed that chord progression for me.

And, totally unrelated but as always Joni Mitchell...the best (listening to For the Roses now).

Damn the torpedoes... I mean mosquitoes.

Another beautiful day in Tuscany, another day that didn't go as planned, which is not necessarily a bad thing. I had planned on waking up early today to ride to Pisa before the Pro Women's TT but since I was up to nearly 2am dealing with this blog and trying to make my route on Garmin Connect (which is the biggest piece of shit ever. The Garmin 810 is ok, but Garmin Connect, which is the only iPad app to sync via bluetooth with the 810 is useless and so is the Garmin Connect site. I'll be making a few phones calls when I get back to the States. They're getting a piece of my mind). So, needless to say, I slept a little later than planned. With the exception of the Gran Fondi, and my trains/ plane, I'm not setting an early alarm and lacking sleep. This is vacation, people!
Instead, I planned on doing a shorter ride, 35 miles or so with, you guessed it, a lot of climbing. The first climb two miles into the ride was the Fiesole climb that is featured on the Worlds circuit. It's a nice climb and if you chase two Spanish U23 pros up the thing, it's gonna hurt, especially with tired legs. I actually managed to pass them, obviously they weren't trying very hard. At the very end where it is steepest, they picked it up big time and passed me. I tried to lift the pace, and I did for a while but I just didn't have it in me. There's a reason they are professionals. They probably just let me hang out there to make me feel good. Actually the probably could care less.
I kept on riding, my Garmin kept giving me shit and beeping and trying to reroute me. I don't understand what is up with that. When I got to the higest point in the ride, I decided to make a left instead of going straight and head back into town. It was nice descent and a welcome break for my tired legs.
The views were fantastic though. I would stop to take a picture or two, but they just don't come out. The landscape is incredible. If you want to see it, come to Toscana, what can I tell you?!

I made my way to the race finish and checked out the expo. There wasn't much of interest, but a few things made it worth all the while. First there was a bike shop on wheels (truck) that had some really nice stuff. All of the official merch, t-shirts, kit, etc is horrible. I mean, so horrible that I won't even buy it. I bought a really nice unofficial t-shirt at a local bike shop yesterday and I bought a beautiful kit from the aforementioned shop on wheels today. The Italian cycling clothing is so much cheaper here of course and the quality is second to none.

The other great part of the expo was this stand that sold Napolitano specialties, bombolini (giant zeppole filled with you choice of crema or Nutella) Sfogliatella, Lobster Tail, cannolo made from fried dough and a basic doughnut. They were all pretty cheap, looked amazing so after much deliberation, I went for the Sfoglatella. Sorry Calandra's but Italy wins. Definitely the best I've ever had. Ridiculously crispy and crunchy and a ton of ricotta inside. I think every day I go to the races I'm going to have to try another pastry. I wouldn't normally do that, but the riding here is calorically taxing and I'm on vacation. You can't get stuff this good in the US. In fact, the guy manning the stand was half American and he was thinking of moving to the US to open a stand. I think he'd do quite well at our races or wherever he went. No one can resist fried dough, especially stuff this good.

Oh, right, the bike race. So, I gave up on the finish area. Although they had a jumbo screen, commentators, and crazy Euro techno music, it was a little boring. I made my way back towards the city center and found an uncrowded spot across from the Duomo. I settled there because I figured the photos would be excellent and Pizza della Republica was probably a pain to get to and crazy crowded. I got to see the last 25 riders go by, got to yell for Eve again. She finished just off the podium in 4th, but her trade teammate and country woman Carmen Small got bronze and her other trade teammate, Eleonora Van Dijk is the new World Champion!

I then rode the course, which was really fun, back to the finish area just in time to catch the podium presentations. The Dutch had set up post a block from the finish and they were going nuts! I wonder if the Dutch will establish a "Dutch corner" on the Fiesole climb? That would be fun!
So that was my day. I'm now just sitting here, passing the time while my laundry takes a spin. Oh, look, it's done. Perfect timing. Gotta go hang it to dry then it's dinner time. I'm thinking pizza at Osteria Cento Poveri again tonight.

The Worlds Have Begun!

The World Championships started yesterday with the Trade Team Trial. Contrary to every other event, the TTT is ridden by trade teams as opposed to national teams. A national TTT would be cool in theory, but impossible to coordinate. It's not like you just take a bunch of guys or girls and say, "ok go do a TTT." It is a very precise discipline that requires a lot of exerience and practice...at least to do well. And well they did. In both events, men's and women's, the defending champions won again. Both Specialized-Lululemon and OmegaPharma-QuickStep averaged over 50k/hr. That's insane!! If you want a race report, check it out on VeloNews or CyclingNews. Basically it was a great event.
The TTT is an exciting event to watch. Every few minutes, you get to see another team go by, and by watching in the technical city center part of the corse, I was able to see them going just a little slower that 50k/hr. I saw the tail end of the women's race, got to yell for Eve Stevens when she came by and then made my way around the corse for a bit, looking for a bite to eat. In Italy, on a Sunday morning, things are closed. Actually a lot of stuff is closed all day Sunday, even in touristy areas. It must just be tradition or they actually go to church, unlike Catholics in the US, haha. Anyway, I finally found a Forno (bakery) that was open and the thing that looked most intriguing as a snack were mini stoglatella. Except they weren't filled with ricotta and candied citron, one was filled with crema and the other.... Nutella!

Ok, back to the bike racing. I went back to Piazza della Republica to wait for the men's race. I overheard a few people speaking English and they clearly were there for the bike race. They knew cycling. So, I went over and said hello. The group consisted of an older American couple from where? Philly! And a Canadian girl, who I'd quickly find out was a serious cycling fan. She had been traveling all over the world, not just Europe, and for the last six months she's been chasing pro bike races, from the Spring Classics, fourteen stages of the Tour, the Canadian GPs, Eneco Tour, several stages of the Vuelta, and more. She's a huge Garmin fan, but though her travels she gotten to know and be recognized by a handful of riders on pretty much every World Tour team. I don't think I've ever run into someone who knew so much about pro cycling. I'm seriously jealous of her life! She's an incredibly vocal fan and it's clear the riders appreciate her continued support. If we need someone to replace Phil and Paul, they should give her a call. After all, she did an excellent job of commentating for the crowd in our area. Check out her blog here. It's truly amazing.

So, the little but loud English speaking crowd we had on this tight turn made watching the race so much fun! The most intense part was after OPQS passed by, as defending champs they were the final team. As most of the crowd dispersed, back to their tourist destinations, we instantly went to the live feed and Twitter to see who won it. Finally the Tweet came through that OPQS had beat Orica-GreenEdge by 0.81 of a second. Incredible day!
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Today, I was planning on taking the train to Padova to check out Expobici, the big Italian cycling trade show. However, every train was sold out until 1pm. I didn't think it was worth traveling trains for 3+ hrs and spending over $130 to go to a trade show for the last three hours on the last of three days. Another thing for another day. Maybe if they move Interbike away from Vegas (they probably won't) I'll go there one year.

Instead, I spent the morning doing some chores, restocking my fridge at the Mercato Centrale, Conad (grocery) and my favorite place in Firenze, Vecchio Forno. I have to say, I'm really taking to the Pane Toscana, aka Pane Senzalevato, aka that saltless bread. It's actually good when it's well made and you're ready for it.

After that, it was such a beautiful day I decided some of the hills were calling. I definitely wasn't totally recovered from the Granfondo (I went very deep on Saturday, tha's for sure) but I decided a 50ish mile ride would be ideal. The ride was great! Only a road or two were busier, one of those roads must have had twenty tile factories on it, and thus a bunch of 18-wheelers, presumably picking up and delivering tile. My mid-way point was Montespertoli, Citta del Vino. I didn't stop for any wine, but the climb up there was excellent and you could see the vineyards for miles. Toscana is certainly a beautiful and hilly place. And as a rule of thumb, if it has Monte in the name, there's going to be a good climb getting up there.

Today's ride was marked by a few "short-cut" roads and wrong turns that resulted in some surprises. The first was a single-lane descent, twisting through stone walls that turned out to a -20% section that had the original paving block from the BC era. Had to turn around for that one. Another point of interest was this beautiful quiet climb that turned to Strate Bianche. I was ok with that until it deteriorated so much and got so steep that I had to contemplate continuing. I stopped at one point to let a car go past, and decided it was best to turn back and take the main road (the one with the tile factories). But the scenery was worth the unnessecary 500ft of climbing.

Despite having the Garmin, I can't tell you how many times I got lost today and had to reroute. But if I wanted to know every road and every hill, I could have stayed home. All in all, it wasn't the ride I initially was going for but it turned out great none the less.

Tomorrow, I am going to try to get up early and ride an easy 55 miles along the Arno out to Pisa. I'll take the train back in time to catch the pro women's Individual Time Trial.

One final observation for today (something I knew all too well already). Italian mosquitoes must have an incredible diet!

PS, I'm streaming JT's 20/20 Experience Part 2 right now. It's sick!! Check it out.

Also I'm starting to use this new app to write the blog. The photos should work out better but the font might be a little funky on this post.

Granfondo Mondiale Toscana "Franco Ballerini"

Wow, today was awesome! The pros might start their racing tomorrow but my first big event was today. The GranFondo Mondiale Franco Ballerini, a 130km jaunt in the hills surrounding Lucca. Lucca is a quaint but now touristy maze of a town surrounded by ancient Etruscan city walls. Today, the amateur racers took over the foot path on top of these walls from the typical tourist on rental cruisers and bike "taxis".

The day started out early. Alarm set for 5:45 and a train ride, crowded with Italian cyclists, in their super Euro Pro- style team kits. It seems club cycling isn't a thing here. If you ride, you race and are on a team, even in the Masters ranks. I have to be honest, it was a little intimidating. Never have I been around so many serious cyclists.

Once I sorted out the mess of finding the sign-in area and dealing with that, I was finally off to the start line, to line up with 1000 others. Gran Fondi here are taken much more seriously than in the US. Since they are new to the US, and cycling is still a growing sport State-side, Gran Fondi seem to be filled with sloppy club cyclists, both in riding style and appearance. Here, a Gran Fondo is a race. There is a finish line with signs indicating 1km, 500m, etc, chip timing, announcers, feed zones (no, not rest stops of guys loading up on cookies, we're talking feed zones with people handing off bottles as you crest the big climbs). The roads are closed for the first 40km or so, and after that, traffic is limited, including police at intersections that immediately stop all traffic to let cyclist through without stopping at a single light. Corse markings are UCI regulation, families paint the names of the racers on the climbs, and there are tifosi lining the streets in towns cheering as though we were the pros. Very cool and very inspiring.

The race started on the walls of Lucca and took a loop around the town to the sound of cheering crowds, until we headed out of town onto the pancake flat roads to away from the city. At around 16km, the first steady climb began. I was just taking it at tempo, but I was flying by people. I was surprised. I was hoping I wasn't going to hard and the locals knew something I didn't, but I trusted my body and kept in mind the long ride to come. It was actually kind of tough, because there was so much traffic of slowing cyclists that I had to actually slow down on the climb.

After the descent of that climb, I settled into a group of 50 riders, who were flying. At times we were doing 50k/hr on the flat roads. The group worked it's way down to about 30 or so by the time we hit the base of the next climb. Not knowing the climb, I again settled into my tempo. However, I guess my tempo was fast. I quickly started riding away from the group. And this isn't a group of schlubs either, remember these are all shaved legged, fit amateur racers. I couldn't believe it. I crossed the top of the climb (the longest but steadiest climb), grabbed a bottle and sat up for a second with hopes that some one would join me on the descent. At the bottom, we were three.

The next climb started almost immediately. This one was brutal. Though not as long, it was so steep. Not Iron Bridge steep but 10% average for over 3km. Again, I started passing people. The one rider who was closes on the last climb was falling off, and then a group came up besides me. I look over and it's three pro women from team Russia, doing some training before their race next Saturday. Somehow, I lifted my tempo to stay with them. This is where all those times up Federal Twist, Iron Bridge, Adamic, Shire, Uhlerstown, etc really helped out. The Russians weren't all out crushing it, but I could tell, since they were speaking a bit of Italian, that they weren't enjoying themselves. At some point close to the top there was a little reprieve of 10 percent from the previous 14% and when it kicked back up again, I dropped it down a gear, got out of the saddle and got a gap on the Russians. As I did so, I could hear one of them grumble, "tifosi" as though to say "shit, we're being dropped by one of the fans."

After some fast and very technical descent, I was back with another three again. Eventually, on the flat a group of ten came back together. The next climb was a real muro (Italian for wall). At this point, I was starting to feel it, but I guess so was everyone else. Again, I rode away from everyone. The one guy who has been chasing me up these climbs and staying within sight, rumbled "allora" in a sarcastic voice as I rode him off my wheel.

After that brutal muro, I wasn't feeling great on the flats, especially not at 40k/hr. But the final climb was easy, high cadence all the way, my favorite type. In the group I was with, no one could stay with me on the climbs. It was a spectacular feeling. The race back into Lucca was frenetic and if it weren't for a bit of traffic before the run-in, we could have had a nice small group sprint.

Either way, the Gran Fondo was an amazing success. I felt invincible when the road went up and being in that atmosphere made me really feel like a Euro Pro. And, the train ride home (Italian trains alway run late) made me feel even more like a pro, with a tortuous transfer, just wanting to get to the hotel asap.

Race Specs:

76 miles

5,830ft ^

3:50:29

19.8mph average

A couple of observations:

In Firenze, they have these giant underground trash bins. Since there's not a lot of space for dumpsters, restaurants, businesses and residents must bring their trash to these bins. Cardboard get's placed next to the bin, there is a bin for recyclables, and bin for garbage, and a bin for compost. A garbage truck with a giant hook comes around and lifts these out of the ground to empty them. Very cool.

If you want a plastic bag in the grocery store, they charge you 0.08 Euro. And said plastic bags are biodegradable. Even cooler.

However, Italian cyclists, in emulating their beloved professional idols throw wrappers and bottles around without even thinking about it. I saw one guy toss a 1.5L water bottle right over the guardrail into the woods! It's shocking to me. I must have been the only weirdo to come home with empty wrappers in my pockets. I even felt guilty tossing a water bottle into the pile on the side of the road after the feedzone, though I know they'll all get picked up.

Italian cyclists really follow the Euro Pro rules. White everything, even white bibs. They almost all only carry one water bottle, leaving the other cage empty or having a tool bottle there so they don't have a saddle bag. I thought I traveled light but damn!

Anyway, that's a lot for one day. Tomorrow the races start with the Trade Team Time Trials. Hopefully some cool photos to come!