Wednesday, April 20th.....somewhere over eastern Canada...4:09 a.m. Italian time.
So far an uneventful day in the air, on the road. We departed Victoria at 0610 yesterday. Spent 7 hours at the Toronto airport. From the inside of Terminal One it looked like any other big airport. Non de-script. They don’t try to dress it up. It is what it is. By the way, deodorant and dental floss will run you $13.50 at the “book” store. I shared a laugh with the clerk about the cost of forgetting to pack a couple of items.
Did I mention it was snowing when we departed Toronto at 7:10 p.m., yesterday. Bite me Toronto.
Not being an International traveller, I was not aware that time has stood still on international routes. I felt I was in a time warp. Listen up. Full meal service in Economy class. Wait, there is more. It was quite tasty, and healthy, except maybe the chocolate brownie. I only had one. Plus, and I saved the best for last, Free drinks. Confession: I had 2 very small bottles of vino rosso.
I have an observation about modern air travel. Remember the old days? Inside the cabin of the jetliner, and for Mike, the twin turbo prop DC3, there was always the din of white noise, the sometimes incessant drone of the engines mixed with laughter and voices of the passengers. It seems the only thing left is the drone of the engines as very few passengers actually speak to one another. Conversation seems to be a thing of the past. Today 90% of passengers are glued to the small screens in the seat in front of them. Others are watching movies on laptop computers or iPods and such. The cabin of this Boeing 767 has 7 seats across the plane. As I type no one 3 rows ahead or 3 rows back are conversing. Sad in a way, unless you are seated next to a drunk. No, not me.... Maybe another free round?
The plane is packed. Everyone seems happy to be here. I can only hope that my bike made it on the plane.
April 21 - Horse Country Resort, Spa and Congress
I am in horse country. No “doot a boot” it. (That’s the way Teresa hears it). No doubt about it, agriculture is big in this part of Sardegna. While I have only seen a couple of horses, I know there are more because I can smell them. There must be a lot of them.
I checked in last evening in time to enjoy my first meal in Sardegna. I had a rum and coke at the bar (7 Euro, plus tip - might be my last one....) The hotel offers full meals but no menu. Last night I had the Octopus salad. (marinated pieces of octopus with a few herbs) Then the primi piatti (1st course) was spaghetti with shrimp. The secondi piatti (second course) was veal with a side of boiled potatoes. I skipped dessert but did have the local house vino rosso which was excellent. Included was a basket of fresh bread, no butter.
After dinner it was still light so went for a walk around part of the resort. It is spring. I don’t think the resort sees many tourists during the winter. It may even be closed during the winter. Some things, wireless internet and room phone, do not work. This is frustrating. There is a pay as you go internet station in the lobby that I have not used. Some staff are new and are feeling their way around. The extensive grounds need a lot of spring cleaning. There are many workers raking, pruning, painting and cleaning.
Here are a couple of pictures of the grounds and the beach.
Horse Country Resort
World War 2 Bunker on the beach not far from the Horse Country Resort (Mike, this one's for you...)
Sponges cover the beach. Or, did the Triffles invade Sardinia???
My (our) room. I confess that I am disappointed with the room. It is small and has twin “single” beds. The bed I slept in was comfortable and is extra long. I was hoping for twin double beds. I’m not sure how we will get bikes, bike boxes and 2 people in the room at one time, but we will be fine. The good news is that it is on the main floor and has double doors to a nice little patio. It opens to a large courtyard. I sent an email to my team mates for them to reduce their expectations about this “4 Star Resort”. It’s nice, but maybe not 4 Star....
April 22 - The Team is together
After a good breakfast this morning I went for a short spin on my bike, which I re-assembled last night before bedtime. It was great to be out on my bike although the wind was quite strong ( vento mordo). They say a storm is due in tonight bring rain for tomorrow. I hope it clears by Sunday....
While I arrived on April 20th, Chris on the 21st, Dave, John and Marcus arrived today. There have been a few glitches but, I think it will all sort itself out in the end.
Dave arrived at the Horse Country Resort around 1500 hours. Dave’s bike arrived too, but his suitcase was missing in action. After a few calls he learned that it would be delivered to the resort late today or in the morning. There was some discussion around “what ifs” but Dave was happy to take a wait and see approach. After a short visit with Chris and myself Dave was off to bed for a little shut-eye.
Later in the evening John arrived. John had both bike and suitcase in tow. Hungry and tired from the 24 hour trip, John ate a good dinner, shared stories and wine then headed off to assemble his bike and hit the hay.
Marcus arrived last. Like Dave he was missing his suitcase. Unlike Dave he was unsure as to when it would arrive, or if it would arrive. Luck for Dave, Marcus arrived with Dave’s suitcase which he had picked up at the Cagliari Airport.
Apart from comings and goings, Chris and I got in a nice ride today. We were joined by Dennis Sartori from Toronto. We rode about 55 kms, part of the ride in the mountains to the south of the resort which is part of the Grand Fondo on Monday. The hills were challenging due to the 30 km head and side winds that have been blowing for the last few days. We all agreed that these type of conditions would make the racing a challenge.
Before riding, Chris, Dennis and I drove north through the town or Oristano and Cabras to the Sinis Peninsula. At the southern tip of the peninsula lay the ancient ruins of Tharros, which was founded by the Phoenicians, possibly at the end of the 8th century B.C. It was quite a thrill to walk about through these ruins. To see the remnants of fortifications and water systems, one could get a sense of life in Tharros during that period.
Tomorrow the team will get together for a ride, provided Marcus either gets his suitcase or finds shoes and a helmet.
April 23 - Rain!
I was up at 0700 this morning to meet Dave for breakfast. Before breakfast I finally broke down and used the “pay as you go” internet kiosk to send an email home to Dana. .36/minute but worth it to say hi and assure Dana that all is well.
After breakfast the attention turned to the issue of the missing suitcase and what to do. Marcus finally made the decision to go to a bike shop in Oristano and buy shoes and a helmet. Plans for a ride today are on hold due to rain. The sun is supposed to shine later today and if it does we will hit the road for a short spin.
The teams and participants for the Giro are arriving in large numbers. The parking lot contains team caravans, trailers and cars loaded with bikes, frames and wheels. It is quite the show. Rumor has it that several ex-Tour d’France riders are in the race. From the board containing lists of participants there may be upwards of 720 men and women in the various events. The enormity of the event is beginning to sink in.
Sunday, April 24 - Day one, Giro Sardegna
The day that I have been training for since September has finally arrived. Stage 1 of the Giro, the Individual Time Trail. Because of issues around the chosen course, the ITT has been shortened from the original 25 km to 12.5. Most of us were thrilled with this change.
I converted my road bike to a TT bike last evening. I added TT aero bars and I changed the seat position on the bike. Aero bars permit the rider the lean forward over the bars in a more aerodynamic position. This makes a significant difference in how fast you can travel. Altering the position of the seat allows the rider to attain maximum power on the pedals while in the crouched position.
My time for the ITT was 19 minutes, 02 seconds. This was good enough to put me in 5th position in my age group. I think I had a very good day. I am not known for my time trialing ability. My time was also best among the Tripleshot team, although the riders that went after me may have had stronger head winds to content with. Regardless, I got bragging rights for Stage 1. I am pretty sure tomorrow will have a different outcome.
April 25 - Stage 2 - Grando Fondo 160 km
The start of the Grand Fondo was predictably fast and hectic. That many racers anxious to race results in a period where riders speed up and then hit their brakes causing a echo effect through to the back of the peleton. On this day there were no accidents and everyone made it clear. At the 13 km mark we started the first of two, 50 km loops after which we would return to the finish line at the hotel. For the first 25 kms of the loop the race pace was fast. Very fast. We paced along at around 40 to 42 kph. After that we rode through the town of Meddivichio and up a steep road to the west side of the Island. The second half of the loop was up and down, lots of hair pin turns to negotiate on descents at high speed. There was one corner that will be forever in my memory. I made it around the turn but it scared the hell out of me. The view from the corner was ocean. The was a rock retaining wall but over that it was a long way down.
I was feeling pretty good until the 90km point of the race, the second time up the hill at Meddivichio. I struggled and was dropped by the group I was in. After that it was hang on, keep pushing and hope that another group would come by so I could jump on. 25 kms later the cavalry arrived for the run into the finish line. All in all, 160 kms of pain, but a nice feeling having completed the full race. My time was a disappointing 5 hours, 12 minutes. I slipped from 5th overall in my age group after the Individual Time Trial to 12th. Tomorrows ride is shorter, thankfully.
The rest of my team mates had their own stories, some good, some not so good. Such is racing. We will all meet for dinner and de-brief, swap stories and talk about tomorrow.
April 26th - Stage 3, 107 km.
Despite my mental and physical state after yesterday’s Grand Fondo, I woke this morning feeling great and ready to race. This could be attributed to knowing that the course was only 107 km.
Under cloudy skies we started the race a few minutes late. The start was unusually fast. We were expecting a neutral pace for the first 10 km, then for the race to start and the pace to increase. I was in the back 3rd of the pack, still numbering around 250. I got “gapped”, which means “oh crap, I will have to chase”, and I had to work very hard. By the 20 km mark I had joined a group of 15 to 20 racers with whom I stayed with for most of the day. The route was fantastic. We rode through hills and small villages just like you see in the Tour de France. The road were very good although the roads in the villages were rough. Towns folk in the villages lined the route and cheered enthusiastically as racers past through their village.
There were several long hills on the route. The first was around 10km long but only 6% grade. Typically these hills spread the field and this day was no exception. There several changes in my group as racers dropped off and others joined. After this climb the group managed to stay together most of the race.
Now for a confession. 25 km from the finish the ASSO, a bike clothing company, team car came to the front of our group. We had one of their team in our group. After some words were exchanged between the car and rider the car began to pace our group. The car sped away faster and faster until we were traveling at between 55 and 60 kph. Slowly riders began to be dropped and finally there were only 4 of remaining. We went at this pace for around 10 km. This activity is strictly prohibited. In reality I subjected myself to disqualification. I confess that it was a real rush and I got caught up in the heat of the moment.
After this illegal maneuver we bridged a large group of about 30 riders and I rode at the back of this pack to the finish line. As if to make up for my indiscretion I did not contest the sprint.
Regardless of the motor pacing, it was a terrific day of racing through some very beautiful country. Tomorrow we race 117 km. There will be some tough climbing added to the mix.
Note to readers: This brings you up to date on the first 6 or 7 days of my adventure. If you go the rest of the blog you will find the rest of my story. My apologies for the mix up. I hope you enjoyed my story. I know I enjoyed livin' the dream at the 2011 Giro of Sardinia.
Barry
