there's not much new to report here. Gigi (short for Luigi) at Dreambike fixed my rig and i was able to go out on the Wednesday Worlds ride. however, 1) i have ridden 3 times inthe last two weeks and 2) i have a mild sinus infection, so i have bad form and it felt like i was breathing thru a straw. also, Il Capo (Frederico) wasnt there so, and there was only four of us, Roberto Guido (maybe the new mayor of Ascoli) and Niccola and me. we did a different route, one with more climbing. i had one good attack then went (i think) completely anaerobic for about two minutes, and fucking blew up all over the place, and got dropped by each successive rider; Roberto went with me when i attacked, then i could nt hold the pace, then Niccola (previously griping about the new course selection) caught me, told me "Andiamo Phil [pronounced FEEL]", then he dropped me, at least Guido (shagged out by spinning class the night before) didnt catch me.
when i caught up to Roberto at the top, i said that we werent friends anymore, and he quickly reminded me, "Inizia tu le guerra!" you started the war!
the rest of the ride was cool, and by cool i mean down hill.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Monday, October 27, 2008
Links to facebook photo albums
face book album; ROMA.
face book album; Mercolidi Mondiale!
face book abum; Broken spoke at 5200 feet.
face book album; CentoItaliano.
face book album; Mercolidi Mondiale!
face book abum; Broken spoke at 5200 feet.
face book album; CentoItaliano.
i will always remember Roma...
Top, left: this theater was in the same block as our hotel.
top, center: the art is very lifelike here.
Top, right: outside Campadoglio.
middle, right: skeleton in cage, aka ignominous death.
bottom: diaramma that got some fourth grader in trouble, however, once again, very lifelike.
i will always remember Roma for alot of reasons.
i went to Cinecatta two weeks ago with a class trip. interestingly enough, i am not in that class and everyone else -except for one other student- decided not to go, therefore i successfully poached that trip.
i stayed in my first hostel in Roma. and the absolute vapidity of American youths was clearly arrayed to me and two Mexican globetrotting young ladies, Dianna and Brenda. the story goes like this;
- me: So Brenda and Dianna, from what you've seen in your travels, what do you think of American kids?
- Dianna: well, dont take this the wrong way, but we think that you all dont take things very seriously and dont have alot of responsiblity. we also have the image of the blonde party girl in our minds because of movies. and you probably think we all wear giant hats.
- me: no, we dont. well, not all of us. the uneducated few probably do...
- Brenda: but we have met alot of very nice people.
- me: yes, im sure your have. everybody is different though.
- both the girls: yes, certainly...
then about ten minutes later, two young american girls/students that were korean or something burst into the room; one heads to the bathroom and the other remains to ask us (me dianna and brenda). i will describe this younglady as she introduced herself: a grad student that is "screwed" b-c she decided to take off to Italy for a week vacation.
- Do you guys know if there's a dive bar around here?
- us: excuse us?
- you know, a place where you can just pound beers? you know, a dive bar?
- Dianna: no, im sorry we dont.
then dianna and brenda began speaking spanish between themselves, laughing uncontrolably and shot me a look. We were on the same page; i was ashamed that this dumb broad represented ME!
after they left, Dianna and Brenda and i chatted. i had to say that, truely, they did NOT respresent me. that we happened to both be american but other than that we were not cut from the same cloth.
i will also remember Roma for its timeless beauty, utterly choking traffic, throngs of tourists and humidity.
i walked from the Criminology Museum -which i was convinced was going to suck, but proved to be sufficiently grisly for the tastes of a desensitized american boy raised by action movies- to Piazza San Pietro. I followed Il Fiume Tevere, took pictures of ducks and their butts sticking up as they picked at the river grass. I arrived in Piazza San Pietro and saw it's splendor.
i saw more tourists than i ever thought possible. the piazza is choked with chairs and barriers, and flanked onthe sides, where the columns run around it, were tourists - speaking all different languages, wallwoing in sweat soaked clothes, looking generally shagged out.
i realized that bad taste knows no borders; at the entrance gates/barriers for the Basillica there are signs that pictiorially demonstrate what each sex may and maynot wear when insided the Vatican; skirts (ladies) and short (men) below the knee, sleeves to mid upper arm for both sexes.
as i walked away from the line - too long for my tastes- i saw a couple wallking toward me, both were young, good looking, probably on vacation and heading for the line. however, she was wearing a white sundress that was transparent. therefore clearly displaying the fact that she was wearing a white bra and thong underpants. AND YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING INTO THE VATICAN LIKE THAT?!!! for the love of all that is good and holy in Oden's beard, i hoped that they were not americans....
i will remember Roma for it's old stuff: i walked past the Forum, The Colloseum, and alot of other ruined stuff that looked like piles of rocks to me, but i am certainly not a historian. everywhere, piles of rocks, ruins, the past...
i will remember Roma for the Picasso exhibit i stumbled upon at the museum near Campadoglio. i poached a tour in the gallery - it was in italian however i undestood 70% of what the lady said.
i will remember Roma b-c i did not, repeat DID NOT, pay 8 dollars for a Coke. anyone that tells you that Roma and other cities are all expensive and built to bleed you dry, those are consumate, inveterate tourists. my suggestion to these people is this: get a map and take your own tour. i paid 3euro for a large Gelato, 4euro for a piece of pizza and a bottle of water, and Alex and i paid 10euro each for dinner (chinese food, yes that's right).
there were no 5euro .5liter Cokes, 15euro Gelati, or 12euro cocktails. maybe it was b-c i ordered (and made small take in italian with those people that served me) or maybe it was b-c i didnt buy things the were within spitting distance from the biggest tourist attractions in the western world. maybe, maybe not, you decide.
however, the foremost image of Roma will always be the homeless man's genitals that were not haphazardly hanging out of his pants but were on display for everyone to see.
Benvenuti a Roma.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Phil's guide to to cycling in Italy.
rule number one:
break as many spokes as possible to ensure that you endanger not only yourself but all the members of the pack you are riding in. this will also ensure that you go slow, all the time, with wobbly wheels.
i tried to make this funny, but it probably didnt work.
anyways, i broke a rear spoke, on my ksyrium rear wheel (the only ksyrium i own) yesterday.
i thought those things were supposed to be bomb proof. My ASS! i bought that thing in MARCH and it blew a spoke already. thats bullshit!
so, if anything, this is a message to the boys at exeter cycles: i need to start thinking about a REAL set of bombproof training wheels.
maybe, DT Swiss hubs (340's or Industry 9's) DT Competition spokes and Open Pro rims.
suggestions are welcome because of the fact that i cant really make a decision on a product that can stand up to my EXTREME wattage output!
break as many spokes as possible to ensure that you endanger not only yourself but all the members of the pack you are riding in. this will also ensure that you go slow, all the time, with wobbly wheels.
i tried to make this funny, but it probably didnt work.
anyways, i broke a rear spoke, on my ksyrium rear wheel (the only ksyrium i own) yesterday.
i thought those things were supposed to be bomb proof. My ASS! i bought that thing in MARCH and it blew a spoke already. thats bullshit!
so, if anything, this is a message to the boys at exeter cycles: i need to start thinking about a REAL set of bombproof training wheels.
maybe, DT Swiss hubs (340's or Industry 9's) DT Competition spokes and Open Pro rims.
suggestions are welcome because of the fact that i cant really make a decision on a product that can stand up to my EXTREME wattage output!
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
phil flavored thoughts
- people pick their noses while they drive, in italia, b-c they think nobody can see.
- people picke their wedgies here too.
- this is the land of panty lines, rampant panty lines.
-- it doesnt seem to be the land of athletic calves, speaking of the general population but indeed there are a few outliers.
- smoking seems to carry less social stigma here.
- i flicked a booger on to a Fellini poster last night. Take that you artsy hack!
- if i lived here i would have to live in the Centro.
- Alex must have a deviated septum or inhaled a very small kazoo at some point in his life.
- the wink is here and can be used freely , regardless of gender-to-gender-winkage. either that or i am queer bait here too.
these are the things i have observed and not previously written down. these are only a small fraction of the things i have observed and remembered.... remembered is the key word there.
and if yous really know me, you'll see how these reflect my generally warped train of thought.
thank you for your time,
- people picke their wedgies here too.
- this is the land of panty lines, rampant panty lines.
-- it doesnt seem to be the land of athletic calves, speaking of the general population but indeed there are a few outliers.
- smoking seems to carry less social stigma here.
- i flicked a booger on to a Fellini poster last night. Take that you artsy hack!
- if i lived here i would have to live in the Centro.
- Alex must have a deviated septum or inhaled a very small kazoo at some point in his life.
- the wink is here and can be used freely , regardless of gender-to-gender-winkage. either that or i am queer bait here too.
these are the things i have observed and not previously written down. these are only a small fraction of the things i have observed and remembered.... remembered is the key word there.
and if yous really know me, you'll see how these reflect my generally warped train of thought.
thank you for your time,
Monday, October 20, 2008
1100km tour of Marche in a rental car
this one is going to be quick. (Google all these towns to see pics before i put them up)
[afterthought... barb took 3.21GB of photos! so far...]
Barb got here on the 11th. i picked her up in Roma after schlepping around Cinecitta (Italian hollywood) on class fieldtrip.
i stayed in a hostel that had beds like hammocks the night of the tenth.
we returned to ascoli, ate and slept. we wandered around the city monday.
rented a car tuesday and went to Aquasanta Terme ,Forca di Presta (sickest climb where i broke that spoke), Castelluccio, Montefalcone Appenino and Force.
day two of tiny car (smart cdi), we saw the beach, Ancona and Grotte De Frassasi. then the longest craziest ride home through Fiastra.
wednesday i did Mercolidi Mondile and attacked so hard that i thought i was going to throw up all over my bike. then barb and i went to Offida, which is not only the home of the 2010 Junior Cycling World Competitions but also a Longobard fortress that was taken over by the Romans, who built a church around it. that's right AROUND IT!
thursday we went to Civitella del Tronto, Parco Nazionale Gransasso e Monte della laga (retraced a ride i did) and then around this huge mountainy-ridge kind of thing.
on the descent from Macchia Del Sole, we came to an intersection and all the signs were pointing to the right. everything was to the right, in varying distances. i said "i guess there is a total abyss to the left." we chuckled about that and made some other comments, then proceeded toward Valle Castellana.
i saw a sign that said Aquasanta Terme, and followed it b-c that town is on the way to Arquata, which was where we wanted to go next... got that?
but the signs led us up up up , always up...
we drove through, and when i say through, i mean they were all around us, THREE (3) herds of various rumen type animals; one herd of goats, one sheep and one mixed sheep-goat.
we drove for another hour, up to the top of the ridge then down, all the time on switchbacks and straights shorter than a quarter mile.
and wouldnt you know it, we wound up coming back to that intersection that had all the signs pointing to the right! we truley had driven to nowhere and back!
ok... so friday.... we both were generally sick of the tiny car and of eachother.
Barb wanted to see the Conero Coast which is south of Ancona and a bitch to get to.
i was very sour and very grumpy at this point. we both were, like i said.
we found the coast, we walked, we took pictures, we left.
we drive some more, took wrong exits off the highways, wrong directions, and finally after 5 hours in the car we arrived at Urbino. the drive to Urbino can take as little as 2 hours. and this was after an average of 8 hours per day in tiny car for the previous 4 days. (!)
Urbino would have been beautiful had i not wanted to fall asleep whenever i sat down.
we saw the Palazzo Ducale, and churches and cripts, and college students....?
yes Urbino is a college town. and it is the wierdest thing to see funkily clad college kids wandering around in an ancient Renesaince art-arcitecture town that used to be and still is the home of giant art collection.... there were kids sitting on the steps of a massive catherdal doing the internet with wi-fi. does that sound odd to you?
then on the ride home Gloria called me! and i explained the situation.
- i called her when i was in Ancona earlier in the week but i didnt leave a message.
- i was driving home from Urbino.
- i was 20 minutes from Ancona as we were talking on the phone.
- she told me to get off the highway at ancona north and wait at the train station and she would find me.
(that was not the order i said it all, nor were my italian gears engaged so it was a struggle).
- then she called back and said that she had forgotten that she had plans with her husband. however i should come to Ancona on sunday for lunch.
later Barb and i got home, ate and slept. mostly b-c we were sicke of eachother. we also decided not to got to Roma the next day b-c we would probably end up killing eachother.
saturday i returned the car! thank GOD! then we wandered around the local, every-third-weekend-Antique market and every-weekend-cheap-stuff-market.
we bought Porchetta. actually we bought a kilogram of porchetta. we bought veggies and fresh cheese.
sunday, we went to Ancona and had a lovely afternoon with Gloria, Franco (husband), Giovanna (daughter) and 2 Francesco's (one boyfriend of Giovanna and one son).
Giovanna spoke english very well and helped barb translate and be translated.
Gloria gave barb a recipe for lentil soup; but since neither spoke the others language very well, it has pictures of veggies and sizes of flames that are to be used.
it was a hell of a week... over 1100 km in a Smart, over ten towns/cities, eating out at local restaraunts each night, having barb meet my italian family...
now back to listening to my classmates whine about stupid bullshit....
[afterthought... barb took 3.21GB of photos! so far...]
Barb got here on the 11th. i picked her up in Roma after schlepping around Cinecitta (Italian hollywood) on class fieldtrip.
i stayed in a hostel that had beds like hammocks the night of the tenth.
we returned to ascoli, ate and slept. we wandered around the city monday.
rented a car tuesday and went to Aquasanta Terme ,Forca di Presta (sickest climb where i broke that spoke), Castelluccio, Montefalcone Appenino and Force.
day two of tiny car (smart cdi), we saw the beach, Ancona and Grotte De Frassasi. then the longest craziest ride home through Fiastra.
wednesday i did Mercolidi Mondile and attacked so hard that i thought i was going to throw up all over my bike. then barb and i went to Offida, which is not only the home of the 2010 Junior Cycling World Competitions but also a Longobard fortress that was taken over by the Romans, who built a church around it. that's right AROUND IT!
thursday we went to Civitella del Tronto, Parco Nazionale Gransasso e Monte della laga (retraced a ride i did) and then around this huge mountainy-ridge kind of thing.
on the descent from Macchia Del Sole, we came to an intersection and all the signs were pointing to the right. everything was to the right, in varying distances. i said "i guess there is a total abyss to the left." we chuckled about that and made some other comments, then proceeded toward Valle Castellana.
i saw a sign that said Aquasanta Terme, and followed it b-c that town is on the way to Arquata, which was where we wanted to go next... got that?
but the signs led us up up up , always up...
we drove through, and when i say through, i mean they were all around us, THREE (3) herds of various rumen type animals; one herd of goats, one sheep and one mixed sheep-goat.
we drove for another hour, up to the top of the ridge then down, all the time on switchbacks and straights shorter than a quarter mile.
and wouldnt you know it, we wound up coming back to that intersection that had all the signs pointing to the right! we truley had driven to nowhere and back!
ok... so friday.... we both were generally sick of the tiny car and of eachother.
Barb wanted to see the Conero Coast which is south of Ancona and a bitch to get to.
i was very sour and very grumpy at this point. we both were, like i said.
we found the coast, we walked, we took pictures, we left.
we drive some more, took wrong exits off the highways, wrong directions, and finally after 5 hours in the car we arrived at Urbino. the drive to Urbino can take as little as 2 hours. and this was after an average of 8 hours per day in tiny car for the previous 4 days. (!)
Urbino would have been beautiful had i not wanted to fall asleep whenever i sat down.
we saw the Palazzo Ducale, and churches and cripts, and college students....?
yes Urbino is a college town. and it is the wierdest thing to see funkily clad college kids wandering around in an ancient Renesaince art-arcitecture town that used to be and still is the home of giant art collection.... there were kids sitting on the steps of a massive catherdal doing the internet with wi-fi. does that sound odd to you?
then on the ride home Gloria called me! and i explained the situation.
- i called her when i was in Ancona earlier in the week but i didnt leave a message.
- i was driving home from Urbino.
- i was 20 minutes from Ancona as we were talking on the phone.
- she told me to get off the highway at ancona north and wait at the train station and she would find me.
(that was not the order i said it all, nor were my italian gears engaged so it was a struggle).
- then she called back and said that she had forgotten that she had plans with her husband. however i should come to Ancona on sunday for lunch.
later Barb and i got home, ate and slept. mostly b-c we were sicke of eachother. we also decided not to got to Roma the next day b-c we would probably end up killing eachother.
saturday i returned the car! thank GOD! then we wandered around the local, every-third-weekend-Antique market and every-weekend-cheap-stuff-market.
we bought Porchetta. actually we bought a kilogram of porchetta. we bought veggies and fresh cheese.
sunday, we went to Ancona and had a lovely afternoon with Gloria, Franco (husband), Giovanna (daughter) and 2 Francesco's (one boyfriend of Giovanna and one son).
Giovanna spoke english very well and helped barb translate and be translated.
Gloria gave barb a recipe for lentil soup; but since neither spoke the others language very well, it has pictures of veggies and sizes of flames that are to be used.
it was a hell of a week... over 1100 km in a Smart, over ten towns/cities, eating out at local restaraunts each night, having barb meet my italian family...
now back to listening to my classmates whine about stupid bullshit....
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Mercolidi Mondiale!
top, left photo: brian is in blue.
middle photo, frederico is in red.
right photo, Guido in pink, Daniello in yellow.
at left, the pack. Pepe is on pink and blue short (that used to be tights, he made custom cut-offs)
today was all business.
funny semi-related story: i asked our lovely secratary, Dianna, if there was an italian equivalent phrase for "All business". she said, no, and offered another phrase. then as i was leaving for my apartment inorder to change for the ride, dianna said, "I hope you have alot of business on your ride."
anyway, roll out was easy.
Frederico threw a couple of his little attacks on the Zona Industriale.
pace picked as we passed the whores. pace lined and sadly, Roberto and were wearing the same kit, i stupidly pulled back my "teammate". oops.
the climb: i was advised to big-ring it b-c it is only a 2.5 km climb.
Dannielo and another guy went out before the climb and hoped they could stay away; they thought wrong.
i got to the front and hung around there for about half a K.
then Roberto said something, maybe related to attacking, maybe not, but i went.
Big-ring HO! i remembered an old saying, you can never trust your heartrate on race day. that's true b-c i felt good but was running at about 195-198 bpm for the whole climb.
funny semi-related story: i asked our lovely secratary, Dianna, if there was an italian equivalent phrase for "All business". she said, no, and offered another phrase. then as i was leaving for my apartment inorder to change for the ride, dianna said, "I hope you have alot of business on your ride."
anyway, roll out was easy.
Frederico threw a couple of his little attacks on the Zona Industriale.
pace picked as we passed the whores. pace lined and sadly, Roberto and were wearing the same kit, i stupidly pulled back my "teammate". oops.
the climb: i was advised to big-ring it b-c it is only a 2.5 km climb.
Dannielo and another guy went out before the climb and hoped they could stay away; they thought wrong.
i got to the front and hung around there for about half a K.
then Roberto said something, maybe related to attacking, maybe not, but i went.
Big-ring HO! i remembered an old saying, you can never trust your heartrate on race day. that's true b-c i felt good but was running at about 195-198 bpm for the whole climb.
i caught the first guy, then caught Dannielo. i hung back from him for a little while, and tried to be quiet. i looked behind me to see if i had enough time to recover but my gap was holding. so i recovered and then went again and (maybe this was alittle rude) but blew past Dannielo. maybe not blew past him, but he was spent, just holding onto what ever gap the pavck would let him have. i caught a glimpse of him and he was not having fun. so, like i said, i went.
as i rounded the last hairpin and could just about see the finish line, i heard chase 1 talking below me but was confident that they wouldnt catch me.
they didnt. KOM BABY! second week there!
the run home:
i stopped at the intersection to put my camera back in it plastic bag, and then had to chase back on. Brian went off the front and the pace really ramped up. i was the last indian in line, we were doing about 30 mph.
Brian got pulled back and we hit the first roundabout; i stayed at the back.
we hit the next thing, the on-ramp connecter road, and i stayed at the back.
we hit the second roundabout and i advanced b-c if not there, then i wouldnt be able to attack up the whole paceline and have anything left to get a gap.
Brian asked where the sprint was, and i tried to tell him. but i figured on something different: "i'm going. when i get pulled back, you go. ok?"
i knew i would never be able to hold on for about 3km with the Giacomo train coming up on me.
i went. hard. 195 bpm the whole 2.5 km before the sprint.
sure as the sun is hot, at the off ramp i saw Giacomo over my shoulder leading the boys in.
i pulled wide to let Brian through who was second behind Giacomo.
Brian went a little too early and could quite hold his lead. Frederico was hot for the win, bridged to Brian and let Brian lead him to the line. Frederico took the sprint. like last week.
but when i saw Frederico go by, i got on his wheel and stayed there for a little while, but nobody was really contesting so i just relaxed and coasted home for a 4th or 5th.
this week was waaayyy better, i will still need to get a win before i leave.
they didnt. KOM BABY! second week there!
the run home:
i stopped at the intersection to put my camera back in it plastic bag, and then had to chase back on. Brian went off the front and the pace really ramped up. i was the last indian in line, we were doing about 30 mph.
Brian got pulled back and we hit the first roundabout; i stayed at the back.
we hit the next thing, the on-ramp connecter road, and i stayed at the back.
we hit the second roundabout and i advanced b-c if not there, then i wouldnt be able to attack up the whole paceline and have anything left to get a gap.
Brian asked where the sprint was, and i tried to tell him. but i figured on something different: "i'm going. when i get pulled back, you go. ok?"
i knew i would never be able to hold on for about 3km with the Giacomo train coming up on me.
i went. hard. 195 bpm the whole 2.5 km before the sprint.
sure as the sun is hot, at the off ramp i saw Giacomo over my shoulder leading the boys in.
i pulled wide to let Brian through who was second behind Giacomo.
Brian went a little too early and could quite hold his lead. Frederico was hot for the win, bridged to Brian and let Brian lead him to the line. Frederico took the sprint. like last week.
but when i saw Frederico go by, i got on his wheel and stayed there for a little while, but nobody was really contesting so i just relaxed and coasted home for a 4th or 5th.
this week was waaayyy better, i will still need to get a win before i leave.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Wear this for free ass kicking!
yeah yeah yeah...
so i have a paper due on thursday and i spent most of my time this afternoon looking at bike crap online; interbike photos, velonews, the mavic site, carbon rim manufacterers... you know all the regular sites that i go to when i am staring at a deadline.
how ever, to appease this beast i think that i might go buy the Falciani/Falgiani (dont know the correct spelling) after the office closes. if not now, then when, right?
but that leads me to my point; i hate rock racing, solely for the fact that they have sick, skulled out, rad-ass looking kits and Ball (the owner of the team) is so pumped up about selling "softgoods"!
jerseys for $180 and bibs for $230! you have got to be kidding ME!
who does this guy think he is?
as far as i am concerned, no self-respecting cyclist would buy one of those kits. and if one showed up to a ride that i was on, i would intentionally kick his ass all day, even if it meant burying myself deeper than i ever had before in my life.
and i would do it in my UNH jersey that flaps in the wind even though its 'race fit' and has un-sewn-up holes from when i crashed !
that jack ass would remember me.
so i have a paper due on thursday and i spent most of my time this afternoon looking at bike crap online; interbike photos, velonews, the mavic site, carbon rim manufacterers... you know all the regular sites that i go to when i am staring at a deadline.
how ever, to appease this beast i think that i might go buy the Falciani/Falgiani (dont know the correct spelling) after the office closes. if not now, then when, right?
but that leads me to my point; i hate rock racing, solely for the fact that they have sick, skulled out, rad-ass looking kits and Ball (the owner of the team) is so pumped up about selling "softgoods"!
jerseys for $180 and bibs for $230! you have got to be kidding ME!
who does this guy think he is?
as far as i am concerned, no self-respecting cyclist would buy one of those kits. and if one showed up to a ride that i was on, i would intentionally kick his ass all day, even if it meant burying myself deeper than i ever had before in my life.
and i would do it in my UNH jersey that flaps in the wind even though its 'race fit' and has un-sewn-up holes from when i crashed !
that jack ass would remember me.
YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!
Stefan Schumacher is a huge douchebag!
Barb pondered about it when we were watching the time trials!
i thought it was fairly oddd that some punk German would be able to get the upper hand on Fabian.
what an asshole!
Barb pondered about it when we were watching the time trials!
i thought it was fairly oddd that some punk German would be able to get the upper hand on Fabian.
what an asshole!
Monday, October 6, 2008
politics.
i am sick of politics.
and i am unsure of how else to say this, so i will write a very simple sentence that accurately reflects my feelings toward the subject.
i wont use any words that will create any ambiguities or misconceptions.
ready...
Pronto...?
i do not care about politics.
got that?
many people that i have been dealing with of late, are either lefts or rights, far to one extreme or the other. and insist on discussing politics.
i do not care about politics.
"oh how can he run on the 'change' ticket if he picked someone that has been in washington for 30 years?"
"we met this couple of older, vigorous people in Urbino and they were so far left and so interested in the world and were so eager to talk about the state of the world, it was lovely."
"when he wins, all this will change."
"if he wins, he can solve poverty."
none of these quotes are 100% accurate, merely paraphrased from my memory, nor are they attributed.
the only thing that excites me about this election is, that in one month, it will be over.
i am not excited about change, b-c we all know that one president can not revamp an entire political system.
i am not excited about one candidates long standing service to the country b-c no matter how moderate he is, he will still side with his party.
i am not excited about a great third party uprising, b-c... c'mon... dont bullshit me like that.
i do not care about politics.
but i am counting down the days to the election.
and i am unsure of how else to say this, so i will write a very simple sentence that accurately reflects my feelings toward the subject.
i wont use any words that will create any ambiguities or misconceptions.
ready...
Pronto...?
i do not care about politics.
got that?
many people that i have been dealing with of late, are either lefts or rights, far to one extreme or the other. and insist on discussing politics.
i do not care about politics.
"oh how can he run on the 'change' ticket if he picked someone that has been in washington for 30 years?"
"we met this couple of older, vigorous people in Urbino and they were so far left and so interested in the world and were so eager to talk about the state of the world, it was lovely."
"when he wins, all this will change."
"if he wins, he can solve poverty."
none of these quotes are 100% accurate, merely paraphrased from my memory, nor are they attributed.
the only thing that excites me about this election is, that in one month, it will be over.
i am not excited about change, b-c we all know that one president can not revamp an entire political system.
i am not excited about one candidates long standing service to the country b-c no matter how moderate he is, he will still side with his party.
i am not excited about a great third party uprising, b-c... c'mon... dont bullshit me like that.
i do not care about politics.
but i am counting down the days to the election.
a broken spoke at 5300 feet will get you a four hour lunch with an Italian family.
Have I got a story for you!
Long story short, I did 5300 feet of climbing and spend four hours eating lunch with the Baldani Sisters and their families, a family I had never met before in my life.
Now for the details:
Brian and I left Ascoli at about ten thirty after a quick bottom bracket lube and tighten.
We rolled out of his shop and headed for Mt. Vettore, by way of the Vecchia Salaria, Aqua Santa Ferme and Arquata del Tronto. The real climbing started when we hit the outskirts of Arquata. It was steep enough and there were plenty of switchback to keep life interesting, but always looming over our heads was Mt. Vettore, which has snow on it as of the last couple of days.
We worked our way up, the air got colder and thinner, trees became less deciduous and more evergreen in quantity. I was feeling really good from the two dinners I had eaten the previous night (pasta and sausage at 6:30 and a tuna sandwich at 10:30), so I was doing hill-attacks; going from about 9-10 mph with Brian (he hadn’t ridden in two weeks and was fighting a cold that his daughters gave him) to attacking at 14-16mph, maxing out my heart rate at about 196bpm. I did a couple of these, then waited for Brian and we continued to climb the mountain. {It’s strange saying mountain but this was an honest to goodness MOUNTAIN!}
As we neared the intersection that can take you to either Comunanza (where Brian was going after the max ascent) or Castelluccio (a town in geographic bowl), Brian was suffering like a dog in august and my head was started to pound a little.
The road had less switchbacks at this point and more straight sections as we approached the timberline. Some sections were exposed to the windward side, which was hell b/c the wind was a-blowing hard up there! Then you’d round a corner and tuck back into the leeward sections of road. At one point I rounded a switchback that went from a miserable fight then to care-free spin as the wind changed in my favor.
I took some pictures; the one of Brian rounding the switch and the one of me, looking like I’m dying.
Then, it got hard.
As if 7mph from the preceding 40 minutes, with my heart rate not dropping below 186 bpm, wasn’t bad enough…
Now we, I should say “I” b/c I had dropped Brian long ago, were completely above timberline, exposed to the wind and climbing straight sections of road. I dropped my speed to 5 mph and raised my heart rate to 190 bpm. I was ready to shift into my spokes, and couldn’t seem to find any sort of cadence or rhythm, sitting or standing. It didn’t seem like my pace was getting me anywhere and the road just didn’t want to end; couple that with the fact that I didn’t know how much longer this misery would last, I was seriously considering bailing out of this god-forsaken epic pain festival.
During my suffering, cars and motorcycles kept passing me. There was one sport bike that I heard two minutes before he passed me at warp 3. It had to have been a 600cc bike b/c I have never heard a 1000cc bike rev that high. I heard him screaming from down below me. Then he got closer. As he ripped past me, I would have sworn out loud, if there was any spare oxygen with in 60 feet of me. Sadly, there was none b/c of my spectacular rate of consumption and general fatigue.
At this point the road splits a rock outcropping; bare naked mountain to the left with a Madonna shrine carved into the mountain, and outcropping to the right, with touches of snow tucked in to the shadows. Before I passed through this, I stopped to take a couple more photos.
I snapped away; the road splitting the mountain, cough, the view of the Adriatic Sea, cough cough, the unreachable-by-bike, snow-covered summit of Mt Vettore, cough cough cough, then finally threw up what was left of my breakfast. Then, lest I forget my suffering, I took a picture of my vomit.
As I clipped back in, Brian caught up to me.
“Look. You can see the ocean from the moon,” I said to him, in reference to our insane altitude. “And I threw up. I took a picture.”
“SWEET! This is now truly and epic climb!” Brian, no matter ho miserable, no matter how black things are around him b/c of the suffering he is subjecting himself to on the bike, is intensely upbeat; as long as the suffering is born from the bike.
One hundred meters farther and we arrived at the parking area that signifies the Forcigliela pass. We took a cursory look around, ducked behind a car in order ourselves from the screaming, maybe 30-40 mph winds and broke out our wind layers and arm warmers in order to prepare for the descent. I snapped a few pictures of the misery in Brian’s eyes, a hiker coming down from the summit of Vettore. In the, maybe, three minutes it took to complete all of those tasks, my shivers turned in to what looked more like seizures.
We rolled out, into the wind and toward the descent. I shifted all the way up to my biggest gear, 53 in the front and 12 in the back, not that I was planning on powering down this killer mountain, but just b/c anything lower would have made me spin wildly, possibly throwing my the balance of my bike.
Brian jetted past me, as he always does.
I looked down and my speed was approaching 32 mph when my bike started to shimmy a little at first. Then progressed in to fairly wild, left to right, harmonic shaking.
I started breaking, with as much pressure as I felt was safe. I called out for Brian to slow down, but he couldn’t hear me with the wind in his ears. The only thing I could think was the video clip Valentino Rossi getting pitched off his motoGP machine as result of violent tank-slapper. Somehow I was able get my speed down and unclip in order to inspect my rig. I checked my spokes by gently squeezing them together and they all seemed to be in order.
I rolled back out, with the mindset of slow and easy, not to upset anything again and cheat death. I got one pedal stroke in to round two of the descent of doom, and PING, there goes a front spoke!
Now, with a front wheel dramatically out of alignment and 5300 feet up a mountain, the only thing I can think to do is flag down a car and ask if they can give me ride to the base of mountain so I can limp this bad boy back to Ascoli.
Enter Gloria and Franco Baldani.
I asked the first car, which had Gloria’s sister in it, in the caravan of two, if they could help me out. I quickly noticed that the car was full. They told me that the car behind them was the second car in their caravan, and that, yes, they could help me, but I should ask Gloria b/c they only had two people and a dog in their car. After asking, in halting Italian, if they could get me to the bottom of the mountain, they said, “Yes, but we have lunch plans but you can come with us.”
“Sei sicuro?” I asked. “Are you sure?”
“Si, si,” Gloria told me.
Shortly before Brian rolled back up and we quickly discussed the situation.
“It’s ride-able. I’ve seen worse,” he said intrepidly.
I preety much said, well you can ride it then, but I am going to get a ride to the bottom with these people.
It was now that I heard Gloria mention pranzo, or lunch.
“Uhh… mio vestiti e una problema?”
No, no my cycling clothes, or as some people like to refer to it, my lingere, would not be a problem.
Then, came the four hour, six course lunch, during which we discussed: where I was from, how much I ride, the excellent quality of Adriatic fish, how fast I ride, how long I am here in italy, why I am here in italy, how many kids Gloria has, how long she has been painting, what she does for work, how often she travels to Rome, why her dog is named Bullma after the wife of Vegeta from Dragonball Z, the local specialty liquors of Ascoli and Ancona and why Varnelli (Ancona’s specialty) can’t be copied even though it’s tried, the type of terrain that is in New Hampshire and how it is different in italy, where Gloria's sister told her hairdresser to stick the 140euro hair cut bill, how cross-country skiers use synthetic seal skin to help them ascend mountains in the winter; ALL IN ITALIAN!
At about 5 o’clock, we got up to leave and they refused to left me pay my share of the bill. We got a group picture and some candids as we walked to the car. Franco told me about the ancient legend/poem of why the mountains in Parco Sibilini are different from the mountains in Parco Monta della Laga; Sibilini had a salt water lake and della Laga had a sweet water lake in it which was responsible for the difference in rock formations, according to a 1400’s poet.
We returned to Ascoli and they dropped me right off in front of my door. We exchanged emails so that I can email them our group photo and, of course, plan when I am to go to Ancona so that Gloria can cook me a good fish dinner and so that Franco can take me for a swim in the Adriatic.
You know how it goes; just another day on the bike in Italy!
Thursday, October 2, 2008
In case you missed Ballan's sick attack in Varese...
this is the website of the guy that won the Wednesday afternoon ride.
and this is Ballan's monstrous attack 3km from the finish of the Worlds.
this will not be the first post of many that pimp out other people's websites, news or products. it's just that i didnt see the video of the race and any body that likes cycling should watch this, if only for the fact to see Bettini not win Worlds for once, and the Spanish national team blow it.
and this is Ballan's monstrous attack 3km from the finish of the Worlds.
this will not be the first post of many that pimp out other people's websites, news or products. it's just that i didnt see the video of the race and any body that likes cycling should watch this, if only for the fact to see Bettini not win Worlds for once, and the Spanish national team blow it.
Porchetta!!
this is the fellow that sells porchetta sandwiches and ... well ... his product.
and in the last picture, he is adjusting his hat. which took him about 40 seconds. b-c it had to be juuuuuuuust right.Wednesday, October 1, 2008
GRUPPO! + recap
roberto told me to be at his shop at 12:35, wednesday.
he told me we were going on a group ride, a friendly ride b/w friends.
if italian cyclists are anything like american cyclists, we're going to try to rip eachothers legs off!
and finally he told that he wsnt going to tell his buddies that i was coming,
that i would be a surprise.
i told him to tell me when to attack and when to go slowly.
i told him that i would be ready.
and i am.
[four hours later...]
the group ride was great. and let me tell you, those guys are STRONG!
once again, they call me "Armstrong". but also they all have spanish nicknames. and i think mine is "Gringo". there were so many names, both proper and nick, flying about that i really dont remember them. there was Roberto, Guido, Pepe, Danielle, Giacomo... that's all that i remember, and i probably couldnt place the right name to the right face. i think there were about 10 of us by the end, b-c we picked people up along the way.
anyways.... as far as the ride is concerned;
every Wednesday these guys do the same route; flat, through Zona Industriale, on to the Bonafica (past the whores, yes thats right, i said whores), then up a 3km climb which is constant and gradual in gradient.
it took me a little while to get acclimated to the pack. one guy, he had Loco in his nickname, started toying with people early and would sprint off and then sit up; just for kicks.
they paceline it and rotate through, same as any group ride.
so we cruised out to the climb at about 23 - 24 mph, nothing to drastic.
we hit the climb and Giudo told me its characteristics. i went to the front and sat there for a little while, in retrospect not long enough.
i had one good attack, then pulled off, b-c chunks of blown up phill were covering the road. Pepe and Roberto stayed on my wheel for my attack and took the lead. i kept dropping back little by little and was about 100meters off Roberto's wheel by the top of the climb.
oh, and as i was pulling off after my attack, a streak shot by me. a young buck named Giacomo blasted past us as though we were standing still. Roberto told me later that he is a pro-am racer, which must be true b.c that kid disapeared!
so, we hit the top, turned around and came back down and followed the exact same roads back to the finishing line; which by the way is a squiggly, spray painted line on the road that i think one fof the boys did himself.
1km from the finish, Danielle attacked. i followed. he let up. then, as i was passing him, Giacomo led a train passed at about 32mph. i caught on, just barely, but spent too much to catch on that i couldnt hold their wheels. Giacomo pulled up the off-ramp that leads to the finishing straight and Loco (?) and someone else drag-raced to the finishing line. Loco won, Giacomo coasted through at third, and i hammered as hard as i could to get fourth, which was uncontentested b-c i got enough of a gap on the field when i tried to catch the Giacomo train.
i was a great ride. Roberto told me to come back every week and by April i will be alot stronger.
every group has its characters; when Guido rolled past me, a couple of times, he said, in fairly good english, "BIG PHIL!" (Phil being pronounced more like 'Feel').
and apparently, Giudo is also the guy that is very strong but never works up front, just sucks wheels all day in a break while you kill yourself.
anyway they were a great group of guys. and i am getting better at understanding moderately paced Italian speech. sometimes i say si or no, then realize what was said. but the guy in the rabobank-looking colors, asked me "venuto a italia per imparare la lengua" or something like that (what he said wsa probably grammatically correct whereas that was not) but i said Sì. then maybe 5 or 10 seconds later, my brain figured it out and i re-affirmed my answer by repeating his phrase with the "I" form instead of the "you" verb conjugation.
overall score 8 out of 10.
10 out of 10 will come when i win their race.
he told me we were going on a group ride, a friendly ride b/w friends.
if italian cyclists are anything like american cyclists, we're going to try to rip eachothers legs off!
and finally he told that he wsnt going to tell his buddies that i was coming,
that i would be a surprise.
i told him to tell me when to attack and when to go slowly.
i told him that i would be ready.
and i am.
[four hours later...]
the group ride was great. and let me tell you, those guys are STRONG!
once again, they call me "Armstrong". but also they all have spanish nicknames. and i think mine is "Gringo". there were so many names, both proper and nick, flying about that i really dont remember them. there was Roberto, Guido, Pepe, Danielle, Giacomo... that's all that i remember, and i probably couldnt place the right name to the right face. i think there were about 10 of us by the end, b-c we picked people up along the way.
anyways.... as far as the ride is concerned;
every Wednesday these guys do the same route; flat, through Zona Industriale, on to the Bonafica (past the whores, yes thats right, i said whores), then up a 3km climb which is constant and gradual in gradient.
it took me a little while to get acclimated to the pack. one guy, he had Loco in his nickname, started toying with people early and would sprint off and then sit up; just for kicks.
they paceline it and rotate through, same as any group ride.
so we cruised out to the climb at about 23 - 24 mph, nothing to drastic.
we hit the climb and Giudo told me its characteristics. i went to the front and sat there for a little while, in retrospect not long enough.
i had one good attack, then pulled off, b-c chunks of blown up phill were covering the road. Pepe and Roberto stayed on my wheel for my attack and took the lead. i kept dropping back little by little and was about 100meters off Roberto's wheel by the top of the climb.
oh, and as i was pulling off after my attack, a streak shot by me. a young buck named Giacomo blasted past us as though we were standing still. Roberto told me later that he is a pro-am racer, which must be true b.c that kid disapeared!
so, we hit the top, turned around and came back down and followed the exact same roads back to the finishing line; which by the way is a squiggly, spray painted line on the road that i think one fof the boys did himself.
1km from the finish, Danielle attacked. i followed. he let up. then, as i was passing him, Giacomo led a train passed at about 32mph. i caught on, just barely, but spent too much to catch on that i couldnt hold their wheels. Giacomo pulled up the off-ramp that leads to the finishing straight and Loco (?) and someone else drag-raced to the finishing line. Loco won, Giacomo coasted through at third, and i hammered as hard as i could to get fourth, which was uncontentested b-c i got enough of a gap on the field when i tried to catch the Giacomo train.
i was a great ride. Roberto told me to come back every week and by April i will be alot stronger.
every group has its characters; when Guido rolled past me, a couple of times, he said, in fairly good english, "BIG PHIL!" (Phil being pronounced more like 'Feel').
and apparently, Giudo is also the guy that is very strong but never works up front, just sucks wheels all day in a break while you kill yourself.
anyway they were a great group of guys. and i am getting better at understanding moderately paced Italian speech. sometimes i say si or no, then realize what was said. but the guy in the rabobank-looking colors, asked me "venuto a italia per imparare la lengua" or something like that (what he said wsa probably grammatically correct whereas that was not) but i said Sì. then maybe 5 or 10 seconds later, my brain figured it out and i re-affirmed my answer by repeating his phrase with the "I" form instead of the "you" verb conjugation.
overall score 8 out of 10.
10 out of 10 will come when i win their race.
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