Solo-- Alone

Sometimes cycling is about socializing, but most of the time it's about suffering... alone.

Every time I tell someone that I'm going to Italy to ride my bike, they ask me if I'm going with a group. When I tell them, no I'm just packing up my bike and riding around for three weeks, most times people can't believe it. For me, it's not hard to pack my bike and a carry-on bag, it's not hard for me to plan amazing cycling routes wherever I go, and for the most part it hasn't been too hard to spend three weeks basically alone. The joy of riding with an impromptu group that you come across is a big part of what I love about cycling. No matter the language barrier, the culture of cycling is, for me, universal. For everyone it's the same idea, it's simple. Put one pedal in front of the other, and repeat until you get back home. When you come across a group that will do that at the same pace as you, then you're onto something.
A lot of my rides here, and at home for that matter, are solo. Yes, sometimes I'll run into someone, sometimes I'll actually wake up early enough to get out with the group, but for the most part, cycling, as in training, is something that you have to do alone. Look at all the pros. They do the same thing. If you aren't willing to spend a lot of time by yourself, you can't be a strong cyclist. There is something about the silence as you pedal along that is, in fact, not at all silent. You hear the air, you hear the cars (unfortunately), you hear the people, you hear the dogs, you hear the wildlife, the waterfalls, the rushing streams, the breaking of waves, and sometimes you hear the rain (ok, you feel that too).
Today, cycling along my 100km ride, alone, I heard all those things (except the rain luckily). I did see some cyclists, all going the other way of course, but today I spent 3.5 hours alone. It's not the first time, it won't be the last. I rode for what felt like forever along the lake. It was beautiful but as much as I wasn't looking forward to climbing, the change of pace was greatly anticipated. Once I finally turned off, the road went up. Today's ride did not feature any of the super hard climbs like I did on Thursday (Piancavallo, but not the famous one) and Friday (Mottarone). Instead it was 25km gradually up and up and up through Valle Cannobina. It was a beautiful road, wide in spots, really narrow in others. There were some switchbacks, a few steep spots, but mostly a gradual climb through Alpine villages, each ticking off another block of kilometers.

Finally I got to the top. My Garmin told me but so did ARRIVO painted in giant letters across the road. The was the decent. Just as long, but wider roads. It started off pretty technical and then I got stuck behind a Swiss family in the Cintron. Sometime the cars get stuck behind the cyclists, but on mountain roads, the cyclist can always go faster. Once I overtook them, I was free. I reached another town, the road leveled out, but I knew the best part was coming. The highlight of the entire descent was the last bit. It was wide, sweeping and there were a few awesome tunnels. When they are lit, these tunnels are the best. Screaming downhill on perfect pavement through a tunnel, exempt from all wind except that which you are creating, is the most awesome thing ever!
Once I got to the bottom, I knew that it was about 25 miles back to home, ever so slightly downhill. What I didn't anticipate was the massive headwind cutting through the lake valley. It was brutal! I kept thinking of Jens Voigt, saying Shut Up Legs. Luckily I knew that once I got to Mergozzo, about eight miles out of Verbania, there would be a gelato spot and a great view of Lago Mergozzo to take in. I then road straight back to Pallanza, right to my apartment and made myself a huge lunch. That was four hours ago. I'm hungry again.
So, now after eating in the past few nights, I think I'm going to run down to the lakefront to find somewhere to eat. Someone's gotta have some gnocchi around here. I'll post this after dinner, but hopefully it's a good one because I'm running on empty. I'll sleep well tonight and tomorrow has to be a real recovery ride. My legs are shot!
PS dinner was actually very good. Red Potato Gnocchi with Fresh Tomatoes and Shaved Baked Ricotta. Definitely the best food I've had here. Place was packed with Italians and the pizza looked great. I'll have to go back on Tuesday night.

Recovery day... or not.

Today I woke up with the plan of it being a recovery day. I know, strange that Saturday would be a recovery day, but when you're on vacation every day is Saturday, right?! I had a lazy start to the day. I went to the bakery, stocked up because they're closed tomorrow, and finally around 1PM I got out on the bike. I rolled along slowly to Intra and decided to ride around town.

Within a few feet I found myself in the market. Market day in Intra is big. I'd say it's typical of every market I've been to in Italy, but just bigger. Intra is the main town of Verbania and it's filled with tourists, so there was a lot to cater to them. Lots of leather goods, shoes, linens, etc and then the food. I am still blown away by how entire cheese and meat shops are packed into a truck and unfold like a transformer once or twice a week. It's remarkable. Unfortunately, being on my bike, I wasn't able to stock up on cheeses (plus I already had) but I was able to grab a roll filled with Sicilian green olives and a ciambella (giant donut). I ate that walked around for a half hour or so, then decided to just roll along the lake.

This is how to do a bike lane.

So, back to the bike riding, huh? As I was riding along in the little ring taking in the scenery, a big group of ten riders or so came by. I couldn't resist the temptation so I jumped on a wheel and we went flying down the road at 26mph. At some point, two riders kind of broke away and a bunch of the guys were grappling about who was going to chase. I don't understand that much Italian, but I can understand the logistics of race-type riding anywhere, and that's what they were on about. Finally one guy took it up, I followed and after I took a big pull up near 30mph (the road must have been downhill) we caught them. Then there were four. And lots of waiting. It was like I was back at home on the club rides. Some things never change, no matter where in the world you are.
We decided to push on as a quartet and climbed a little bit up to via Panormica. You get the idea, the view was nice and luckily as the strongest climber I had a lot of time to look over my shoulder back down at Verbania. I don't know what it is, but just like most riders at home, they can go on the flats, but they don't do the big climbs. And there are so many here! But lots of riders flying along on the flat roads. I'll admit though, riding a paceline in the high 20's is lots of fun. And even though it was faster than my planned recovery ride, considering that the ride had no major climbs, it was actually perfect. Thirty miles went by like that!
Now I'm ready for tomorrow's adventure. I have a metric century planned, lots of flat roads, one major climb, one long descent and then the flat roads home. Should be a nice look and I'll be keeping to the main roads so hopefully nothing too steep. We'll see. The only thing keeping me from that is if I run into an interesting group to ride with it. There are tons of cyclists around here. It's really a cyclist's paradise. No wonder why the Australian Institute of Sport has their HQ in nearby Varese. I haven't run into any pro men or Orica AIS women yet, but maybe. They probably keep to the other side of the lake. Maybe I'll get over there on Monday or Tuesday.

To many of you reading who don't know, I am actually a musician, but ironically every time I come to Italy, I don't do anything music related. Tonight I saw a sign for a concert of Bach selections that was free so I decided to check it out. It was at this very beautiful old cathedral that was seeking donations to go towards restorations. There were beautiful frescos, a nice organ, but definitely needed some work. The concert was packed actually and the selections were pretty good. The performers were pretty decent, nothing great but it was an enjoyable way to spend the evening - minus having to sit on those horrible pews for an hour and a half! It was nice to hear the organ, but I have no ass padding for hardwood pews.

Anyway, I gotta go. They're turning the lights off and the disco that I can har from down the street is playing the Doobie Brothers at a level audible for miles. I'm out!

Not the nicest house on the lake anymore, but it has so much character!

Una sinfonia delle forchette

A symphony of forks... that's what dinner-time sounds like as I step out onto my balcony, my gateway to real Italy. The sound of a fork clanging as it hits a ceramic pasta bowl. That's the sound of Italy that I've been searching for. It's surprisingly everywhere in the little back alleys of Verbania. I don't know if it's because Italians tend to drop their forks during impassioned dinner conversation, if it's more evident because everyone here has their windows open to let in the brisk mountain air as the sun drops behind the curtains of the Alps... I don't know, but in all the years I lived in Philadelphia, I never noticed this cacophony that is a symphony to my ears. Maybe it's because everyone here eats at the same time. It's like they're all in sync with the church bells or something. Everyone in Verbania must agree that 8:30 is dinner time.

Either way, I decided to contribute to the symphony tonight. The grocery store and my little kitchenette were calling. After a quick run through the supermarket before they closed (at 7PM, we're not in America anymore), I had a bag filled with everything I'd need to make myself some pasta. May I present Penne alla giardiniere... pasta the gardeners way. Pasta with eggplant, zucchine, roasted pepper, onion, garlic and basil. Plus a little mozzarella di bufala (it's still on sale so I stocked up). The dish was totally worth getting soaked by a thunderstorm on the walk back from the market, and I'm building up quite a little pantry in the process. I'll never stay in a hotel again.
So, besides cooking and eating, I also went for one hell of a ride today. It was only 43 miles, but there was this 4000ft mountain involved, up to Mottarone. The climb from Baveno is 20km long with an average grade of 6.2%, climbing 4108 vertical feet. It was really tough, especially because I was tired from yesterday. And, it wasn't a nice consistent climb either. There were some flatter parts and then quite a few long sections above 12%, sometimes hitting over 15%. It hurt, but finally I got to the top, where the ski lift-type thing from Baveno ended. The funny thing was that Enrico, the apartment manager told me I should take the lift up and then ride around up there. When I told him that I was going to ride up, he looked at me like I was nuts. So, yeah, maybe I am.

The descent was awesome! Nice wide road unlike yesterdays goat path! Luckily at the top I was able to stop and put on my arm warmers and grab some old newspaper from a bar for insulation. They must get that request a lot, because when I asked the lady, she knew I wasn't looking to read the paper. By the time I got rolling, it was a little chilly and the fog had rolled in at the top. There was nothing really to see unfortunately, but it must be beautiful on a clear day.
The rest of the ride was a flat 15km back into Verbania. But it was a race... a race to beat the rain. And I won by the skin of my teeth. I swear, the moment I opened the door the rain came down. And it rained for hours. Trapped without an umbrella, I made myself some lunch and took a nap. I was beat! Plus what else was I to do with the rain pouring down? Finally it stopped, and that brings me to the grocery store and dinner, as you've heard already.

I think the most interesting thing so far has been running into (not literally) the herding animals along the roads. Yesterday, as I was descending the goat path, make it sheep path, I ran into a herd of sheep. They were European sheep of some sort, taller with longer dangling ears. I stopped because the last thing I wanted to do was hit a sheep. They look fluffy, but I think it would hurt. Today, I saw an even bigger pack of pigs grazing on the side of the road. I didn't know that pigs roamed around mountains, but they were definitely pigs. Strange.
The riding here is definitely hard. Either I am in poorer shape than last year (probably), my legs are not yet ready for this much climbing (also likely) or the climbs are just harder (don't know until I get them on Strava). Either way, they're tough but I am having lots of fun. I must not be doing that badly because I pass or drop every cyclist I run into along the climbs. And it's not that I'm trying to go that fast, I'm just going my tempo. I can't imagine going any slower. I don't want the climbing to last any longer! I mean, I love climbing, but in the moment you always want it to be over and I'm always wondering, why the hell am I doing this to myself? But that's what I'm here for.
Well, with that all said, I look forward to tomorrow. Who knows what the forecast will be like, but maybe I'll get lucky again. That's all for now. Back to sleep.

Getting out of Verbania... on the bike... finally!

View from the apartment, with the sun shining.

Finally today, I got out on my bike. About five miles into the ride, I remember what I am here for. The food has been less than expected, tourist stuff is boring, but cycling is always fun in Italy. Unfortunately, I'm having trouble with Garmin Connect (have to use it in order to get stuff on Strava) because it is a complete and total shit application. Traveling with an iPad is great, but it doesn't help with the Garmin connectivity. I said it last year, but this year when I get back, I'm going to call up Garmin and give them a piece of my mind. I wish there was someone who I could hold responsible for their terrible program so I could beat them with a large stick. It's completely unacceptable. But I digress...

My first ride was 35 miles, along the lake then up a big climb over 4000ft above sea level. I don't really have any stats on it since I can't connect to Strava right now, but it was hard, especially as the first climb I've done. I started out just cruising along the shore road, and at some point, just past Intra, a group of three riders came by and I jumped on their wheel. They were flying so I just sat in and spun up my legs. I could definitely feel the jet-lag still in the legs. Even though I feel rested now, my legs were still a little funky. Then I turned off and started the climb. I took it easy because I didn't really know what I was in for, how my legs and lungs were going to respond, etc. It was a nice road, wide, well paved for the main section. Once I got about 7km up, the road turned off and got really narrow as it wound through the woods. Luckily as it seems to be protocol, all the cars beep their horns before coming around blind turns so it was very safe. Around 12km of so up, I thought I got to what was the top, 3000 ft of climbing. I stopped, took some pics and started to roll downhill. After a km or so, the road turned back up. Another 1000+ft up. Once I got to the actual top, I was more than ready to descend. Luckily, the descend lasted all the way until I got back to Pallanza. But, since I bypassed the main road back towards Intra, it was definitely the most technical descent that I've ever done in my life. So many turns, tight narrow roads, but luckily no cars. It was pretty fun!

I came back to the apartment, made myself some pizza on focaccia and a salad. Probably the best food I've had here so far. It's getting a little disappointing. There are two more restaurants I want to try, otherwise I'm going back to the grocery store, buying some pasta and taking dinner into my own hands.

After a late lunch, I went out for another "quick" ride. Just 19 miles... with 1800ft of climbing! The climbs were really nice, and despite there being a lot of traffic, there were tons of riders all about and Italian drivers know how to deal with cyclists. It was a pleasant ride. Unfortunately, I took some back roads with lots of speed bumps and tight turns on the way back so I wasn't really able to fly down the descent back to Intra. There was lots of traffic in town so a bit of stopping and starting, but once I got back to the road between Intra and Pallanza, it was all clear. This road used to be a two way main road, but at some point, the made it one way and closed off the other lane with a barrier to cyclists and pedestrians. Only in Europe! It's extremely scenic along the lake so it makes for a really nice ride.
That was my day! Dinner was actually ok, but the service was so bad. I felt bad because the place was swamped. It's nice to not leave tips here, but having waiters work for tips sometimes keep their service level up. Nothing like waiting 20 minutes to get the check. It was a little frustrating.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the only frustration for the night. When I arrived at the wifi spot, there was group of terrible "musicians" playing. When I say "musicians", I mean a guy singing and another guy playing guitar and his computer, controlling terrible MIDI backing tracks. Very untalented, extremely loud, completely annoying. I guess this is a thing here in Italy... and all the stupid cigarette smoking. I just don't get it. If there is only one thing I like about America, it's that people can't smoke in restaurants, even outside. They gotta get that together here.
Of course, my Garmin isn't syncing with my iPad and I have a feeling that I won't be syncing until I get back to a computer in the US. We'll see. I hope I don't loose all my rides. So, for a lack of Strava today's ride(s): 55 miles, 5800ft vertical, average speed... not so good.
Tomorrow, I think I'll try this other climb from Stresa over to Lago Orta. Should be hard, but scenic. Maybe I'll get the Garmin working. Until tomorrow... buona notte.
PS, if there are grammatical errors (I'm sure there are) please excuse them. I'm sitting here at midnight, at a gelateria/ bar. I don't have time to proof-read before they close!

Verbania Day 2- No cycling yet

View of Pallanza, Verbania

As I sit here typing this post, I can see lightening flashing in the sky over the Alps to the north. That's the forecast for the time I'm here. It's going to be cloudy, foggy, and there will be thunderstorms around. Great cycling weather.

Dreary Weather

I awoke this morning to pouring rain and quickly ran out to my balcony to grab my bath towel, which was drying on the line, before it got soaked through again. I guess I'm going to have to be ready for that anytime this week. With the dreary weather, I decided today would not be a day for riding, as I was still feeling a bit jet-lagged anyhow. Luckily the weather cleared up a bit, the sun shined through from time to time and it turned out to be a nice day for tourist activity.
But before I turned my attention to being a tourist, I first had to put some effort into being a human and go to the grocery store. I have shopped at many farm markets, smaller local stores and such throughout Italy, but today was my first time in a huge Italian grocery store. Just like anywhere, the supermarket has the standard stuff, but there are a lot of interesting things that make Italian supermarkets unique.
First off, as I've noted before, pretty much everyone uses reusable bags for their groceries. I couldn't find them for purchase anywhere in the store, but somehow, everyone has them. If you want plastic bags, you are charged for them. Whereas Shop Rite in Flemington give a few cents discount for every reusable bag you bring, every grocery store here makes you pay if you're planning on further destroying the earth. Unfortunately, I need some plastic bags to pack with later, so I had to pay the extra 50 cents or so for bags.
Also, the cheese section at Italian supermarkets is pretty spectacular. No where in America will you find Mozzarella di Bufala on 30% off sale! And, unlike in the US, where the cashier has to memorize all these codes and weight the produce at the register, here you have to do it yourself and these little stickers print out that go on the bags. It's a good system, as long as there is more than one scale working, which there wasn't today. My other favorite discovery about Italian supermarkets is that not only is the pasta isle an entire isle filled on both sides with literally the entire catalog of pasta shape variety, they also sell whole kilogram boxes of pasta. That's 2.2lbs!! And to top it off, there must have been half an isle's worth of refrigerated fresh pasta in every variety imaginable. So, Italian supermarkets are more.... Italian!

Pallazo on Isola Madre

I think going to the grocery store was the most interesting part of the day. The other part consisted of taking the ferry around the lake between the three Borromean Islands. Isola Madre: with it's botanical gardens and palace, Isola dei Pescatori, which might have been good for fishing at some point but is not filled with restaurants and tourist trap shops, and Isola Bella: with grander palace and famous gardens. I ended the day in Stresa, which is a real tourist town if there ever was one. I don't think they've ever done anything else with the place. It's beautiful and quaint beside the lake, but its pedestrian zone is over saturated with shops selling ITALIA clothing and a gelato shop practically every three doors. I would be nice to go there for dinner sometime, because there are so many restaurants, but I don't know if I can get a bus back later at night.
The islands were interesting enough, but besides the cycling, I'm looking forward to getting to Parma, which will be much less touristy. As evidenced by the islands and their development, people have been vacationing here for hundreds of years. I feel like I'm in a vacation spot, and although I am in fact on vacation, I miss the feeling of Firenze for example, where while there are lots of tourists, there is a real sense of local community once you get out of the center.

Pallazo on Isola Bella from Isola dei Pescatori

Overlooking Isola dei Pescatori from one of the Grotti rooms in Pallazo Isola Bella

Where the wild things are.

Isola Bella gardens

Also, from what I've found, the restaurants are less than stellar, at least right in the Pallanza section of Verbania that I am confined to. I think I'm going to start cooking myself lunch and dinner because I can cook better than the food I've had so far. I'm sure that won't be the case in Parma!

My Bufala con Pomodorini e Basilico is way better.

Tomorrow, I hope the weather is better and I can finally get out for a bike ride. I'm still pretty tired from traveling, so I'm going to get back to my apartment and get some sleep. It's been a long day of hauling groceries and walking on steep stone paved streets.

View from my front window, view from my balcony.

Quick Check-in from Verbania

Today I arrived in Verbania, on the shores of Lago Maggiore. After flying into Milano Malpensa, I traveled by train, boat and car to get here. Despite what that may sound like, it wasn't too bad. The more you travel somewhere, the easier it seems to get around without any stress. I think I have the Italian train system down by now and unbelievably, all the trains ran on time today. Even the apartment manager who picked me up from the ferry was on time. Unreal!

Without going too far into the triviality of my day, I basically just settled in, hit up the grocery store for some supplies, forgot to get half of them of course, then caught up on a little sleep before dinner. Dinner was alright... actually it wasn't bad at all, I just have very high standards for food in Italy. But I can make Trofie with Pesto better than I ate tonight. Anyway, I have to do a little more research and find some good places to eat here. It's certainly touristy, lots of Germans and Swiss from what I can tell, but it's nice and there should be some good restaurants tucked away on some of these little winding back streets.

Only photo I got today. More to come.

The biggest hurdle I have to overcome here is not having wifi in the apartment. It's not like I want to spend my vacation checking emails or Facebook-ing, but being able to spend time at the end of the day writing, researching, and planning is much easier from the comfort of your own place. That said, I am currently sitting at a little gelateria on the lake typing this. The cost of a gelato is not a bad price to pay for some wifi so I won't complain too much about how Italy still thinks that smoking in an outdoor cafe with kids around is somehow acceptable. I guess a little smoke won't kill me, but it's so strange how out of place that seems compared to what we've grown accustomed to recently in the US.
Besides that, my plans for tomorrow are to get my bike together, finish up with some grocery errands, and hopefully get on the Italian sleep schedule asap. I don't know if I'll actually get a ride in tomorrow, and if I do it'll be short, but hopefully with a little more energy I can spend some time walking around this beautiful town.
As I sit here now, I can see the lights of Laveno across the lake. That's another town I want to explore, as well as the Borromean Islands. Those, however, are plans for another day. For now, I think the sofa-bed (which is actually pretty comfortable) is calling! Until my next gelato-wifi stop, arrivederci!

Un'altro giro

Gran Fondo Mondiale Franco Ballerini- Lucca- Sept 2013

Un'altro giro... another lap. I'm doing it again.
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!!