2010-05-19/25 - Italy, including some of the Giro

Tell me to mind my own business, but if you don't own one why do you suddenly need one to ride in Italy?

Call it a strange sense of duty to the people I'm riding with?
I've never descended anything like the alps before.

In all honesty, I hadn't even considered it until Digger purchased a helmet for the trip.

I own 3 pisspot helmets for polo, which I only ever wear if the insurance of a particular tournament requires it. I've also got an MTB lid which I rarely wear. I don't wear a helmet for general riding.

I guess I fall on the, "it's a good idea but I never get around to actually using one" side of the great helmet debate.

anyone for a sweepstake? how long it takes for an Object/James fist fight?

thing is it's always the least likely people who come to blows. 15 of us on a narrowboat on a stag do and it's me and the bouncy funloving canadian who kick off i could have cleaned up there and split the winnings.

Call it a strange sense of duty to the people I'm riding with?
I've never descended anything like the alps before.

In all honesty, I hadn't even considered it until Digger purchased a helmet for the trip.

I own 3 pisspot helmets for polo, which I only ever wear if the insurance of a particular tournament requires it. I've also got an MTB lid which I rarely wear. I don't wear a helmet for general riding.

I guess I fall on the, "it's a good idea but I never get around to actually using one" side of the great helmet debate.

Fair enough. I'm ambivalent on helmet wearing, was just curious like.

I find I rarely wear one when I'm riding in the mountains, it gets too hot to wear one when climbing and it's nice having the cooling effect on your head as you descend.

^ yeah i didn't take one to the alps last year. but then i wasn't riding with DJ ;)

guys, really looking forward to hearing lots and lots about the riding out there over the next week or so. be sure to be getting some accounts and photos up on here. you will be back by the time i can mount a bike again so i need to live as vicariously through others as i can in the meantime.

Dammit promised as much on Saturday, jonny.

If you do the Zoncolan*, can who ever is the best climber stop at the worst point and get photos of everyone else as they grind and gurn their way past?

*You'd be mad too, but mad not too with it being so close.

If you do the Zoncolan*, can who ever is the best climber stop at the worst point and get photos of everyone else as they grind and gurn their way past?

*You'd be mad too, but mad not too with it being so close.
That's hippy then. King of the mountains.

fuck fuck

weather forecast looks variable

http://www.italy-weather-and-maps.com/weather/UD/

Looks fine to me, the odd shower in the late afternoon is normal for that part of Italy.

Spent the night in Karlsruhe- had Wienner Schnitzel for the first time.

Driving in Germany- it's the brakes that get the biggest workout, not the engine!

500 miles to go, we should be on the road in half an hour.

Hi, i travel through france and spain regularly( weekly) and the new law is this:

FRANCE COMPULSORY ITEMS.
HIGH VIS VEST THAT MUST BE ACCESSIBLE TO DRIVER
SPARE BULB SET
WARNING TRIANGLE
GB STICKER(if you have a reg plate with GBin the euro stars then this is ok)
headlamp beam adjusters(stickers available from good motor shops or AA, or on board ferry)
ADVISED ITEMS BUT NOT COMPULSORY
FIRE EXTINGUISHER
FIRST AID KIT
HIGH VIS VEST FOR EACH PASSENGER CARRIED IN VEHICLE

SPAIN COMPULSORY ITEMS
HIGH VIS VEST FOR EVERY OCCUPANT OF VEHICLE
2 WARNING TRIANGLES
SPARE BULB SET
BEAM ADJUSTERS
GB STICKER

PLUS ADVISED ITEMS AS ABOVE.

French drivers crack me up. I had a small off in France and, before I had even stood up, a driver had pulled over, put on a beaming hi-viz jacket, erected a warning triangle and marched over to me with first aid kit. It was his time.

Greatly appreciated, the road kit did well.

Very, very jealous, have a good time, enjoy the descents.

We've still not hit the car's speed limiter. Probably a good thing.. how reliable are Volvos?
Weather here is cloudy and good for cycling. Where are the Ryanair victims at?

Have a great time, fellas... Kick DJ in the 'nads for me... x

Any updates from that lot? Here be snow.

http://twitgoo.com/w7ig9

Slovenia today, had to climb through a mountain pass to get there, and a different one to get back to Italy.
Had a fantastic lunch in a place that the patrons of which looked a little surprised to see us.

Just under 70 miles distance and about a mile vertical.

Slovenia is very beautiful, but a flat day tomorrow would be good ahead of Zoncalon on Saturday.

Did you actually see ACDC last night, or just hear them?!

71 flat miles today to Grado and back.

Grado is very pretty, a harbour town.

We watched the end of the Giro over coffee and then hit the road to return.

Today was meant to be a recovery ride but we seemed unable to keep the speed below 20 mph, with the sprint into Grado along the causeway hitting 35 mph

We did not see AC/DC- however they were loud enough to hear pretty well from outside the bar.

Pics?

Will ask DJ to upload some

Yeah! This thread needs pics.

71 flat miles today to Grado and back.

Grado is very pretty, a harbour town.

We watched the end of the Giro over coffee and then hit the road to return.

Today was meant to be a recovery ride but we seemed unable to keep the speed below 20 mph, with the sprint into Grado along the causeway hitting 35 mph

Like.

Not sure why anyone would want pics of hippy, dammit, tiswas, digger, object or myself in Lycra

fucking weirdos

however the riding has been excellent

looks like tomorrow will be a truncated version of the zoncolan stage

at the moment the garmin and my laptop are not on speaking terms so cannot show you what we have done in our first two days

basically lots of pedalling. Yesterday hills, today flat, tomorrow hills, Sunday watch the pros
Monday probably more hills. Poss another trip to Slovenia.

Today's route

[ame]http://connect.garmin.com/activity/34057007[/ame]

looks like a recovery ride to me, heart rate not pushed too badly, fairly constant cadence but it was a pancake of a ride

was struggling a bit early on in the day, had not eaten properly last night due to having a bout of the blues and going to bed early

after lunch i had the energy reserves to push it a little more and my heart duly obliged, before the stop at 15 miles i had been starting to bonk