There are so many things that have to be discovered anywhere when one moves someplace new. In my case this week, it's trying to figure out how to be properly licensed and registered for a Gran Fondo. It's not like there's a guide to this anywhere in existence. In Italy, 1/2 of the information seems to live on the internet. The other 1/2 is tribal knowledge: the information (appears) to exist in one person's head or a combination of a few people's heads and a paper flyer. The system here hasn't frustrated me like I hear other people being frustrated. (But I haven't tried to buy a house or do anything complicated yet, either.) Also, I don't think there's a system in the world that wouldn't be a little frustrating to someone totally new to it.
Tonight I visited the bike shop that I really like and talked to one of the mechanics who speaks English very well (my hope was that I could get by without the English, but not for this sort of information). I needed to apologize to him for not making the shop rides that he had told me about (and I had planned on attending prior to meeting the group of guys who I rode with this past weekend and last weekend). I was also hoping he could give me information about the upcoming Gran Fondo (which I absolutely can't wait for but in no way am physically ready for).
He was super friendly and he already knew that I had found this other group to ride with. To make a long story short, the cycling world is a very tight-knit, close community. It's a family of sorts and I could already feel it here (as I've mentioned in previous posts); but this was really nice, it was heart-warming to feel that I'm not as anonymous as I was when I first arrived.
The answer about the license is that I need to talk to some other people who will be around tomorrow, so that's a priority. There's a possibility that I'll need an International UCI license (which shouldn't be a problem to get). Hopefully an interesting post tomorrow night (though there might not be time to post anything until Wednesday).
Monday, April 26, 2010
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Under the Tuscan Sun, On the Tuscan Road
This weekend was a wonderful combo of good food, wine and riding. I need to be significantly better in the language by Tuesday (going out with a friend who doesn't speak English), so I need to not be blogging and spend as much time as possible studying. Right, I know this is a losing proposition, but I gotta try!
Today was a fabulous ride to Toscana & Lake Trasimeno.This is a ride I've been itching to go on, but wasn't sure of the backroads to take to the lake. It's immense and gorgeous, Wiki it, I didn't take any pictures. I was too engrossed in trying to eat crackers smothered in honey (not easy to do cleanly, let me tell you!)
The red line is the route. Awesome that without bike lanes anywhere in this country, we can pedal two abreast and cars don't have a problem with it. Motorcycles sometimes lose patience, but they figure out a way around us. I rode with the same group of guys as last Sunday. They're so much fun! Daniele was racing a Gran Fondo, so it missed the dynamic he brings to it, but definitely a great group of guys. They keep a very constant pace (though they don't sprint for town signs of which there are many) and it's really a good time out there on the road. Total: 115 km, 4 1/2 hrs. It's not enough, I want to do a Gran Fondo next weekend and they are typically ~140 km in length. Sounds like I need a license, so tomorrow I'll do a little research on that.
On the good food front: one of my roommates had a dinner party Friday night and she made pasta with a bunch of spinach and veggies to go on top. There was a Northern Italian, two British girls, my two roommates and a guy from Brazil. I'm really enjoying the cross-pollination of countries and the discussions surrounding languages and cultures.
Yesterday, my other roommate, her boyfriend and I went to a wine tasting. It was full of Umbrian wines from various vineyards throughout the region & in a lovely courtyard area. 7 euros bought us all you can drink vino and a nice wine glasss...for yesterday and today. Totally unreal. A very small wine tasting back home would cost $30 U.S. and only last a short time.
After enough wine to get my roommate and I a bit tipsy, we came home to eat. She made zucchini risotto. Seriously amazing risotto! My roommates like to cook. I do the dishes. Seems like a fair trade.
Today after the ride, I returned to the wine tasting and stayed for more hours than I like to admit. Met up with a few other students learning Italian and we tried all of the wines we didn't try yesterday (okay, not all, that's not humanly possible). After that, I high-tailed it to church. Thank goodness for the late Sunday mass.
Off to study Italian and doing some homework (we haven't been assigned anything prior to now). Hope you all have a good week!!!
Today was a fabulous ride to Toscana & Lake Trasimeno.This is a ride I've been itching to go on, but wasn't sure of the backroads to take to the lake. It's immense and gorgeous, Wiki it, I didn't take any pictures. I was too engrossed in trying to eat crackers smothered in honey (not easy to do cleanly, let me tell you!)
On the good food front: one of my roommates had a dinner party Friday night and she made pasta with a bunch of spinach and veggies to go on top. There was a Northern Italian, two British girls, my two roommates and a guy from Brazil. I'm really enjoying the cross-pollination of countries and the discussions surrounding languages and cultures.
Yesterday, my other roommate, her boyfriend and I went to a wine tasting. It was full of Umbrian wines from various vineyards throughout the region & in a lovely courtyard area. 7 euros bought us all you can drink vino and a nice wine glasss...for yesterday and today. Totally unreal. A very small wine tasting back home would cost $30 U.S. and only last a short time.
After enough wine to get my roommate and I a bit tipsy, we came home to eat. She made zucchini risotto. Seriously amazing risotto! My roommates like to cook. I do the dishes. Seems like a fair trade.
Today after the ride, I returned to the wine tasting and stayed for more hours than I like to admit. Met up with a few other students learning Italian and we tried all of the wines we didn't try yesterday (okay, not all, that's not humanly possible). After that, I high-tailed it to church. Thank goodness for the late Sunday mass.
Off to study Italian and doing some homework (we haven't been assigned anything prior to now). Hope you all have a good week!!!
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Non Mi Annoio Mai in Umbria
The blog title (probably) translates to "I'm not bored in Umbria." My Italian is very elementary still so messing it all up is the norm. Here's a useful word: sbaglio. Mistake. :)
To add to the list of things I love about Italy (or at least this region) is that there are constantly fairs, markets, art, etc. going on. So much of these events are totally free and outside. I feel bad for everyone, though, the rainiest weather has been on the weekends. Yesterday and today included.
One week every year is Settimana della Cultura (Culture Week) where state-run museums, libraries, etc. are open free to all. Yesterday, one of my roommates (majored in art history) and I went to the Museo Archeologico Nazionale dell'Umbria (it's huge). They have an immense collection of urns, gold & ammulets amongst other things. Really great exhibits. Great activity for a brutto giorno (ugly day).
Courtyard of the museum--the building you see is the museum. Monstrous!
Graveyard of ancient urns.
View from the museum window.
The Umbrian Wine Festival is also this weekend...along with another wine tasting somewhere, I understand. How can one not attend such an event? The wine here is amazing (and this is coming from a beer lover). I don't think I've had any beer here (why? It's really expensive and it's hard to find the good microbrews.) The wine in the U.S. always made me feel weird (a heaviness in my legs and tiredness immediately after drinking). Not so with the wine here. It's awesome.
The Festival Internazionale del Giornalismo is yet another event happening this week, through the weekend. Al Gore is speaking this evening in town, not sure the topic. Staying away from U.S. politics has made me very, very happy. I will pass on tonight's talk.
There's a neat fair called "Pic & Nic" a Trevi in a nearby town (Trevi). Haven't been there, sounds nice...if it isn't raining.
Through next weekend is an amateur and pro kite flying event at yet another nearby town. With so much going on, it's hard to decide what to do and what to skip.
I'd like to understand why the incredible amount of things to do. My guesses are that it's one or a combination these: 1) Italian excuse to socialize, because Italians love to be together. 2) Excuse to eat, because Italians love good food. 3) Homes are small and possibly not where all fun things are happening, so it's important to people to get out of the house. 4) Very rural/farm-centric area. 5) TV isn't all that exciting here (I have no idea what TV is like here since mine doesn't work and I don't understand it. This definitely doesn't appear to be a TV culture, though, from what I've noticed from the homes I've been in.
Enough for now...hope you all have a fabulous weekend!!!
To add to the list of things I love about Italy (or at least this region) is that there are constantly fairs, markets, art, etc. going on. So much of these events are totally free and outside. I feel bad for everyone, though, the rainiest weather has been on the weekends. Yesterday and today included.
One week every year is Settimana della Cultura (Culture Week) where state-run museums, libraries, etc. are open free to all. Yesterday, one of my roommates (majored in art history) and I went to the Museo Archeologico Nazionale dell'Umbria (it's huge). They have an immense collection of urns, gold & ammulets amongst other things. Really great exhibits. Great activity for a brutto giorno (ugly day).
The Umbrian Wine Festival is also this weekend...along with another wine tasting somewhere, I understand. How can one not attend such an event? The wine here is amazing (and this is coming from a beer lover). I don't think I've had any beer here (why? It's really expensive and it's hard to find the good microbrews.) The wine in the U.S. always made me feel weird (a heaviness in my legs and tiredness immediately after drinking). Not so with the wine here. It's awesome.
The Festival Internazionale del Giornalismo is yet another event happening this week, through the weekend. Al Gore is speaking this evening in town, not sure the topic. Staying away from U.S. politics has made me very, very happy. I will pass on tonight's talk.
There's a neat fair called "Pic & Nic" a Trevi in a nearby town (Trevi). Haven't been there, sounds nice...if it isn't raining.
Through next weekend is an amateur and pro kite flying event at yet another nearby town. With so much going on, it's hard to decide what to do and what to skip.
I'd like to understand why the incredible amount of things to do. My guesses are that it's one or a combination these: 1) Italian excuse to socialize, because Italians love to be together. 2) Excuse to eat, because Italians love good food. 3) Homes are small and possibly not where all fun things are happening, so it's important to people to get out of the house. 4) Very rural/farm-centric area. 5) TV isn't all that exciting here (I have no idea what TV is like here since mine doesn't work and I don't understand it. This definitely doesn't appear to be a TV culture, though, from what I've noticed from the homes I've been in.
Enough for now...hope you all have a fabulous weekend!!!
Friday, April 23, 2010
Word of the Day: Bo
Bo. This is a fun word in Italian that doesn't translate to English, nor can I explain it very well. Basically, it's a word that has no meaning and is used to occupy empty space in a conversation. Possibly because Italians don't like any empty space in conversations? Non so. [I don't know.]
I'm not remotely tired (it's almost 2 am here), but also not interested in blogging much. The story of the day was that it was a very nice one in class and there was time after to get 4 hours and 100km on the road....yes, the weather was that lovely and the fields are a rich, incredible green. I was attempting to meet up with one of my new bike friends (who doesn't speak English) and I made a wrong turn so we didn't meet up. Darn it. But I did find a couple new roads in the process. Seriously, no good reason to ever repeat the same ride exactly.
I ran into a group of cyclists going the same way for a few minutes, they were all heading to Foligno. It sounds like that's the place where all of the cyclists have been hiding (since they are not in Perugia). They were very nice and friendly, too. I'm sure they're serious racers, their quads had "racer" written all over them.
At the 65th km, I stopped to refuel--pizza and water. That settled quite nicely and it was not hard to get home as it usually is. I really need to work on nutrition...sports drink is sort of necessary, but I'd love to get by without it. And with that, I realize that these blog posts are becoming increasingly uninteresting with each passing day. I might start skipping days here and there, don't be concerned, I just need to write when I'm inspired to do so and when there's time. I owe a lot of people emails, and many of them need to be written in Italian, so will take quite a bit of time! As always, I really enjoy getting the personal emails from you and am so blessed to have each of you in my life!!!!!! So sorry that I can't reply to everything, but know that you totally make my day with your wonderful news and happy thoughts. :)
Bo.
I'm not remotely tired (it's almost 2 am here), but also not interested in blogging much. The story of the day was that it was a very nice one in class and there was time after to get 4 hours and 100km on the road....yes, the weather was that lovely and the fields are a rich, incredible green. I was attempting to meet up with one of my new bike friends (who doesn't speak English) and I made a wrong turn so we didn't meet up. Darn it. But I did find a couple new roads in the process. Seriously, no good reason to ever repeat the same ride exactly.
I ran into a group of cyclists going the same way for a few minutes, they were all heading to Foligno. It sounds like that's the place where all of the cyclists have been hiding (since they are not in Perugia). They were very nice and friendly, too. I'm sure they're serious racers, their quads had "racer" written all over them.
At the 65th km, I stopped to refuel--pizza and water. That settled quite nicely and it was not hard to get home as it usually is. I really need to work on nutrition...sports drink is sort of necessary, but I'd love to get by without it. And with that, I realize that these blog posts are becoming increasingly uninteresting with each passing day. I might start skipping days here and there, don't be concerned, I just need to write when I'm inspired to do so and when there's time. I owe a lot of people emails, and many of them need to be written in Italian, so will take quite a bit of time! As always, I really enjoy getting the personal emails from you and am so blessed to have each of you in my life!!!!!! So sorry that I can't reply to everything, but know that you totally make my day with your wonderful news and happy thoughts. :)
Bo.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Technically this Post Shouldn't Exist
Nothing to blog today...got in a great 70 km ride before class, good class (reflexive verbs were the topic of the day) and I'm tired, need sleep. Also need the weekend. Lots to do learning-wise, the weekend will be a great time for that. Also need to start planning some trips on the weekends.
Monster Giro d'Italia party waaay up north Wed night from 11pm-4am, but too far to go for it (darn!) Will be great when the tour comes through here. I'm already starting to lean towards taking 5 months of classes instead of 3 (since I want to know this language and be fluent in it). Don't have to decide until the first week in June, however. This means not traveling around as much in Europe which is something I really do want to do...maybe next summer...
Monster Giro d'Italia party waaay up north Wed night from 11pm-4am, but too far to go for it (darn!) Will be great when the tour comes through here. I'm already starting to lean towards taking 5 months of classes instead of 3 (since I want to know this language and be fluent in it). Don't have to decide until the first week in June, however. This means not traveling around as much in Europe which is something I really do want to do...maybe next summer...
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Just a Regular Day
It was simply a nice day today. Started the day by visiting the oldest bar in town for a cappuccino, reviewed flashcards while standing at the bar savoring the drink (sorry, Starbucks, you are weak and flavorless next to Italian coffee). Visited a couple of historic sites in the town center and ambled off to class, meeting up with a new-to-me tiny grocery store where I bought lunch (hazelnut yogurt) on the way.
Class was good, I love what we're learning, I don't love it that I'm having issues with pronunciation. I hear the words perfectly in my head, but they come out differently. Seriously, I blame Spanish. Words and pronunciations are still bubbling up from high school Spanish so it weakens my confidence a little when I just say what comes to mind. Getting all of this settled in my head will come soon enough with all of the immersion so I'm not concerned.
The day was cloudless (this time nothing weird happened with the weather), leading to a lovely ride in the evening and a perfect sunset. The bike ride was nearly required since I really need that time to think through the Italian grammar and allow the vocab from class to settle into my brain. The intensity of class is too much to come home and not have a quality break.
Class was good, I love what we're learning, I don't love it that I'm having issues with pronunciation. I hear the words perfectly in my head, but they come out differently. Seriously, I blame Spanish. Words and pronunciations are still bubbling up from high school Spanish so it weakens my confidence a little when I just say what comes to mind. Getting all of this settled in my head will come soon enough with all of the immersion so I'm not concerned.
The day was cloudless (this time nothing weird happened with the weather), leading to a lovely ride in the evening and a perfect sunset. The bike ride was nearly required since I really need that time to think through the Italian grammar and allow the vocab from class to settle into my brain. The intensity of class is too much to come home and not have a quality break.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Tiramisu and Vocabulario...
Today was a full day of studying, going to class, coming home (exhausted at the end of class as usual because of the intense thinking), not having any way to play since the rain came back yet again (and it was a perfect morning), so I escaped to a really neat dungeon creperia in a nearby Etruscan cave (tons of them around here) and had their homemade tiramisu (nice and strong). I huddled over the books looking up words and making flashcards. 3 hours flew by. Vocab is addictive. Hard to stop looking up words when there, staring me in the face, is yet another that I don't know and probably should.
Alright, since today didn't allow for much in the way of fab pictures, let me resurrect a few pics of the Etruscan caves. I'll be learning more about the history of these soon, but be fascinated in the meantime (wikipedia probably tells as much as I'll get out of going to the museums here, anyhow).
Someone has set up her art in one room of this massive cave. I saw this as I was descending the monstrously large scale mobili (escalators) that take pedestrians from the top of the city downward to lower parts of the city. It's a pretty awesome scene down there in the bowels of the city. For as ancient and medieval as they are, it doesn't give me that watch-your-back sort of feel.
This one is really cool because it feels like it's outside at night in the streets--yet, look up--it's just one huge room.
Totally changing the subject, but I realized that I didn't post pics from Thurs night when I went out with my classmates. They played good music and were packed at this bar at 9:30 (very, very early for establishments...they're typically totally empty at that time). Not only was it full inside, look at the scene on the street just outside:
Off to play with flashcards! By the way, aside from learning past-tense today (really nice to know, I could use more tenses), we learned colors. This is like being a kindergartner all over again and I'm eating up every minute (literally and figuratively). :)
Alright, since today didn't allow for much in the way of fab pictures, let me resurrect a few pics of the Etruscan caves. I'll be learning more about the history of these soon, but be fascinated in the meantime (wikipedia probably tells as much as I'll get out of going to the museums here, anyhow).
Below is a clip that, when the song came on, I literally felt like I was time-warped back to Theta Tau (my college fraternity). It is so weird the power that music has to pull up memories that have to be dusted off a bit. (I'm not suggesting this is a great song, btw, but pretty great for those back in Eta Gamma years ago!)
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| From 2010-04-15 |
Off to play with flashcards! By the way, aside from learning past-tense today (really nice to know, I could use more tenses), we learned colors. This is like being a kindergartner all over again and I'm eating up every minute (literally and figuratively). :)
On the road with Italians
Unfortunately, today has come to an end. After a perfect day, it's hard to imagine ever having another such day. First, here's the data to establish the facts. Read on to get the insider info on experiencing a true Italian bike ride!
Map:
Elevation data (look at how the ride ends!) The really big hump is riding to Montefalco (home of a great winery) out of Bevagna:
Getting to al Bar
Turns out the sunny, cloudless sky at my place in Perugia didn't last long. Why? This place is so high, it was above the clouds. The descent was fairly humid-cold, and there was no way to see much of anything in the thick fog (nebbia). I made a major beginner error: I started riding before the GPS could pick up the satellites so I got started on the wrong road (in my disorientation with the fog) and it took a few wrong turns before making it to where I thought I was supposed to go. Considering how much Italian I know right now, I couldn't just call Daniele for directions. Long story short, we met up and he rode me over to where the group ride was going to begin.
The Ride
For starters, I didn't know what this ride would be all about. Remember, I don't speak enough Italian to know the right words surrounding riding bikes. It's a big group of mostly older/more settled guys who have a good level of endurance (no crazy racer types except for Daniele and maybe one or two others). How far were we going to go? For some reason, I assumed it would be the standard 3 hour, 50-60 mile route. I'd had a decent breakfast, but not nearly enough food on me for the 75 mile fast-paced ride (though it had lulls in places, there were also times of severe intensity...the rollers are absolutely brutal, also).
Immediately, it was obvious the guys were cool with having me with them. They were all very friendly and we exchanged a few words: "Ciao" and "Come va?" Daniele was awesome to make sure I was doing okay and that everything was "va bene" (going well). As the ride progressed, the conversations were longer and a bit more involved. They were all really sweet and seemed particularly protective of me. Sometimes on the hills, they'd push me up (even if I wasn't sweating it), they were just offering a friendly gesture. Considering they were all in full leg warmers and jackets, they kept wanting to know if I was too cold (freddo). Honestly, it wasn't that cold out there, but the very thin wind-breaker I had with me was perfetto and worn most of the time. It took a couple of hours for the fog to burn off and a toasty warm sun was behind it.
I'm so glad I have a story. There are the standard questions I am asked consistently: where are you from? Colorado? Ah, Colorado is very beautiful! Why are you here? Where do you live? How old are you? What do you do for a living in the US? I think I'm answering these with perfect ease at this point. I explain the family roots, family who live here now, where my family is in the US and who they are, all that. Every time I mention Bevagna, everyone perks up. It's such a little-known place to tourists, I think, and it has some sort of place in the locals hearts out here.
The ride today took us through Bevagna (not into the walled portion). It was pretty darn awesome, as we were flying past the home of my great grandfather, to be able to point and tell the guys its significance. They seemed to care.
A note about this group (and I'm guessing this is your standard cross-section of the bike rider population): they were really warm and friendly and very talkative with each other. I was drinking in the Italian conversations, the beauty of hearing this banter, very happy, sonorous banter, almost continually throughout the insanely gorgeous Umbrian countryside.
As you read this, you might be making certain assumptions as to why they were so nice to me. Here's some food for thought: when another large group of bike riders met up with our group (wearing very different team clothes), it was awesome the kinship and brotherly love shown between everyone. At one point, there must have been 4 pairs of guys with their arms on each other's shoulders, everyone happy to see each other and unafraid of touching each other. More massive amounts of Italian flying between different parties. More people saying hi to me, too. People are simply more into showing affection and touching each other, in general, here (probably common amongst most non-US cultures). It's something I've had to get used to, but I like it so much more than the cold stay-outta-my-personal-space-or-I'll-sue-you culture found in much of the US.
Early in the ride, Daniele suggested I jump on his wheel. I do as I'm instructed when I don't know the words for putting up a reasonable argument. Off we went on a break from the group. The group chased and one guy counter-attacked. At that point, I attacked and dropped him. The entire group absolutely fell apart in laughter. That was was the thing to do to be "adopted" by these guys. Daniele beamed with pride since he had brought me to this ride. (As an aside, Daniele is far stronger than I and a few of the guys climb better than me.)
I'm wondering when I should break out my secret weapon: swapping out these really heavy puncture-less tubes for standard road tubes. Next weekend and the weekend after are local Gran Fondo races that I will probably participate in...so I'd better do it soon! Or not and save it for a "special occasion" in mid-summer when I'm fitter/stronger. Here's a shot of the group.
They mentioned frequently something about eating (different conjugations of "mangiare"). I figured we'd stop fairly soon for espresso. After thinking harder about what they were saying, they had been asking me if I had eaten anything, did I have enough calories to survive this ride? Short answer is no.
We did end up stopping once with about 40km left to go for a quick cafe, water bottle fill up and a little photo op. I picked up a teeny-little "jar" of Nutella for additional calories. The cute little spoon that comes with the espresso was perfect for spooning out the Nutella. The guys wouldn't allow me to pay for anything.
This is me with one of the guys--he went far out of his way to ride me home after the group had split up. He also knows a little English, enough that I could ask him to help me say things properly in Italian and get translations for some words.
On a ride where I probably burned 3-4,000 calories, I ate about 300. That's how "bonk" is spelled. I would love to know the Italian word. In fact, they might have a few, just like Eskimos have multiple words for snow. The rollers really make the miles take longer and feel harder. So does the oxygen.
The Reward
After the long climb up to home (sooo close to falling off of the bike at that point), I immediately hit my favorite gelato place. Four scoops of gelato--each of a different nut flavor...there had to be some good protein in that! Went to a happy park that overlooks the city, ate it and reflected on everything. Then went home and made gnocchi.
See the little Nutella jar in the upper right-hand corner? Awwww how cute. Bimbo Nutella (bimbo means very young child in Italian).
All of this by only 3pm. The events of the rest of the day involved studying, taking a nap while basking in the sun on the stairs of the cathedral, going to church, having a dinner of eggs, veggies, black rice all mixed up together--no it doesn't have a name, and getting my new roommate: girl from Toronto, fluent in Italian, she's here on a 1-way ticket (Italian boyfriend) and she seems really cool to me.
One last note before I sign off: I think I am beginning to understand how immersion works. I could understand significantly more dialogue today than at this time last week. I'm using church as a good measuring stick since they pretty much always say the same thing and they tend to ennuncicate properly. All of the chit-chat on the bike forces me to listen intently to every sound and become more comfortable talking since I have no choice but to respond when they say something.
It's reasonable to call the ride today doing my homework. It's the most fun homework I've ever had.
The Day in Data
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Map:
The Day as it Went Down
The ride today is a challenge to capture in words, but I'm going to try. It's too cool of an experience for you to not hear how it went down. (Read when you have time!) First, this ride happened as a result of my meeting Daniele on the road a couple of days ago. He invited me to this one. The txt msg that I got last night told me to be at a coffee shop around 8am this morning. Uh oh, no way were my shoes, arm warmers or knee warmers going to have time to dry from yesterday! Can it possibly be warm enough at that hour to consider riding? I woke up before the alarm this morning, so excited to go on a group ride (I live for group rides). A glance out my window showed blue sky, the promise of a nice day.Getting to al Bar
Turns out the sunny, cloudless sky at my place in Perugia didn't last long. Why? This place is so high, it was above the clouds. The descent was fairly humid-cold, and there was no way to see much of anything in the thick fog (nebbia). I made a major beginner error: I started riding before the GPS could pick up the satellites so I got started on the wrong road (in my disorientation with the fog) and it took a few wrong turns before making it to where I thought I was supposed to go. Considering how much Italian I know right now, I couldn't just call Daniele for directions. Long story short, we met up and he rode me over to where the group ride was going to begin.
The Ride
For starters, I didn't know what this ride would be all about. Remember, I don't speak enough Italian to know the right words surrounding riding bikes. It's a big group of mostly older/more settled guys who have a good level of endurance (no crazy racer types except for Daniele and maybe one or two others). How far were we going to go? For some reason, I assumed it would be the standard 3 hour, 50-60 mile route. I'd had a decent breakfast, but not nearly enough food on me for the 75 mile fast-paced ride (though it had lulls in places, there were also times of severe intensity...the rollers are absolutely brutal, also).
Immediately, it was obvious the guys were cool with having me with them. They were all very friendly and we exchanged a few words: "Ciao" and "Come va?" Daniele was awesome to make sure I was doing okay and that everything was "va bene" (going well). As the ride progressed, the conversations were longer and a bit more involved. They were all really sweet and seemed particularly protective of me. Sometimes on the hills, they'd push me up (even if I wasn't sweating it), they were just offering a friendly gesture. Considering they were all in full leg warmers and jackets, they kept wanting to know if I was too cold (freddo). Honestly, it wasn't that cold out there, but the very thin wind-breaker I had with me was perfetto and worn most of the time. It took a couple of hours for the fog to burn off and a toasty warm sun was behind it.
I'm so glad I have a story. There are the standard questions I am asked consistently: where are you from? Colorado? Ah, Colorado is very beautiful! Why are you here? Where do you live? How old are you? What do you do for a living in the US? I think I'm answering these with perfect ease at this point. I explain the family roots, family who live here now, where my family is in the US and who they are, all that. Every time I mention Bevagna, everyone perks up. It's such a little-known place to tourists, I think, and it has some sort of place in the locals hearts out here.
The ride today took us through Bevagna (not into the walled portion). It was pretty darn awesome, as we were flying past the home of my great grandfather, to be able to point and tell the guys its significance. They seemed to care.
A note about this group (and I'm guessing this is your standard cross-section of the bike rider population): they were really warm and friendly and very talkative with each other. I was drinking in the Italian conversations, the beauty of hearing this banter, very happy, sonorous banter, almost continually throughout the insanely gorgeous Umbrian countryside.
As you read this, you might be making certain assumptions as to why they were so nice to me. Here's some food for thought: when another large group of bike riders met up with our group (wearing very different team clothes), it was awesome the kinship and brotherly love shown between everyone. At one point, there must have been 4 pairs of guys with their arms on each other's shoulders, everyone happy to see each other and unafraid of touching each other. More massive amounts of Italian flying between different parties. More people saying hi to me, too. People are simply more into showing affection and touching each other, in general, here (probably common amongst most non-US cultures). It's something I've had to get used to, but I like it so much more than the cold stay-outta-my-personal-space-or-I'll-sue-you culture found in much of the US.
Early in the ride, Daniele suggested I jump on his wheel. I do as I'm instructed when I don't know the words for putting up a reasonable argument. Off we went on a break from the group. The group chased and one guy counter-attacked. At that point, I attacked and dropped him. The entire group absolutely fell apart in laughter. That was was the thing to do to be "adopted" by these guys. Daniele beamed with pride since he had brought me to this ride. (As an aside, Daniele is far stronger than I and a few of the guys climb better than me.)
I'm wondering when I should break out my secret weapon: swapping out these really heavy puncture-less tubes for standard road tubes. Next weekend and the weekend after are local Gran Fondo races that I will probably participate in...so I'd better do it soon! Or not and save it for a "special occasion" in mid-summer when I'm fitter/stronger. Here's a shot of the group.
We did end up stopping once with about 40km left to go for a quick cafe, water bottle fill up and a little photo op. I picked up a teeny-little "jar" of Nutella for additional calories. The cute little spoon that comes with the espresso was perfect for spooning out the Nutella. The guys wouldn't allow me to pay for anything.
On a ride where I probably burned 3-4,000 calories, I ate about 300. That's how "bonk" is spelled. I would love to know the Italian word. In fact, they might have a few, just like Eskimos have multiple words for snow. The rollers really make the miles take longer and feel harder. So does the oxygen.
The Reward
All of this by only 3pm. The events of the rest of the day involved studying, taking a nap while basking in the sun on the stairs of the cathedral, going to church, having a dinner of eggs, veggies, black rice all mixed up together--no it doesn't have a name, and getting my new roommate: girl from Toronto, fluent in Italian, she's here on a 1-way ticket (Italian boyfriend) and she seems really cool to me.
One last note before I sign off: I think I am beginning to understand how immersion works. I could understand significantly more dialogue today than at this time last week. I'm using church as a good measuring stick since they pretty much always say the same thing and they tend to ennuncicate properly. All of the chit-chat on the bike forces me to listen intently to every sound and become more comfortable talking since I have no choice but to respond when they say something.
It's reasonable to call the ride today doing my homework. It's the most fun homework I've ever had.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Why dost thou do that, weather god?
There is a bathroom that needs to be scrubbed and clothes that need to be dried. Somehow (yet again), the blog gets priority. This is one of those days that promises little to begin and really impresses, leaving one stupefied by it all. What, pray tell, just happened?
I awoke at 10 this morning after having a late night yesterday (no crazy parties, just getting stuff done at home). It was a rainy morning and chilly, so I gave the day a little time to dry out and warm up before heading out on a ride. During this time, I studied vocabulary words, many dealing with weather. Word of the day: tempacchio. Translation: Bad weather. Vento (wind) and pioggia (rain) were among the set.
When I left, everything looked pretty fine to me with blue skies and a few scattered clouds here and there. I found yet another new road to take down the monster hill and into the countryside. There were a fair number of cyclists on the road. At one point, I was about to head in the direction I knew, but saw some cyclists ahead of me going on a different road. I decided that with the [amazing] invention of GPS, I might as well follow the cyclists since I wouldn't get lost.
One of the guys in the group was friendly and was cool to talk to (no, no English). He was drafting off of the others, but they didn't know each other. I wonder if it's an Italian thing. It's great that so far, everyone is very patient with my lack of vocabulary and brutal abuse of verbs. The group was going fairly slowly, so I was able to talk comfortably and snap some pictures. See for yourself--threatening sky? I think not!
I learned a whole new, very cycling-friendly route today by following these guys. Below is us going through Assisi.
Yeah, I'm a dork. This is a self-portrait in front of Assisi. Ga-ga gorgeous scenery! And, literally, moments before it started raining. One of the reasons why I've been completely avoiding riding on rainy days (aside from the fact that rain is typically not a lot of fun) is that I have been absolutely petrified about being on the wet roads because they can be very slick--like ice. Fortunately, since it's been raining so much lately, that probably took care of the problem (it has something to do with diesel fuel coming out of the road when the road gets wet).
The few drops of rain soon turned into a torrential downpour. 10k to ride home, all of it raining, me getting completely soaked. It wasn't cold out so it wasn't that miserable. By the time I got home, the rain wasn't bad (though it poured again after I got inside).
After a very pleasing hot shower and food (gnocchi), I set out to do some exploring in town. The rain had left for good at this point, making way for a lovely evening. Found a museum of Perugian pottery, on display in this iconic building (I think it might be the highest tower in town).
Here's a pic taken earlier in the evening--the tower can be seen in the distance.
Guided by the little helpful book I've mentioned before, I found a waaaay awesome macrobiotic place. It's all organic, very crunchy--just my style where it comes to cuisine. It's this kind of place that one would expect to find in Boulder but can't... you have to go to NYC to get the same experience. (As an aside, if you're in NYC, go to Angelica's Kitchen, it replicates my experience tonight).
The place was packed, and they seated me at the community table. YEA! A community table!!!!! Angelica's Kitchen is the only place I've found one before. Quick definition of a community table: The establishment has this large table that seats ~12. If you go alone or with one other person, and if you want, they put you here to save their space and no one eats alone.
Tonight, I had a full-on family Italian experience with a whole bunch of super friendly Italians who not only aren't my family, but they also don't know each other. Some of them knew a little English, but I tried as well as I could to speak Italian and understand them. This is a group of people who aren't thrilled by the quality of typical Italian cuisine. In itself, the topic deserves a fair amount of research on my part.
Dinner tonight: soup (not sure what was in it), and a large plate piled with brown rice with a green sauce (probably vegetables), steamed veggies--carrots, chard, cauliflower, raw salad, garbanzo beans and wheat pasta. 8 euro. Would have cost 1/2 that if I were a student (which I am) but I would also have to be two years younger. Grumble on that, but still very reasonable and what an experience!
With that, it's time to clean the bathroom, we're getting a 3rd roommate tomorrow sometime. Arrivederci!
I awoke at 10 this morning after having a late night yesterday (no crazy parties, just getting stuff done at home). It was a rainy morning and chilly, so I gave the day a little time to dry out and warm up before heading out on a ride. During this time, I studied vocabulary words, many dealing with weather. Word of the day: tempacchio. Translation: Bad weather. Vento (wind) and pioggia (rain) were among the set.
When I left, everything looked pretty fine to me with blue skies and a few scattered clouds here and there. I found yet another new road to take down the monster hill and into the countryside. There were a fair number of cyclists on the road. At one point, I was about to head in the direction I knew, but saw some cyclists ahead of me going on a different road. I decided that with the [amazing] invention of GPS, I might as well follow the cyclists since I wouldn't get lost.
One of the guys in the group was friendly and was cool to talk to (no, no English). He was drafting off of the others, but they didn't know each other. I wonder if it's an Italian thing. It's great that so far, everyone is very patient with my lack of vocabulary and brutal abuse of verbs. The group was going fairly slowly, so I was able to talk comfortably and snap some pictures. See for yourself--threatening sky? I think not!
I learned a whole new, very cycling-friendly route today by following these guys. Below is us going through Assisi.
The few drops of rain soon turned into a torrential downpour. 10k to ride home, all of it raining, me getting completely soaked. It wasn't cold out so it wasn't that miserable. By the time I got home, the rain wasn't bad (though it poured again after I got inside).
After a very pleasing hot shower and food (gnocchi), I set out to do some exploring in town. The rain had left for good at this point, making way for a lovely evening. Found a museum of Perugian pottery, on display in this iconic building (I think it might be the highest tower in town).
Here's a pic taken earlier in the evening--the tower can be seen in the distance.
Guided by the little helpful book I've mentioned before, I found a waaaay awesome macrobiotic place. It's all organic, very crunchy--just my style where it comes to cuisine. It's this kind of place that one would expect to find in Boulder but can't... you have to go to NYC to get the same experience. (As an aside, if you're in NYC, go to Angelica's Kitchen, it replicates my experience tonight).
The place was packed, and they seated me at the community table. YEA! A community table!!!!! Angelica's Kitchen is the only place I've found one before. Quick definition of a community table: The establishment has this large table that seats ~12. If you go alone or with one other person, and if you want, they put you here to save their space and no one eats alone.
Tonight, I had a full-on family Italian experience with a whole bunch of super friendly Italians who not only aren't my family, but they also don't know each other. Some of them knew a little English, but I tried as well as I could to speak Italian and understand them. This is a group of people who aren't thrilled by the quality of typical Italian cuisine. In itself, the topic deserves a fair amount of research on my part.
Dinner tonight: soup (not sure what was in it), and a large plate piled with brown rice with a green sauce (probably vegetables), steamed veggies--carrots, chard, cauliflower, raw salad, garbanzo beans and wheat pasta. 8 euro. Would have cost 1/2 that if I were a student (which I am) but I would also have to be two years younger. Grumble on that, but still very reasonable and what an experience!
With that, it's time to clean the bathroom, we're getting a 3rd roommate tomorrow sometime. Arrivederci!
If April showers bring May flowers, let's see some HUGE stinkin' flowers here soon!
The spring rains here have been okay with me up until today. I felt that I could properly plan rides around them and enjoy the downtime when the rain came. I was really looking forward to an epic ride today, and my dream was snatched away from me as I was walking out the door with bike in hand...my roommate came in and told me that it was chilly and raining. (This is after I'd just checked weather.com that said it was sunny and in the 60s.)
(Note the above picture was not photographed on Italian soil.)
Plan B. Change clothes, promptly head to neighborhood bar and drown sorrows in cappuccino. I spent the rest of the day writing down vocab words and I even graduated to making flashcards. I can't tell you how excited I am to learn the vocabulary and actually memorize things again. Engineering school took away my ability to memorize (thanks to cheat sheets) so it is, truly, thrilling (though difficult) to get back into this sort of learning.
As an aside, this was Google's image today. Is that just for Italians or the whole world?
I got many wonderful emails from so many of you concerning this movie, I really appreciate each of them. But for the movie to get more hits, YouTube needs to see your feedback. I created this out of my desire to thank Ciclismo Classico and the friends I met on tour for the most amazing trip I've ever been on and to illustrate how and why I fell in love with Italy--so much so that I totally changed everything in my life to be here now.
Ciclismo is currently running a video contest--the winner will get a free trip this summer (terms and conditions apply). You can be assured that if I win, you will get tons more stories and awesome images from other great places to ride in Italy! So let your feedback be heard now--the deadline is April 30, but please don't wait because this needs all of the hits it can get right now (as the ratings generate future hits).
Grazie mille from the bottom of my widdle Italian heart!
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