Più o Meno

So far, I’ve been surprised by my ability to communicate in Italian. I’m guessing it’s the same for all languages, but Italian definitely falls into the 80/20 category (i.e., you use 20% of the words/phrases 80% of the time). One phrase that gets used repeatedly is più o meno, which means “more or less”. If you ask a question asking for a specific answer regarding time or distance, there’s a high likelihood that an Italian will respond più o meno. It’s almost as if nothing is exact here.

I was successful in two missions today. First, I got my tubes. However, I almost made a costly mistake. By way of background, there are a few different kinds of valves. In the U.S. we almost exclusively use presta valves. However, in Europe I believe they use multiple types. As I was walking away from the bike shop I decided to check the valves to make sure they were long enough for my rims. I noticed they weren’t presta. When I went back to the shop the owner said they didn’t have presta valves. But he looked and found some. Phew.

As far as the maps go, I couldn’t find the right compromise between weight and convenience; however, I did come up with a unique solution. The problem with the maps is they are too unwieldy. Thus, my plan was to photocopy the areas I needed but the stores won’t let you make copies yourself. Trying to direct a shopkeeper on what to photocopy would be pushing my Italian language abilities way too far. An atlas would work well because I could show a shopkeeper the page I wanted photocopied. But atlases are huge and there’s no way I could carry one on my bike. I was a bit perplexed but thought maybe I could lookup the maps online, do a “print screen”, save it as a jpeg and then download it to my Blackberry. Guess what? It WORKED. I can even zoom and scroll. This is what touring is all about. It’s an adventure that requires patience and ingenuity. At times it can seem frustrating but the rewards are awesome when you overcome obstacles.

A bit off topic but I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention food considering I’m in Italy. So far my meals have been very good. Yesterday I went to my favorite pizza place in Italy, Capri da Nasti and had a pizza with bacon and onion. For lunch today I asked a bookstore employee for a recommendation and she gave me a pretty good place nearby. I’d have to say my discussion with her was the best I’ve had so far. I understood about 90% of what she was saying and it wasn’t as if she was babying me. She was full out talking and giving directions.

Just One of Those Days

To say my first day of touring alone was an adventure would be an understatement. The flights were very smooth and easy but from there it was all downhill (or uphill – not even 100% how that cliché goes or if it even makes sense).

When I dropped my bike case off at the X-ray machine, a TSA worker looked at me strangely and asked “what’s in here?”. I told him a bike and he just shrugged. I figured the odds were good they were going to open the box, which is disconcerting because it’s not the easiest thing to pack and close. Sure enough when it came down the luggage conveyer belt I knew it had been opened because of the way the straps were closed. I held my breath a bit when I opened the box and sure enough there was a ding in my top tube and a bunch of black marker on my rims. Not sure how either got there. I can’t think of how my top tube could have been dented other than them just doing it purposefully but I guess I’m just being paranoid. The ding sucks to look at but it really doesn’t affect the ride of the bike.

The bike went together relatively smoothly except for one thing. I snapped the valve stems on two tubes. I’ve never done this before. It was one of those very frustrating bike moments. I was sweating my stones off putting this bike together in the airport and couldn’t get my tires to inflate properly for about 15 minutes. Finally I got things fixed but now I’m down to just one spare tube. I need to go buy a few more today.

In the past two tours Ed has photocopied maps for us to use each day for our rides, which has worked very well. This year I figured I’d go high tech and use a website that creates cue sheet directions automatically from point A to point B. It sure seemed pretty slick, but what a friggin’ disaster they are. The main problem is the website uses very official names for roads etc…and when I asked Italians for help they looked at my directions and were very confused because they didn’t recognize the names of the roads. When I say it took me an hour to figure even the right road to get out the airport it’s not an exaggeration. Getting around Italy by bike is difficult for two reasons. First, there are traffic circles every mile or so and it’s not always so evident as to how to keep on the same road/the signs can be very confusing. This is why a map helps so much since you can identify towns on the way to your route that you can head toward. The second reason it’s difficult to get around Italy by bike is because you could ask five Italians the direction to a town and get 10 different answers.

God bless the Italians, they are truly the best people on earth. When I say I stopped to ask directions 25 times it wouldn’t be an exaggeration. I actually did pretty well with my Italian, although I did notice that some people were easier to understand that others. One gentleman at a gas station insisted on giving my free soda and bottled water when I told him about my trip. He refused to take my money. Italians will always go out of their way to help you. They are never in a rush or too busy to engage you in conversation.

The road I took to Bergamo was concerning because it had a limited shoulder and cars and trucks were whizzing by at 50 to 60 miles an hour. I pulled to the side of the road several times to make sure it was okay to ride on the road and people reassured me it was. I did have to laugh at one point because as I was asking a gas station attendant, an old guy with a big clunker bike and wicker basket cruised by on the road at about 5 miles per hour. I guess that answered my question.

I finally found Bergamo but that was the easy part as it turns out. As I approached the city I was utterly confused as to where my hotel was. No one has heard of the street or the hotel. Finally, I bought a map from a newsstand. I guess it was Murphy’s Law in a sense but when I had a hard time understanding the newsstand owner who didn’t speak a lick of English. When I was plotting my course to get to my hotel he kept shaking his head no and pointing me a different way. But his way seemed very indirect and confusing so I just rode away map in hand, determined to go my way. About 5 minutes later the sky opened up and it just started pissing rain. I’m trying to read this huge street map (you know one of those kinds that folds up like 20 times and you can never get it to refold properly) and it’s a race against time until it disintegrates from the rain. As I’m riding my route I can see why the gentleman was shaking his head. The way I was going had huge hills and roads that were paved with big and awkwardly shaped stones that were impossible to ride on because of the grade and slickness of the roads. I was now 45 miles into what was supposed to be a 35 mile ride and my legs were burning since I got only about 2 hours of sleep on my flight and had about 11 hours of flight travel time (including the layover). As I approached the top of the big hill I looked at my map and laughed as I realized why the newsstand guy told me not to go this way. I was now about to descend back down the hill on the other side. Basically I did this hill (calling it a hill just doesn’t seem right – it was more than a hill – more like a mini-mountain) for no reason. I could have simply ridden around it like he suggested. I finally found my hotel just as my map disintegrated from the rain.

Despite all the adventures and mishaps, I’m here and I’m safe.

Need to buy maps and tubes today!

Nerves Kicking in a Bit

Riding to the airport today I was thinking to myself "what the f*ck were you thinking planning a solo bike tour in a foreign country?" I think the weather forecast (I hate riding in rain) and the anxiety of checking in so much baggage was getting to me given the potential for additional hefty baggage fees. I'm feeling a bit better here sitting at the gate having had no issues checking my bike etc...

I also got a chance to check the price of IFN which has been a huge success so far (knock on wood - this is likely the top now that I've mentioned how well it's doing!). I know only 1.5 to 3 people read this blog so the odds of anyone else having bought it are slim. But if you did, sit tight -- I think this is just the beginning of a huge multi-year run.

A True Adventure Brewing

As I was finishing packing for my solo Italy tour today, I decided to check the weather and it's looking like a true adventure. Plenty of rain forecasted early in the trip. And not just plain ol' rain, but serious thunderstorms.

I have to say I've been fortunate overall so far in my bicycle touring experiences and especially with regard to the weather. I'm probably due for some serious rain and pain. Should be interesting.

I really have no expectations for this trip other than to soak up some Italian goodness (food, culture and people). To be honest, while I've made great strides on my Italian language studies, I have VERY low expectations about my ability to speak Italian while I'm there. I've been practicing my "deer caught in headlights" look because I plan on using it often.

On a lighter note, I'm planning another tour in August with Dr. Ed. Bought the plane tickets yesterday and will try and book a few of the hotels before I leave. The route starts in Amsterdam, goes through Belguim and France and ends in Paris.

I'll try to post as often as possible while I'm in Italy.

Ciao for now.

-the Bully

If You Want Something Done Right...

I just completed my first real true bike repair and the high is beyond words.

While fixing a bike may on first blush appear easy because of its relatively simple design, it is truly a reflection of Newton's law of motion (to every action there is an equal and opposite reaction). Thus any tweak you make will likely result in another tweak...triangulation at its best.

I've been riding my touring bike a bit to make sure it's ready for my trip to Italy this week. For as long as I can remember, my back brake keeps sticking/won't release properly. It often results in the brakes rubbing against the wheel rim, which is never good because it creates resistance and requires more effort. I was always blaming it on my rear rack/which seemed to interfere with the brake's movement. However, the brake still doesn't work correctly even with the rack off, which kills this theory. This weekend I was at Dr. Ed's place making a few last minute adjustments to the bike and he noticed a problem with the brake as well. I needed to head home so I told Ed I'd take care of the brake on my own.

The issue with these brakes is that they are cantilever brakes which have a ton of adjustment points and can get very frustrating because of their relative complexity. I've admittedly tried to fix them several dozen times to no avail. I've even brought them to several bike shops which have kind of half fixed them and talked me into the fact they are fixed.

This morning I became a man on a mission. I studied the front brake action, which works perfectly, and then compared it to the back. Long story short, I finally identified the issue but then I had to figure out a way to fix it. I took the brake off the bike, disassembled it and studied the mechanism. About halfway through I wanted to cry and bring it to my bike shop but I persevered. I finally figured out how to make the adjustments that were needed and now it works like a charm. I can honestly say the amount of satisfaction I have right now is incredible.

Hopefully this is a good omen for the trip.

Vado a Andare Trovare Italia Solo

For those of you who don't speak Italian, I'm heading to Italy alone next month. For those who do speak Italian, apologies for the inevitable grammar mistake(s) in my blog title.

Before I get to the trip details, I wanted to give an endorsement to the Pimsleur language series that I'm using to learn Italian. It's a three level audio series with 30 daily 30 minute lessons in each level. After only five weeks (I just stared level II), the progress I've made is incredible. Pimsleur certainly doesn't have the marketing muscle or cache of Rosetta Stone but I can't imagine Rosetta Stone being better. However, Pimsleur is actually a bit more expensive (unless you live near a library that has it for free like I do).

On to the trip. I've decide to tour Italy by bike alone next month (June 4th-23rd). I've already purchased the plane ticket so I committed at this point. The original route I was contemplating largely resembled the first Italy tour I did two years ago. However, after doing some research on the individual rides I decided some of the rides were too difficult/remote to do alone. If something were to happen to my bike while climbing a remote mountain pass I could be seriously screwed. Thus I'm going to stay out of the mountains and spend most of my time in the relatively flat Emilia Romagna region.

I'll post details on the route once I have it finalized.

All Aboard the India Express

If you want to play this global rally, there's no better place than India. India has the best demographic trends of any developing country so it's a great buy and hold investment. It's like buying into the U.S. or Japan in the 70s/80s. Of course everyone will argue that if the U.S. economy/market doesn't do well neither will India because decoupling was proven a farce. Well that's the trap. Decoupling didn't happen with Asian economies in the last runup because they were all riding the U.S. consumption wave. But now with the reset to their economies and markets and less external economic influence from the U.S., decoupling can truly happen as they build their internal infrastructures to accomodate their growing populations and desires.

This appears to be a great entry point.

Here's a long term LOG chart for IFN, the India ETF:


And here's the long term LINEAR chart for IFN:


Finally, the daily chart for IFN, which is forming a wedge and a big breakout to the upside appears imminent: