thebaz

(finally completing this September 26 in Brighton, ON) Wary of getting up late and missing my train I slept fitfully, if at all - waking several times during the night. At about 2:30 I turned on the TV to get a time check (it's faster and easier than booting up my chromebook or wandering through the camera settings) and ended up watching the replay of Bologna-Napoli soccer match. It was infinitely better than the Serie 3 game Bob and I had watched part of earlier in the week, but despite its allure (these guys were really good!) I watched only until the end of the first half, figuring I really ought to get some sleep prior to my 23-hour nonstop travel day. (For anyone interested, the game was a scoreless draw when I left it; I ... read more

Having stayed up late and gotten up early I was so tired I actually had a cappuccino at breakfast this morning! In spite of that we had a late start, and not just because I wasn't feeling frisky - Bob is leaving tomorrow and needed to arrange a lift to the train station (we will indeed be leaving from Vignale-Riotorto station, a mere 6 minutes away according to Google maps) and to determine which train to get his ticket for, so we waited until we found Chiara (who speaks excellent English) to discuss the matter; I rode shotgun on the conversation because I will need the same service on Saturday (although my ticket is already purchased). Despite being told that the train station was closed we decided to go see if there was a ticket vending ... read more

Finally a day of 'real' cycling, wherein I finally burn more calories than I consume (at least until I get back to the ranch), see what's on 'the other side of the mountain', and experience a bit of everything in terms of road and weather. Bob and I were of opposite minds today - he wanted to explore the (flat) coast and I wanted to climb the hills, so we set off independently (in fact we didn't even leave at the same time). Rain seemed to have fallen earlier, and the roads were not always completely dry, but the morning clouds had been replaced by sunshine so my only concern was not to ride into the weather that I could see lingering over the hills. After retracing yesterday's route to Cafaggio, I turned right this time ... read more

No longer having to adhere to a fixed schedule, and with breakfast starting only at 8:00, we took a more casual "let's see if we can figure out how things work" approach to the day. The first item on order was to see what the 'cyclist lunch bag' contained: a banana; an"energy bar" that provided only 126 calories from 22.8 grams of carbohydrates, 2.3 grams of protein, and 2.5 grams of fat; a ham and cheese sandwich on what seemed to be the Italian equivalent of Wonder Bread; and a bottle of water. I'm not sure why the latter was included inasmuch as when we checked in we were given cycling water bottles that could have been filled instead. We then sought further clarification from Chiara (who speaks excellent English) about our meal plan here, since ... read more

It wasn't apparent to me at the start that we would be heading there, but today we finally got to see San Marino. Following the usual morning travel through city streets then up and down several (or just one? Who remembers?) hillocks, we motored along into the wind and along a false flat until we got to the moderately steep 3km climb that led to our first course (and view) for the day before descending slightly and taking a hard left to start the climb to the city itself, where those of us who had pressed on ahead paused briefly for course #2 and another quick view before the others joined us to continue up and even further (and steeper) through the cobbles amid the wandering tourists until we finally reached the high point and the ... read more