Offseason Balancing Act

Well it's been a month since the end of my Italy tour and cycling season. Truth be told, it's been a difficult transition into the offseason as I've regressed into some of my older habits of inactivity and bad eating. One thing I've learned about life is it is all about momentum -- there's a certain inertia that carries you in the direction you are pointed. The second thing I've learned about life is there are no excuses. We all have the power to change our direction and momentum -- it's just a matter of discipline and removing the crutch of the victim syndrome.

Cycling has an incredibly moderating effect on your demeanor and energy levels. The endorphine rushes you get from riding put you on emotional highs for hours and days. While I can't replicate those highs, I can to extent try to moderate my energy levels through other types of activity. For the next few months, I will be practicing yoga and playing squash for my physical outlets. I'll also mix in some stationary bike rides but won't get serious about training/using the bike trainer until January or February, with a goal of starting my 2008 season in March.

I'll be posting here sporadically but don't want to waste anyone's time with gibberish. Come to think of it, since noone likely reads my blog, the only time I am wasting in posting is probably my own.

Post-Touring Depression

It might be time to call Brooke Shields and Tom Cruise for a debate on my post-touring depression (PTD). While I guess it should come as no surprise that re-entering reality brings you back to reality, there are definitely some unexpected consequences of the tour.

First off, riding locally just doesn't compare to the beauty of Italy. It's very similar to skiing in Vermont after you've experienced Colorado for the first time. Just doesn't cut it. Second, the timing of the tour was bad in some ways as it came near the end of the cycling season. For all intents and purposes, it has now ended my cycling season. I don't want to fight my instincts and have my love for the sport suffer as a result. I'm moving on to squash season. Click on the link to The Bully Backcourt if you are interested in reading up on my squash endeavors (just kidding).

While I've transitioned my focus to squash, I will still be doing random rides this fall -- essentially I'm done with the "mid-season" structured ride regimen. I think this is also a fallout from PTD as the trip was very structured -- in fact, I'm thinking for my next Italy tour I'm just going to fly into Milan and head up toward the lakes region with no predetermined schedule and just see where the riding takes me. I may try to get my buddy firsst on this tour as we can really do it in a light fashion and I can carry his gear for him since he only has a carbon bike at this stage.

Aside from a lot of enjoyment, my first tour also brought a lot of lessons/experience. While doing research for the tour, a consistent theme I've heard from experienced tourers is how they are always looking for ways to refine their load and carry less weight. I now understand where they are coming from. Here's a list of things I wrote down for next time:

1) Only bring two pairs of merino wool riding socks (I brought four to Italy).
2) Buy a kevlar spoke (which is foldable and takes up less room than regular spokes).
3) Extra tire should be foldable (my spare tire wasn't foldable and took up way too much room in my pannier).
4) Always travel the smaller/less congested roads.
5) Explore the large cities on bike (vs. foot) and then stay in hotels outside the city (this is cheaper and easier on the legs bc walking hurst after riding).
6) Only bring three spare tubes (two if touring with a partner) if you are in a developed country.
7) No need to bring extra riding shorts or jerseys -- these are not critical items/can be bought on tour if you get a rip or whatever.

-The Bully

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

Day 13: Autostrada ≠Bicyclette

Date: 9/20/07
From: Desenzano del Garda
To: Bergamo
Miles: 55.2 (1,200 ft. of climbing)
Miles Completed: 638.6 (21,100 ft. of climbing)
Lunch: Locanda Ristorante Italia in Polazzolo Sull’oglio
Dinner: Capri da Nasti
Accommodations: Hotel Arli



Today’s ride started awfully. Riding the bike was like chewing nails. Encouraged by a serious case of ride rage, I think I yelled “this is like CHEWING NAILS, Ed” somewhere around 100 times in the first 10 miles. The climb out of Desenzano made me feel like I had bags of fluid in my thighs. I’m on autopilot at this point, which probably explains how we ended up on the Autostrada. I can’t even tell you where, how or why it happened but suddenly we are cruising through a huge tunnel with tons of exhaust in our faces. Somehow it still doesn’t hit us we are on the Autostrada. Ten miles later I am hammering the pedals and doing 30 mph in an anxious fury because the road is getting busier and the ante is being upped. Suddenly, the once cordial Italians are honking and yelling at us. Finally, it dawns on us. We are on the superhighway. We pull off at a roadside gas station where the attendant gives us great directions to Bergamo using smaller and more scenic roads.

We stopped in Polazzolo Sull’oglio for a very nice lunch at Locanda Ristorante Italia for €13 price fix. The town is very quaint (especially during siesta when we arrived!). There are some beautiful views along a small river that runs through the town (pic right). As we are approaching Bergamo, we somehow get caught on the Autostrada again! This time a huge truck protected us, blocking off traffic behind us like a guardian angel, until we found a place to pull off. Too bad he didn’t have a bumper sticker with “How’s my driving?” and a number to call so I could give him some props.

My legs actually started to loosen at the end of the ride and I’m feeling better physically. However, I am coming down with a big head cold. Dr. Ed thinks it could be from all the exhaust on the Autostrada. Whatever it is, it’s taking the life out of me. We have a mellow dinner at a local pizza place that has literally hundreds of toppings choices. It’s a great place and definitely worth another visit if I ever go back to Bergamo. We have GROM gelato to end the night – it’s a high-end place that apparently just opened a location in the Upper West Side of NYC. Need to check it out at home.

Day 12: The Wall

Date: 9/19/07
From: Parma
To: Desenzano del Garda (via Conneto and Castiglionne)
Miles: 52.6 (500 ft. of climbing)
Miles Completed: 583.7 (19,900 ft. of climbing)
Lunch: Pizzeria in Castiglionne
Dinner: Ristorante in Hotel Estee
Accommodations: Hotel Tripoli


Today, I hit the wall physically. Every inch of the ride was a struggle. My body was rejecting the bicycle. Ed said there was a headwind – it felt more like a wall. Those of us who cycle know how much your emotions can ebb and flow during a ride – it’s like a mental roller coaster. For better or worse, I decide to listen to Pink Floyd’s classic album The Wall for sympathetic theme music.

My mood and cycling mojo are perfectly in tune with the mostly depressing but sometimes uplifting Pink Floyd music. I feel like I lived nine emotional lives this ride – as if I was suffering from bipolar biking disorder. Each time the winds kick up I feel Another Brick in The Wall. At times I feel Comfortably Numb while others I just want to Stop. I’ve now gone from thinking this trip was The Happiest Days of Our Lives to wanting to say Goodbye Cruel World of bike touring. I get some sudden bursts of energy during The Trial (TEAR DOWN THE WALL!!!) only to regress to wanting sympathy from my Mother. Eerily, clouds start forming overhead during Goodbye Blue Sky and the road feels endless like we are cycling into Empty Spaces. Don’t Leave Me Now, I keep thinking as the wind is howling so badly I’m trailing Dr. Ed by miles and now lose sight of him wondering Is There Anybody Out There? At last I realize The Show Must Go On and begin to pedal my way Outside The Wall and into Desenzano del Garda around 3pm.

The music stops and so does my emotional roller coaster – the ride and accompanying Pink Floyd music almost feel like a dream. Desenzano is an incredibly tranquil town on the shore of Lake Garda, which is framed by huge mountains in the background. Lake Garda is one of several big lakes, including the more famous Lake Como, in northern Italy.
I’m definitely going to dedicate a bicycle tour to the lakes region in the near future. Our accommodations at Hotel Tripoli are great – we have a lakeside room with great views. After scouring the town for a massage, I stumble upon Figurella, a woman’s beauty center. The women here are fascinated with our touring story and they say the love American men. They give me a discounted rate of €30 for an hour long massage. I feel great afterward.

We ate dinner at a restaurant in the Hotel Estee, which is right on the lake. The views were incredible and the food was great as well.

As we head back to our room I realize this is the first day I am looking forward to heading home. I’m a little anxious. As I put my head down to rest I wonder how my body is going to feel tomorrow riding.

Day 11: Passing Wind

Date: 9/18/07
From: La Spezia
To: Parma (via Pontremoli and Passo della Cisa)
Miles: 76.0 (5,000 ft. of climbing)
Miles Completed: 531.1 (19,400 ft. of climbing)
Lunch: Ristorante 1km short of Passo della Cisa
Dinner: Hotel Restaurant
Accommodations: Palace Maria Luigia


This was our most difficult day of riding although I feel okay afterward. We basically spent 35 miles in the mountains. Our first climb was roughly 805 meters over 16-17 kilometers from Pontremoli to Passo della Cisa. This equates to roughly 10 miles of climbing at an average 5% grade. We then descended 200 meters over 4 or 5 miles and re-climb the 200 meters over the next 4 miles – and then we repeated this again. Those damn chevrons bit us again! They were there on the map after the mountain pass but I didn’t want to believe it/I was in denial. I paid the mental price for sure. We finally began to descend at the 50 mile mark and had a 9 mile descent that was awesome.

The wind up at the pass was incredibly strong – I almost got blown over a few times and I find it funny how this is the least safe I’ve felt on the trip so far considering all the busy roads we’ve traveled. The feeling I got in the mountains was similar to when I ride over the George Washington Bridge back home sometimes. If the wind is strong enough, your mind begins to believe it can lift you off the ground and throw you over the rail, forcing you to crouch down on your bike. Obviously this would be impossible but your mind actually begins to believe it – most likely because of the instability of the bike.

Lunch at the top of the pass was pretty good. Most people in the restaurant looked at us like we were aliens. I can’t imagine they see many bike tourists stopping in there. Most people I spoke with about our trip chose to take the train on this leg of the trip to avoid all the climbing. I find the pain quite rewarding.

One thing I found poignant on this ride was watching the Autostrada (superhighway) pass through a tunnel that cut through the mountain we were climbing. Cars were accomplishing in seconds what took us hours. Some people would consider this absurd but this is what I love about touring by bike. You see things other people don’t and you appreciate the things you see more because of the effort you put into getting there. This is deceleration at its finest.
We arrived at our hotel around 6pm and Dr. Ed is dragging a bit. This is the first time he’s really been low on energy (vs. me who was likely low on energy 50% of the days so far!). We have nice 4 star accommodations and decide to eat in the hotel restaurant given our long day of riding. The food is very good and the service is outstanding. I hop on the internet for an hour in the hotel lobby and I feel myself slowly integrating back to my normal habits as the trip is winding down.

**PLEASE VOTE IN THE POLL ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE PAGE FOR YOUR FAVORITE TOURING DAY SO FAR**

Day 10: A Stroke of Lucca

Date: 9/17/07
From: Pisa
To: La Spezia (via Lucca, Camaiore and San Terenzo)
Miles: 67.9(1,000 ft. of climbing)
Miles Completed: 455.1 (14,400 ft. of climbing)
Lunch: Café in Camaiore
Dinner: La Lanterna
Accommodations: Hotel Collazo



For some reason I had a miserable night’s sleep in Pisa. It was one of those nights where you aren’t even sure if you actually fell asleep or were just in a daze worrying about not sleeping all night. My body was very tired when I got up and I wasn’t “feeling it”. However, I almost need to remind myself of how bad I felt this morning as today was just an incredible day of riding that totally energized my mind and body. I sit here 12 hours later a totally new person with endorphins jumping inside my body.

When we woke up, the weather forecast was good so we decided we’d head to Lucca as long as there wasn’t too much climbing. Dr. Ed has some great Touring Club Italiano (TCI) maps, which do a nice job of showing the altitude of the mountain passes and severity of the climbs. TCI characterizes the difficulty of the climbs into the passes by the number of chevrons on a scale of one to three (>, >>, and >>>). In the world of cycling, I’ve come to realize chevrons are not welcome sights. TCI doesn’t just throw a chevron on the map for a random little hill. If you see a chevron, expect some pain. If you see two chevrons, expect a lot of pain. If you see three chevrons – well, luckily we haven’t done any three chevron roads yet and I hope I never do. My point in explaining this is that we were hesitant about heading to Lucca a day before our big climbing ride because we saw some chevrons on the map around the city – it’s in a somewhat mountainous region but there also appears to be ways around the mountains.

The woman at the front desk assured us there was a flat way to Lucca. Head north out of Pisa and make a left in San Giuliano Terme at the Hotel Granduca. We follow her directions and the road swerves in between the mountains as we were hoping. The scenery was very pretty. Lucca is an awesome city. It’s still walled and is very charming – in fact, you can walk or ride your bike around the wall of the city – it’s almost like an elevated circular park.

We went to three bike shops in Lucca. The first was Chrono. The owner, Paladino, was a great guy – we chatted about touring and riding around Europe and U.S. He’s been to Arizona and San Diego to ride. We show him our route to La Spezia via SP327 and he suggests a different way (SP1), which will be better for bikes and prettier. Dr. Ed buys a jersey but I hold off. We also stop at Poli, where I get two jerseys (their team jersey and an Italia cycling team jersey). The ride along SP1 was incredible. We climbed a bit and turned the corner in a little town and bang – smack in our faces was the most beautiful view (picture right) down into a valley and the town of Camaiore. The switchbacks heading down the mountain into the town were sweet. We met an Australian couple traveling Europe for six weeks in town and they love our touring story/take some photos of us. The town was in a state of lockdown for siesta so we had microwaved pasta at a bar!

We then rode directly to the water via Lido di Camaiore and headed up the Liguria coast (Italian Riviera) – it was an incredible contrast to the mountains where we just were. We headed out on a boardwalk (picture right) to breathe in the salty air and snap pictures of the beautiful scenery. The ride along the coast is so refreshing and the scenery just pops out of nowhere and smacks you in the face. We did some inadvertent climbing when we descended into a dead end town on the water near La Spezia. Great views and beautiful water but we pay the price climbing back up to the main road.

La Spezia is a cool town. Ed mentions cinque terra as a place we could visit but I’m pretty tired and want to chill. Again, I’ll just tell people I went there. I had baked mozzarella for an appetizer (so good) and pizza for my main course (yes, pizza again). We went to a bar on the water after dinner and started chatting with some women but suddenly we don’t feel welcome as locals are staring us down and the bartenders are being less responsive. We take the hint and leave immediately!

Tomorrow is our most difficult ride so it’s time for bed. I forgot to mention our accommodations are great. I’m looking forward to a good night’s sleep after a tough one last night.

A domani.