Etna Puffs

It's just gone 1:00AM and I am in my tent, with my laptop hooked up to my mobile phone, cause there is no WI-FI connection in the area that I can tap into in any other way... It has been pretty much the case wherever we've stopped during the course of the last few days and arguably won't necessarily improve in the imminent future, though we do have a stay in a hotel coming up shortly, so hopefully that will make life a little easier. As a consequence, I do so apologise for not being up to date in terms of posting comments & photos.

Tomorrow is a rest day - A much needed one as far as this little black duck is concerned. The climb today up Mt Etna, which started pretty much as soon as we got out of the campsite's gates, after yesterday's torturous final climb (refer to the Strava log for a bit of an idea as to what I am talking about) was just a little bit tough. In all honesty, I probably needed a 5-10 KM of flat terrain in order to get the legs turning over properly. Instead I was cramping up, somewhat for the first 30-45 minutes of the climb. Suspect that the Strava file highlights this, but either way, one way or another I managed to get to the top, without dismounting or stopping for too many pitstops along the way. 

The task of climbing was hampered a little by a consant drizzle and a cold biting wind. Very intersting however to see all the lava rocks and ofcourse the numerous abandoned houses along the road, where they've stood in the way of a lava flow, etc.

Once we all had reached the summit, a quick group photo was taken, a small bite of morning tea eaten and then we all proceeded down the other side. No time for a tour of the mountain, it was just dammed cold, windy and wet for that... Next time!

Now of course, the only pleasure (for me at least in cycling up a hill / mountain) is the knowledge that I'll get to come down from on high. As a result whilst the road was somewhat full of pot holes, and so on up near the top - Don't forget that it snows up there in Winter then bakes in Summer - I headed down the road, somewhat cautiously at first then opened it up a bit as the road surface improved.

Admittedly, there were times I could have pushed things a tad more and others where I found myself going just a bit too quick for my own good, remembering that I don't really want to head back to OZ early cause I've come off my bike. At any rate, I managed to make it down the road safe and sound, at which point I sat up and joined the "A Team" for the final forty kilometres or so to final destination for the day. Well, whilst the road map and accompanying profile that had been given to us at tea the previous night suggested that it was a fairly flat run into town. Lies, lies and more lies I tell you.

At any rate, all of us feeling somewhat cold and wet decided that a coffee was the order of the day and hence the search began, until after some probably twenty odd kilometres of riding, we finally came across a nice little cafe. Following a couple of quick lattes in the cafe in the town square whilst the drizzle continued to come down, we then proceed the last few kilometres into town. At this point I should also mention that a couple of bandages were applied to people who'd come down whilst descending Mt Etna, and whilst a cafe does make an odd spot to turn into a triage area, it does at the very least provide a comfortable setting for those who are simply looking after their colleagues and so on. Etna Puffs

Thank god tomorrow is a rest day! Might even give the injured time to recover from the worst of their injuries, which fortunately were no more severe than severe bruising and road rash

Gerace to Nicoliosi

Wow what a day, it just seemed to go on forever! 

Mt Etna, which I believe is the highest mountain in Italy south of the Alps, has been on the horizon since about lunchtime, and knowing that we had to climb a portion of it, before we arrived at our campsite, acted like a taunting nemesis. That said, riding along roads with vineyards and olive groves on either side has at least dulled the brain as to what is to come.  

By the time you get to the base of the Etna climb you have already ridden 80kms and climbed 1500! The heat of the afternoon sun saps the lungs and the legs of any energy despite the climb supposedly only being in the 5-6% range. That said, my Garmin indicated that there were a number of sections of in the 10-12% range. As you can see from the profile. Gerace to Nicoliosi

Anticipating when we'd reach the climax of today's climb, before we got to turn for the descent into town was very difficult, with much of the climb despite having a fairly dense forest on either side of the road, having a somewhat "suburban" feel. At this point I have to admit that I was struggling a little and hence very appreciative of Margie and Kath's company for the last 30 odd kilometres or so. 

Mount Etna is one of the most active volcanoes in the world and is in an almost constant state of activity

We finally made it in to camp, just after 5PM despite leaving at 7.30 this morning. Has been a very long day in the saddle, fortunately Dammo & Kenny ensured I had a beer in my hand the minute I dismounted. Has definitely been the toughest day so far, but the spectacular scenery and sense of accomplishment make up for it somewhat! 

Tomorrow, something I am not necessarily looking forward to, we climb Mt Etna (assuming it's not erupting) a climb of some 1900 metres before we then proceed predominately downhill to the coast and a town called Taormina.

Agrigento to Gerace

A series of steady climbs took us back into the central part of Sicily. A variety of terrain and rural scenery presented us with some very memorable kilometres on quiet roads. The road surfaces are a little bit dodgy at times, but I tell you what, I wouldn't be dead for quids. 

I mean sure, I've got myself lost a few times, but I've got to confess that also proved a great opportunity to pop into a bar a beer or two.... Too warm for a coffee! 

Well that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it, no matter what..... 

Just some of the scenery I managed to enjoy as I rolled through town...

I've got to say I really enjoyed today's ride Agrigento to Gerace the weather has been great to say nothing of the fact that it's been nothing more than a series of rolling hills. 

In saying that, I'm not necessarily looking forward to tomorrow's distance / profile, I believe in speaking to a few of the chaps who've done this tour before, it's just a tad difficult.

Santo Stefano Quisquina to Agrigento

Today we head for Agrigento, which is apparently home to a number of ancient Greek temples and so on.

I gotta be honest and say that I never knew (or had forgotten) that the Greeks had ever resided in Italy. I mean sure I knew about my namesake - Alexander the Great I - I wasn't particularly aware however that he'd ever headed West, thinking that the majority of his accomplishments had been in Turkey and so on.

It wasn't a particularly long stage, being only eighty kilometres or thereabouts, though as you can see from the profile, Santo Stefano Quisquina to Agrigento there were a couple of hills that we had to get over in order to get to over in order to get to tonight's camp ground.

It was a little bit cool and extremely windy when we departed this morning and so jackets and arm warmers were donned by the majority of the group. As we descended and time passed, the warmth of the day meant a lot of this gear was subsequently ditched in the lunch van.....

Making it in to Agrigento early in the afternoon as we did meant that a stroll around the Valley of Temples, was somewhat obligatory and I gotta say these Greek temples which stretch across a large ridge above the coast have a rather imposing presence. Unfortunately I've taken the vast majority of memento photos on my camera, so you'll have to wait to see what till I get home to see what this place really looks like.

Terrasini to Santo Stefano Quisquina

After last night's team briefing, we all ambled out of our rooms in the hotel and down to breakfast with an air of anticipation, excitement and nervousness in the air. After our hearty breakfast it came time to pack our bags onto the truck.

I'll have to remember to take a photo of it in the next day or so

We all then posed for our group photo!

Now before you start making rude comments about the colour of our jersey's, it should be noted that we are in Italy, at the same time as the Giro De Italia, the leader / winner of which is awarded the Dela Rosa (IE: Pink Top). The colour of the jersey being based on the fact that the newspaper which created the Giro originally, La Gazzetta dello Sport, had been printed its papers on pink paper. Admittedly, it does look a bit "poofy" but what the heck and we've decided with typical Australian laconic humour to call ourselves the Freddie Mercury cycling crew.

After lunch however it became apparent that there were some riders who were keener and arguably more capable than others to race to the end. Having always said that I was interested in doing this ride as a means of getting fit, seeing the Italian countryside and making a social occasion of it all, at the same time also knowing my limitations, I decided not to take off in pursuit. There is plenty more time for that, should I ever wish to do so. Yeah right.

At any rate, all of that aside and not knowing whether everyone was intent on simply racing off into the distance once we left the outskirts of Terrasini or whether we'd ride as a reasonably paced peleton, I must admit to being a tad nervous.....

I didn't want to find myself falling off the back of the pack too quickly cause otherwise it was going to be a long ride to Como if I couldn't even keep up on day one! Fortunately however we stayed together pretty much as a group for the first 50 odd kilometres, such that we all rolled into the lunch spot together.

As a result I rode at my own pace, which at times was faster than others but slower than the boy racers. What do you do when you find yourself not capable of catching the breakaway group yet still sitting out the front of the peleton??? I know, I know, I should have sat up and let the rest of the group catch up and ultimately I did this, though it wasn't by choice!

Basically that last four or five kilometres of climbing was just enough to finish me off. Now at this point I should mention that I'd been unable to get the lowest four gears throughout the day as obviously the gears had become slightly misaligned during transit, however a poor tradesman always blames his tools, so ultimately I'll just have to put my hand up and say by the time I'd turned onto the final "goat track" which led up to where our hotel was located, I was totally stuffed. As a result some of the peleton caught and then passed me with only a couple of kilometres to go.

Ah well, there is always next time and all in all I can't complain! 

Partinico

Well what was supposed to be a five minute check that all was all OK with my bike, ended up being a very enjoyable pootle through the local countryside. I had no idea of where I was going at any given point in time, hence the frequent stops whilst I checked my phone to see where I was relative to my hotel. I also used this ride to fine tune things on my bike.

I'm still having a little difficulty getting some of the lower gears which I'll need to rectify A.S.A.P given that Saturday's itinerary has a fair bit of climbing involved.

Now for those of you who are still eagerly awaiting some video footage or even just a couple of photos to accompany the route information, hopefully the following prove that I am in fact in Italy.

My hotel is located in the beachside resort or fishing village of Terrasini. As per yesterday's comments, highlights just what a clot I was in not investigating where it was, relative to the larger town of Palermo. IE: Some 35 Kilometres away.

What this photo of Partinico doesn't show you, is how hectic the peak hour traffic at midday can be and the fact that this road is likely to have parked (abandoned) cars on either side of the road, and yet still have traffic coming or going from either direction. Sheer madness.



Cinisi-Terrasini

Well the last couple of days have been a comedy of errors. Whilst it wouldn’t happen to me, I have visited enough foreign lands now and got myself into and out of silly situations in doing so as to not make any daft mistakes, such as that of a friend of mine "Cadel". 

Basically he recently made the mistake of booking into a hotel, which was to be the departure point of a tour he was undertaking, without doing all of the obligatory checks. Sure he’d checked to see that the room rate was competitive, the facilities adequate and so on, what he didn’t do however was to check it’s precise location relative to the town in which it was purportedly located. IE: That the Palermo Beach Hotel was in fact located within walking distance of Palermo as opposed to being some 35KM from town (and at the arse end of the world as far as public transport is concerned). Sorry for the language – His word’s not mine!

Now that in itself wouldn’t be the end of the world, if he:

• Knew the local language;
• Had been astute enough as to write down the addresses of the bike shop(s) in Palermo from which he needed to pick up some vital supplies rather than just having their webpage saved in his “favourite’s file”; and
• Italian restaurants / hotels actually provided WIFI or cable connected internet access.

All of this would have saved him doing the inevitable thing one does when on holiday being to walk 500 miles looking for a "bike" shop.... In his defence however is the fact that shops are spread far and wide and are open at odd hours. IE: The Italians (in Sicily at the very least) take a midday siesta in the same way the Spanish do! Fortunately however, as I write this blog, I can report that my friend “Cadel” has now managed to get his bike roadworthy and that as a result, this should mean that you’ll see that a training ride has been undertaken and appropriately recorded in the Strava within the next 24 hours or so….

The first ride that you’ll see, is likely to be a bit of a tour of Cinisi-Terrasini (hopefully including a bit of video footage) which highlights precisely how shops of all sorts are located amongst the houses and so on of the local community. As a result don’t expect it to be an intensive training session over a considerable distance, that’s something that will be something undertaken shortly and once I have been able to create a circular route of sufficient distance and trying conditions….

Outward Bound

With only a week to go before things get serious, I am writing today’s blog in Singapore.

Now whilst I've been riding regularly during the last fortnight or so, with some of the ride data having been uploaded into Strava and from there made available for viewing on the panel on the right hand side of this screen, what I have realised however is that I haven't uploaded any of the video collected from my Contour Helmet camera. Looks like that's something that I will have to rectify on my first training ride in Italy.....

Just hope I don't do anything silly on this ride, such as riding on the wrong side of the road or what have you. If I do, close your eyes (particularly if you see any cars approaching me at speed) as I will have done something similar. 

Now as some people have asked as to how am I getting my bike over to Italy I thought I'd show you another little investment I made a couple of months ago. Essentially, I purchased an Evoc Bike Bag, in anticipation of this ride and wanting to ensure that my steed arrived safe & sound rather than popping it into a bike box 

With wheels removed and the handlebars detached from the headset, bikes suddenly decrease in size quite markedly, not that the baggage handlers at the various airports may necessarily agree. At any rate, here's what happens when you make the minor modifications mentioned.

Wheels meanwhile, fit in their own external pockets, on each side of the main case, like so.....

Sure I added a bit of additional padding after taking the above photos, it's now just a case of keeping my fingers crossed, that it was enough, that the baggage handlers are all cyclists and that my bike arrives safe & sound in Palermo on the same flight as myself.....

Helmet camera

After much deliberating and chatting to some of my cycling colleagues who were in the know, a couple of weeks ago I made the decision to organise the purchase of a helmet camera. This was done, not only with the idea of documenting elements of my ride through Italy, but also as a bit of a "safety" measure for when cycling the roads of Melbourne.

Whether it is six o'clock in the morning, during peak hour traffic or otherwise, there are a certain number of motorists out there (and I am sure that none of you would do so) that don't perhaps realise how wide their cars are, are not paying full attention to the road ahead or simply believe that cyclists don't belong on the road and hence force cyclists into the gutter or worse.

So on Saturday, after cycling out to Kangaroo Ground from Heidelberg with the Lead Out crew, I headed into Ted's Camera store to buy a Contour2+ camera. It wasn't until Tuesday however that I was able to try it out. Twenty five kilometres and just under an hour later I discovered that activating the camera through my mobile phone however doesn't work all that flash hot. Basically it would seem I cannot operate my helmet mounted camera (via my phone) at the same time as recording a log of the trip on my cycling computer because the Bluetooth messages from the separate devices (camera to phone) and (bike computer to cadence sensor) get confused with one another and therefore wipe one another out...

As a result, I decided to head out this afternoon, for a quick trip out to Heidelberg.... with the view of giving the camera a bit of a spin..... It's a bit fiddly to mount in terms of ensuring that the horizon is level and provides sufficient view of the road ahead but I think I'll be right, with the next big question to be resolved - How do I attach said footage to this blog.....

Either way, that should keep me out of mischief for a couple of days, but hopefully by the time that Saturday rolls around, I'll be able to show you some of the wonderful sights of the back roads of Eltham, Kangaroo Ground and so on.

The Journey Begins

With just under a month to go, the anxiety & excitement about what lies ahead, in terms of my cycling adventure through Italy is being to rise. Airline tickets have been bought, accommodation booked & my training regime is beginning to show results, which helps to a certain extent with the trepidation about what lies ahead.

On that note, I would like to thank both Conan & Mark from Lead Out Cycling from establishing a program which has already seen my endurance, fitness & speed improve quite markedly. Hopefully I will be able to fly their jersey with distinction as I ride up the Passo dello Stelvio, not that I am necessarily expecting to win any Strava segments on that particular climb.....

Whilst there is still a considerable amount of preparation & training which will still need to occur over the course of the next few weeks, I do believe that things are beginning to fall into place. Of course, you can play your part in this little adventure, by making a donation towards "The Kids' Cancer Project" via The Kids Cancer Project Donation Page which would make my hard work climbing the various hills in Italy all that much more worthwhile.