All these photos are from Palmiano.
<-- that's Gran Sasso, 50 km away!
man, it was cold here this weekend!
i know, i know... it wasnt as cold here in Ascoli as it was in NH, but still when you dont have important winter riding gear such as neoprene booties and insulated gloves, it seems colder than it actually is. it was 11°C on saturday (in the sun) and 9°C on Sunday (in the sun), WAY colder on the shaded descents.
saturday, i climbed. then i video-taped the descents from half-way-between-Force and Venarotta, the descent from Venarotta to Ascoli, then the funnest part of SS81, the road to Teramo.
it was so clear that day! when i arrived in Palmiano i went in to the Centro (remember the four house rule?) i had an absolutely jaw-dropping view of Parco Monti Sibilini to the west and Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga to the south. it was unbelievable!
i felt bad for once reason; when barb was here, it was humid and visibility was limited so she couldnt see the million mountains that surround this area. Oh yeah, i felt bad for another reason; i was climbing for about 30 minutes straight and had another ten to go after Palmiano.
anyways, since it was so beautiful, i took plenty of pictures.
the filming went well. it took me a while to figure out how and where to fix my camera to my bike or helmet. i finally used those blue utility straps (thank you Aimee) to strap my sweet camera (Cannon Powershot SD870IS, youre welcome Cannon for the plug, you can send that check to my normal billing adress) with a sock between it and my handlebars, in hopes that the sock would dampen the road vibration.
it went well. it was cool. i am glad i will have more than pictures to remember my riding here.
Sunday; i would have rather stayed in bed all day.
but i went out, in the cold, without the right gear. i got to the rotunda after Castel di Lama, where you can decide to stay on the Salaria or go up to Offida. i thought about it; "well, i cant ride to Offida when i get home but i can ride to the beach in NH, so i might as well as go up."
that climb is beautiful and will always be my favorite b.c it was my first ride here (first ride that took me farther out in to the country). it is just specatular b-c you climb up a ridge and just ride it all the way in to Offida.
but overall, i had no motivation to do any pedaling sunday, but ended up with 38 miles.
OH! I havent written about this yet b-c i keep forgetting!
But i accomplished my goal of 1000 miles in Italy on 15 Sunday November 2008! it was on the rollers that day, so it wasnt technically on Italian soil but it was in Italy. then after that, if you want to quibble about it, i got a for-sure-on-the-soil-of-Italy 1000 miles on 18 Wednesday November 2008! then, i thought, "why stop there?", so i went for 5000 miles for the year, on the geared bike.
i got that with my ride on Sunday. so, i suppose you could say that i have accomplished all that i set out to accomplish here in Italy. which is pretty sweet. if it was only warmer.....
i know, i know... it wasnt as cold here in Ascoli as it was in NH, but still when you dont have important winter riding gear such as neoprene booties and insulated gloves, it seems colder than it actually is. it was 11°C on saturday (in the sun) and 9°C on Sunday (in the sun), WAY colder on the shaded descents.
saturday, i climbed. then i video-taped the descents from half-way-between-Force and Venarotta, the descent from Venarotta to Ascoli, then the funnest part of SS81, the road to Teramo.
it was so clear that day! when i arrived in Palmiano i went in to the Centro (remember the four house rule?) i had an absolutely jaw-dropping view of Parco Monti Sibilini to the west and Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga to the south. it was unbelievable!
i felt bad for once reason; when barb was here, it was humid and visibility was limited so she couldnt see the million mountains that surround this area. Oh yeah, i felt bad for another reason; i was climbing for about 30 minutes straight and had another ten to go after Palmiano.
anyways, since it was so beautiful, i took plenty of pictures.
the filming went well. it took me a while to figure out how and where to fix my camera to my bike or helmet. i finally used those blue utility straps (thank you Aimee) to strap my sweet camera (Cannon Powershot SD870IS, youre welcome Cannon for the plug, you can send that check to my normal billing adress) with a sock between it and my handlebars, in hopes that the sock would dampen the road vibration.
it went well. it was cool. i am glad i will have more than pictures to remember my riding here.
Sunday; i would have rather stayed in bed all day.
but i went out, in the cold, without the right gear. i got to the rotunda after Castel di Lama, where you can decide to stay on the Salaria or go up to Offida. i thought about it; "well, i cant ride to Offida when i get home but i can ride to the beach in NH, so i might as well as go up."
that climb is beautiful and will always be my favorite b.c it was my first ride here (first ride that took me farther out in to the country). it is just specatular b-c you climb up a ridge and just ride it all the way in to Offida.
but overall, i had no motivation to do any pedaling sunday, but ended up with 38 miles.
OH! I havent written about this yet b-c i keep forgetting!
But i accomplished my goal of 1000 miles in Italy on 15 Sunday November 2008! it was on the rollers that day, so it wasnt technically on Italian soil but it was in Italy. then after that, if you want to quibble about it, i got a for-sure-on-the-soil-of-Italy 1000 miles on 18 Wednesday November 2008! then, i thought, "why stop there?", so i went for 5000 miles for the year, on the geared bike.
i got that with my ride on Sunday. so, i suppose you could say that i have accomplished all that i set out to accomplish here in Italy. which is pretty sweet. if it was only warmer.....
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