Day 14: A Cheesy Ending

Date: 9/21/07
From: Bergamo
To: Milan
Miles: 30.0
Miles Completed: 668.6 (21,100 ft. of climbing)
Lunch: Pizza at Linate Airport
Dinner: Ristorante Stendhal Antica
Accommodations: Crowne Plaza



We wrapped up the tour today with a nice easy 30 mile jaunt and no riding complications. Dr. Ed has been keen to stop in Gorgonzola since day 1 of the tour and this was our chance to go through the town. We charted our course and were scheduled to arrive around 10am and I asked Dr. Ed if he wanted to hang out there for a bit until lunch so we could get something to eat. “I don’t like Gorgonzola cheese”, he shrugged. I found this kind of amusing. I just assumed we were stopping there because he loved Gorgonzola cheese. But his rationale was more along the lines of why you would want to stop in Intercourse, PA (e.g. the name is interesting). This is the first time I’ve heard anyone equate sex to cheese.

Gorgonzola is a neat little town with a bustling town center. We stopped for a coffee and met two German gentleman who were retired and living in Milan. They are intrigued by our tour but more so the mini rearview mirrors that are attached to our glasses (actually, pretty much every person in Italy was intrigued by this). One of their sons works in New York and we chat about the city. They love New York City and say it’s the greatest city in the world. I find it ironic I’m there to escape NYC and we end up talking about it for an hour. However, this really is a fitting transition since I am heading home soon.

Dr. Ed and I agree that we should ride directly to the airport, pack our bikes in the boxes and leave them there overnight so we don’t have to deal with the hassle in the morning (our flight leaves at 11:30am). Packing the bikes goes extremely smooth. I’m amazed at how much easier it was to do the second time around – most of it is just confidence. We grab some pizza at the airport and take a shuttle to our hotel. The Crowne Plaza is exactly like hotels in the U.S. and is another fitting transition. We head down to the center of Milan and explore the city a bit. I saw a McDonalds and my mouth began watering for a cheeseburger. I obliged my mouth. We had dinner at a nice local restaurant in an area of the city that was similar to Soho. It had a very trendy feeling to it and was very busy because it was fashion week in Milan.

We’re back in our hotel now and it’s time for bed. This will be my last “on tour” entry since our flight out is tomorrow.

I’ll be doing an entry with some post-tour thoughts in a few days.

Thanks for tuning in.

Ciao.

-The Bully