Velo Veneto - Ciclismo Italiano !

Twittering

2009-07-18T10:45:00.000-07:00

Trying to figure out how to post from Twitter.com/VeloVeneto directly to the 'blog here and to Facebook

Tre Provincia

2009-07-14T09:34:00.000-07:00

Today's ride was 103k, 3:35 ... we covered three different provinces (like counties in USA) ... our own Treviso, then Vicenza, into Belluno and back. The climb up to "Rocca" was awsome, very old road, but in really nice shape to the beautiful lake where we had a drink and snack. La Dolce Vita !!!

2009-07-13T08:15:00.000-07:00

We did 90ks, a bit over three hours today ... was nice and warm with moderate humidity. Mostly it was a flat to rolling course out to the Montello, site of the 1985 World Championships which 40 yr old Joop Zoetemilk won. On the way back to Castelcucco we went over the Col Mostacin (3k at 8% ave., max 12%), which is used often in local junior and U23 races. It's a very narrow, winding road that can be a bit sketchy in the wet. But most of these Italians go downhill like feerless deamons. It's no wonder since they start racing on decents like this when there are teenagers.

I was a bit incredulous at the whining of one LA and LL during the Giro, complaining about decending on wet, twisty roads. Hey guys, this is bike racing. Perhaps we should take them up and down gravel roads with 30 lbs bikes and spare tubulars around their shoulders ... make men out of them !!!
Just kidding :-)

It was market day in Nervesa at the east end of the Montello. Here's a couple of
shots of David and Paul.

Italia calling

2009-06-15T18:48:00.000-07:00

Ciao Tutti ... only four weeks to go until camp opens in Castelcucco. I got chills down my spine watching the Giro this year when they finished in Valdobiaddane. Great win for Petacchi. Those are the roads we ride so frequently at Velo Veneto.

If you haven't seen this on PezCycling News ( http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/?pg=fullstory&id=7150&status=True&catname=Latest%20News ) check it out ! We'll be riding that same loop a couple of times this summer.

Riding with Renato in Italy

2009-01-02T17:09:00.001-08:00

This video was made by Matt Fritzinger, founder of the NorCal HS Mtb League. Matt was a rider at Velo Veneto in 2000. He visited Renato in Castelcucco in November 2008.

Final Day...Thanks Velo Veneto !

2008-08-17T11:56:00.000-07:00

Velo Veneto Racing Camp – Italy - Day Ten: Today we did a 50 mile ride in the Dolomites. We climbed four passes all of which have been included in the Giro at one time or another. I’ll just let the pictures tell their own story. It was a great ending to a fantastic trip.

Thank you Velo Veneto!

Dave Linden

(Our route this day went over Passo Pordoi, Passo Sella, Passo Gardena and Passo Campolongo ... ed)

Day Nine

2008-08-16T11:37:00.000-07:00

Velo Veneto Racing Camp – Italy - Day Nine: Well it took me six races but today I finally made it into the winning break and finished in the top ten! To make it even sweeter, two of my team mates were in the break with me and that resulted in our team winning the overall team competition as well. This is the first time Velo Veneto has won a team trophy for nearly 10 years. Here is our proud team with our trophy.

Today’s race was in Carbonera which is an hour southeast of our hotel. It was another mostly flat circuit race but it did have two significant motorway overpasses to “climb”. One of them came immediately after a hard left turn which made it even more significant. Here’s a shot of the race registration area.

The race was about 40 miles and consisted of eight laps. The start was the fastest I had seen all week and by the beginning of the second lap there was a six man break established with out any of our team represented. The field caught the break halfway though the second lap but immediately three riders from the same break attacked again. A few riders chased and then we hit the sharp left turn at the base of the overpass climb. The race then exploded as riders tried to bridge to the break over the climb. I was the last to try. I totally buried myself and it must have taken me 30 seconds to get across. I almost didn’t make it across the last 15 meters. Finally I did make contact and we had a 13 man break established with six laps to go. Here’s a shot of me leading the break with Mateo sitting fourth.

The break worked well together. I suffered for the first couple of laps but then settled in. We eventually opened a gap of over 90 seconds on the field. The sprint was won by a fellow who used to be a track sprinter on the Italian Olympic squad. I finished ninth and was very pleased with that result. Here’s a photo of me receiving my bag of groceries from the podium girl.

It was a great way to end our week of racing. Tomorrow we are going to take it “easy” and do a 50 mile training ride in the Dolomites hopefully going over four mountain passes, all of which have been used in the Giro. I should have some good photos of the Dolomites for tomorrow’s final edition of this blog.

Thanks for reading. Dave Linden

Day 8

2008-08-15T11:19:00.000-07:00

Velo Veneto Racing Camp – Italy - Day Eight: Today we traveled to the town of Ponte de Piave for yet another perfectly flat circuit race. The Omnium is now over so the fields are smaller. Our field was only about 50 riders today. Ponte de Piave is a “holy” place for Italian cycling with a monument and shrine to the famed “Campianissimo” of Italian cycling, Fausto Coppi. Our race finished right next to his monument.

This race was located right in the middle of some vineyards. In fact, most of the cars parked under the grape vines:

Once again the four juniors and myself would be racing together in the Supergentleman field. I’m pretty sure the old guys are getting pretty sick of having to chase the juniors around. We were doing 12 laps today for a total of only 30 miles. Trevor established a break on the second lap which proved to be the winning move.

Logan, Mateo and I worked to control the field with Logan doing the majority of the work and totally demoralizing the entire filed. We eventually had to lay off because the Italians actually began threatening us with bodily harm! Here’s a shot of Logan controlling the field with me in fourth spot. He’s even smiling!

On the last lap Mateo and I got a few hundred meters on the field but were caught about 500 meters from the finish. I finished around 15th but it was a victory for the Velo Veneto team as Trevor dropped his break away companions in the sprint.

Racing in Italy is a really big deal as you might imagine. Even a local race like this is complete with a podium and podium girls. Here’s the boys receiving their awards for the
“Debutante” category.

Tomorrow is our last day of racing. See you then.

Day 7

2008-08-14T22:08:00.000-07:00

The Velo Veneto team returned to racing today in Sarego and we finally made an impact on the local racing scene. Sarego is about an hour west of our hotel. On the drive there we passed through Vicenza, which is where Campagnolo is located. We also passed the remnants of a walled city (called Marostica) probably from medieval times.

Once again the four juniors and myself would be racing together in the Super Gentleman field. We had heard there might be a one kilometer climb in the race today and when we arrived in Sarego, it certainly looked hilly enough to support such a climb.

However, much to our collective dismay, the race again was perfectly flat except for a single small bump over a canal. We would do seven laps for 35 miles. Three of the juniors would play a major role in today’s race. Here’s a picture of (left to right) Logan, Matteo, and Trevor.

Logan initiated numerous breaks, some lasting a lap, some lasting only a few minutes. He was by far the most aggressive rider in the race. Matteo and Trevor also raced hard. However, as we began the final lap, three other riders had a 10 second gap. Then Logan, Trevor, Matteo, myself, and another couple of riders jumped hard to close the gap. I looked back and saw there was about a 50 meter gap behind me so I shouted at the juniors to kick it hard. I sat up to slow the chase while they jumped away with three other riders. Mateo and Trevor buried themselves and launched Logan into the final stretch. (The pack caught Matteo and Trevor in the last kilo.) Logan and the two others fought it out in the sprint and Logan finished second. I continued trying to control the field until our sprint started. I finished about 20th. All and all a great result for Team Velo Veneto.

Here’s a picture of me leading through one of the corners.

Finally, here’s a shot of the finish of the Gentlemen’s field which was the race after ours.

This race was the last of the Omnium event. Although I did not have any top ten finishes and thus no Omnium points, I still had a great time racing.

We have two other races left over the next two days. Then on Sunday we are planning a ride in the Dolomites which will include some of the Giro climbs. By then, I should be ready to go home.

Day 6

2008-08-13T22:00:00.000-07:00

Today was another recovery day and I really needed it. Four of us rolled out of camp at 9:00 AM under cloudy and threatening skis. I left my camera at the hotel fearing it might rain (which it didn’t). We did a steady 45 mile ride on what the locals call the “Canal Route” which circles around the Montello following a couple of canals. It is a very popular cycling route and we must have seen over a hundred other riders including a couple of large teams complete with team cars.

We were back to the hotel for lunch followed by a quick nap. Then it was off to another of the numerous bike shops in the area. Although I did not have my camera with me today, I thought I would include some shots I took during our first rest day on Monday.

It's back to racing tomorrow and we heard the course might have a 1 kilometer climb in it. Once again the juniors will be racing with me in the Supergentlemen field. My quest for a top ten finish continues.

Guest Blogger - Day 5

2008-08-12T21:52:00.000-07:00

Today’s race was within a stone’s throw of Saturday’s race, about 45 minutes away in Vigardolo. The course was also similar, totally flat except for two overpass crossings of the motorway. We would do nine lapsfor a total of 35 miles. Once again, the supergentleman field was big today consisting ofabout 70 riders. One big change was that the juniors in camp would also be riding in the supergentleman field with me. I would no longer be the “lonely Americano”.

A good break of about six riders got away on the second lap with two of our Velo Veneto juniors driving it. One of the other juniors and I blocked and I really thought that the breakwould make it. However, all of sudden the older guys in the break refused to work and it all came back together. Almost immediately another six man break went and this one would not come back. Unfortunately there were no Velo Veneto riders in this winning break,

The sprint consisted of a 500 meter straight shot proceeded by a hard left turn after a narrow two kilometer straight run-in. That run-in was quite an adventure. There were still 50 riders at that point and all of them were trying to get to the front. There was lots of yelling and pushing. I rode the last two kilometrs with my elbows sticking straight out but still only managed to finish around twenty-fifth.

Here’s a picture of the next race charging through the start-finish. This was a combined field of the “Veterans” (40-47) and the “Gentlemen” (48-55) classes

Here’s picture of our camp director, Pat, in front of the bar where registration held.

Since none of us have accumulated any Omnium points, we have declared Wednesday a rest day and are planning on an easy 50 miles in the foothills of the Dolomites. I hope to have some nice pictures as a result. See you tomorrow.

Day 4 - by Dave Linden

2008-08-12T02:13:00.000-07:00

Velo Veneto Racing Camp – Italy - Day Four: Today’s race is about an hour and a halfaway in Vescovana. As usual my start time is at 2:30 PM and the temperature is pushing 90 degrees. The course consists of five laps of an eight mile mostly flat course. There isone little hill as we climb and then later descend off of a levee. The supergentleman fieldwas big today consisting of about 80 riders.

Italians do race differently than we do. One example is cornering. In the US, the pelotontries to carry as much speed through the corners as possible. In Italy, the entire field hitsthe brakes hard at every corner and then sprint out of it like crazy. I’m told it’s a tacticaimed at creating gaps and dropping riders. I really pissed off a bunch of guys when Idove inside them on the sharp turn at the bottom of the little descent off the levee. Theyall started shouting at me but I can only guess at what they were saying.

Also, the prizes in Italy are quite different. Everyone that places (usually top ten) gets thesame prize, a bag of groceries!

The racing today was similar to Saturday. Team mates constantly let gaps open right near thefront and you spend most of your race jumping across the gaps. I must have jumped across adozen gaps today, Unfortunately, I chose the wrong time to drift back into the field and a breakof eight riders got away without me with two laps to go. Seven kilometers from the finish I didmanage to get away in a three man group but we were caught about one kilometer from the finish.
I jumped in as the field screamed by and finished somewhere around 20th..

Here’s picture of one of the “younger” groups coming and going at the start finish.

Tomorrow things change a little as the juniors are going to start racing in the supergentlemanfield along with me. (Turns out woman and juniors typically race with the supergentleman.)
So, tomorrow I will no longer be alone in the field but will have four team mates.

Talk to you tomorrow!

Dave Linden - Day 3

2008-08-11T13:36:00.000-07:00

Velo Veneto Racing Camp – Italy - Day Three: The closest race today (Sunday) was well
over two hours away so Pat declared today a rest day. We did an easy (but hilly) 25 miles in
the area around Castlecucco including a brief stop in the nearby town of Asolo. The roads and
the views were simply breathtaking.

Here’s this week’s Velo Veneto team and staff:

Here’s a photo I took in the hills above Castlecucco. This is a two way road, not a bikeway:

Later in the day we drove about five minutes from the hotel to watch a UCI U-23 race do
four circuits up a very steep hill nearby. This was at the 100k mark of a 170 km race.

Tomorrow it’s back to racing!

Day Two ... by Dave Linden

2008-08-09T22:00:00.000-07:00

We loaded up the Velo Veneto van at 12:30 PM and headed south. There would be five of us racing, myself and four juniors from Ottawa. I would be competing in the Super Gentleman class at 2:30 PM. The juniors would be riding in the “open” class at around 5:00 PM. After an hour’s drive we arrived at the race. The course was a four mile circuit of which we would do nine laps for a total of 35 miles. The course had lots of corners and was flat except for two motorway overpasses which we would have to climb and descend each lap. The field was big but not huge. I’d guess about 60 riders. The race went from the gun and I found myself right at the front for the first two laps. In fact, I lead the field through the start finish the first two times. I tried some early breaks but nothing really ever got established. After the first two laps I settled in and let others do the work. The race was pretty fast given that everyone in the field was over 56. The average speed was in excess of 25 mph. Here’s how the Italians seem to race: A team goes to the front and purposely opens a gap letting one of their riders escape. Riders then start bridging to them one by one. It was common to have a break of five riders form and get 100 meters off the front. However, they always seemed to eventually sit-up usually because there were two many “passengers” who had bridged across and were now sitting on.

Any ways, the finish was about one kilometer after the last overpass. I wanted to be in good position coming down that overpass. On the last lap, a group of three riders were 100 meters off the front going into the overpass. I bridged across to them over the climb pulling a couple of other riders with me. So, with one kilometer to go, I was in a six man group with a very small lead. Unfortunately the break slowed down a bit with 500 meters to go and the front of the field swarmed by us announced by the sound of metal scraping against pavement as some riders went down behind me. I jumped into the swarm but only managed to finish about 15th overall. All in all, it was a “great” introduction to Italian racing.

Here's some info from my PowerTap ...

Duration: 1:19:10

Distance: 33.6 miles

Max Power: 1060 watts

Normalized (Ave.) Power: 322 watts

Ave. Speed: 25.5 mph

Dave Linden ... Guest Blogger

2008-08-08T23:56:00.000-07:00

By Dave Linden
Fying Rhino Cycling Club
Clarkston, Michigan

Velo Veneto Racing Camp – Italy - Day One: I arrived at Marco Polo airport in Venice without incident. I then made a quick cell phone call and located Pat Carroll, owner of Velo Veneto, in the crowd outside baggage claim. That was followed by a 45 minute drive to the Hotel Montegrappa located on Castelcucco at the foot of the Dolomites. We then had a quick but wonderful lunch in the hotel. I then checked into my room and assembled my bike for a 30 mile roundtrip ride to the local bike shop that issues Italian racing licenses. On the way over, we rode through one of the stage finished of the 2007 Giro. While in the bike shop, I was looking at a life size poster of Mateo Tosatto who was a stage winner at the 2007 Tour de France. The bike shop owner said something in Italian and pointed to the parking lot. Pat translated saying that Mateo was in the parking lot. Sure enough, he and his Porsche were less than 100 meters away soaking up the Italian sunshine. Talk about total immersion in Italian Cycling!!! The local bike shops are unbelievable. The second one we stopped at had a Pinerello Prince complete with Campy’s new Super Record 11-speed gruppo and Mavic’s all carbon wheels in the window. They had more models, color, and sizes of Sidi’s that I could ever have imagined even existed. And this was in a relatively small city. Finally, Pat mentioned that Alessandro Ballan lived less than a kilometer away.

Tomorrow afternoon the racing starts. Here’s what an Italian racing license looks like

GF Pinarello

2008-07-21T09:04:00.000-07:00

by Bud Napolio
San Francisco, CA

What is a Gran Fondo? Is it a bicycle race? Well, sort of, but not in the way we typically think of races with categories of racers going off in waves with other racers in their categories (or maybe several categories combined). Is it like a century? Absolutely NOT, most centuries I’ve done have a span of time over which you can start and don’t keep track of your time and most people I’ve seen who do centuries are not rabid racers like the participants in a Gran Fondo are. In the end, in my opinion, a Gran Fondo is a race, a celebration of cycling and a marketing masterpiece (I saw more Pinarellos on this one ride than I’ve seen if you counted up every Pinarello I’ve ever seen and added them all together). It’s also a great focus for anyone who is serious about riding a racing bicycle and riding it fast. It’s a big deal in Italy where thousands of people train for and race in Gran Fondos. There are professional teams that compete in Gran Fondos, there are magazines fully devoted to Gran Fondos. There are Gran Fondos that take place in many parts of Italy .

The format of the Pinarello Gran Fondo is really pretty simple. 4,000 people start in two waves, the first wave is for the 209km (130 mile) “lungo – long” course, the second wave is for the 125 km (78 mile) “media – medium” course). Each rider has a timing chip on a velcro strap that he/she attaches somewhere on the lower part of either their bodies or their bicycles – most people seemed to attach them to one of their ankles. The timing chip records when you cross the start line, as you can imagine it takes that many people a few minutes to cross the start line – so it’s nice that your timing chip doesn’t begin to register until you actually cross the start line. It also records your time at various checkpoints along the course, and, of course, your finishing time. It’s all pretty high-tech. There are narrow strips of blue carpet that run across the course at each checkpoint, and at the finish – you can hear a little “beep” as you and your timing chip cross each checkpoint. Once you cross the start line, you ride along with an ever-changing and never-ending group of riders as fast as you’d like, or can, until you cross the finish line. Then you hang out in a giant tent eating good food, drinking beer, having a caffe’, maybe a gelato and watching all the people and their cool bicycles, kits and gear mill around with tired but happy, tanned and healthy faces.

Team Velo Veneto consisted of two maniacs from Manhattan – George and Bill, who were each doing the 130 mile long course (which also had 2 giant 10km (6 mile) climbs) and the only slightly less crazed but larger group of us doing the 78 mile medium course – Tom (from Terre Haute, Indiana) Jim and Jeff (from Portland, Oregon), Alex (from Hermisillo, Mexico), Simon (from Southern California), Il Capo Pat (Velo Veneto Directeur Sportive from Castelcucco and Santa Rosa, CA) and me (from San Francisco). We left the Hotel Monte Grappa at 5:30 AM for the roughly one hour drive to Treviso – the start time for the long course was 7:00 and for the medium course was 7:30.

After a brief warm-up and restroom hunt, we took our places toward the back off the mob at the start line – we were way behind the start line. The announcer was going on in Italian in a voice and manner similar to that of an announcer with the World Wide Wrestling Federation. I think he was announcing some of the dignitaries who were doing the Fondo and generally just trying to whip the crowd into a frenzy (the crowd seemed pretty calm though). I heard later that both 5 time Tour de France winner Miguel Indurain and former classics superstar Michele Bartoli where participating in the race but I never saw either of them. Finally, the long awaited countdown to the start occurred as the frenzied MC shouted “cinque, quattro, tre, due, uno, BANG”……..………………………..and then nothing happened – we didn’t move an inch, we looked up at the mass of helmets as far as we could see and there was no movement at all, we waited a minute and still nothing. Could we have mis-interpreted the countdown? Kind of hard to mis-interpret that! Finally, we noticed some movement – then in a few minutes, we were clipping in and beginning to slowly ride toward the start line. As we approached the start line we began to ride a bit faster, then shortly after the start line we were suddenly doing about 25-27 mph in a mob of hundreds of people. Just think about that for a second, you’re maybe 3257th wheel in a giant peloton moving through the fairly wide streets of Treviso, Italy with absolutely no automobile traffic – all intersections are closed off, no cars are parked on the streets, you have the entire street – curb-to-curb, you’re zipping along listening to the buzz of 8,000 skinny, high pressure tires on the road; ahead of, and completely surrounding you is an ocean of brightly colored jersey, helmets and bikes, all of your senses are on high alert, your blood is coursing through your body – YOU’RE FULLY ALIVE, YOUR ENTIRE BEING IS COMPLETELY IN THE MOMENT, YOU’RE IN ITALY RIDING YOUR BIKE AND RIDING IT FAST!!! It’s hard to capture that feeling without actually doing a Gran Fondo.

After a short while, the giant mob began to break up into sub-groups, each in itself quite large. Pat, Alex, Jim and I stayed together and sort of leap-frogged our way up from group to group – we were always moving forward, no group passed us, if a faster group came along, we’d just hop on the train until a faster group came by, this pattern repeated itself several times until finally there was a team that was smoking fast – we jumped in with that group and stayed with them until we hit the first climb (I don’t think our staying with that group had anything to do with the supremely fit, tanned women with perfect bottoms and legs wearing the short-shorts, in fact, I didn’t even notice them).

The first climb was tricky – Alex and I were climbing relatively faster than most and tried to move up on the climb – however, the road was narrow and completely full of riders. The left side of the road was the “passing lane”, we got into this lane and whenever we saw daylight we darted into the opening and moved up as best we could – it’s amazing that we somehow managed to reach the summit together given all the traffic we had to maneuver through. Of course, what goes up, must come down – we now had the prospect of descending a narrow twisty road that was about 80% blocked. The descent was surprisingly fast and safe – maybe two “yahoos” were taking unsafe chances but the rest of us descended quite quickly and comfortably.

The pattern above continued for the next few climbs. Items of note were: there was an “official” descending with us on his Vespa, the scooter just couldn’t cut the switchbacks the way the bicycles could, so on a few of the turns the underside of its floorboards skidded along the pavement letting sparks fly and creating that flinty smell of sparkling metal. Alex and I quickly got by the Vespa before it went down and stung us. As Alex and I sped along, an hour into the ride, we saw a Velo Veneto jersey up ahead – “that crafty Pat, he found a way to snake ahead” I thought, however, when we caught up with our teammate it turned out to be not the young and spry Pat, but 65 year-old Simon. Simon had started a bit ahead of us and was smoking along in a pack at 25-26 mph – how many 65 year olds do you know who can do that? Simon looked “molto italiano” in his Velo Veneto team kit on his custom Cavalera (Michele Cavalera is a master framebuilder who has his shop in the area). Alex and I hooked up with Simon and we stayed together until the next climb – as we approached the climb we could see that it zig-zagged up the side of a forested mountain – it was really cool to look up the mountain and see the road and its 8 or so switchbacks covered and colored by the never-ending line of cyclists. By this point in time, it was easier to move up in the group on the climbs. Just about every group we got into (after the climbs) had a handful of older guys looking smooth and relaxed – by older, I mean 60 +, truly inspirational.

There were a handful of ristori (rest stops) along the way, they consisted of a throng of volunteers who had cups and pitchers of water – the first one was a bit tricky to navigate because a lot of people stopped to grab a cup of water or fill up a water bottle. It wasn’t in my plan to stop at any of the ristori but by the second one (maybe halfway through the ride), I had already drained my two water bottles and was feeling a bit off. I told Alex that I needed to stop for water, we stopped and it took my a few minutes to fill my two water bottles – Alex and I lost each other at the rest stop so I was on my own for the rest of the ride.

I began to feel better and better such that when I hit the last climb I was completely on fire and in the zone – the final climb is 3 kilometers long followed by a very fast descent and then 20-25 kilometers of flat roads to the finish. Pat had taken us up the final hill and down the descent earlier in the week which was a great idea – I knew exactly how to pace the climb and what the descent was like. I literally passed over 200 riders on the final climb – I learned that I just needed to ride up the left side of the road shouting “Ocio” (sp?) which I believe literally means “eye” but in this context means “Please to give some space to the American who thinks he’s alone out in front on the Alpe d’Huez stage of the Tour de France.” People were really good about making space and even yelling out “vai, vai – go, go”. I crested the climb feeling great but remembering Pat telling us that on the descent last year he was doing 50 mph when he felt a hand push him along because he wasn’t descending fast enough. I really didn’t want that to happen so just before the descent I jumped into the 300 hundred meters of space between two groups of about 20 riders – I went by the first group figuring I could comfortably do the descent and then bridge up to the front group on the flats, or wait for the rear group to catch me. Well the plan worked for about half of the descent – somehow I caught the front group and flew by them at over 50 mph – wow, these few weeks in Italy have really helped my descending!!

So many cool things had already happened in the Gran Fondo and there were only 20 flat, seemingly uneventful kilometers ahead – but this is Italy and unexpected pleasures and experiences literally await around ever corner – the highlight of my ride was yet to come.

Shortly after finishing the descent I was briefly alone, she saw me from the second floor window of her expansive family villa, she leaned out amongst the brilliant flowers along the bottom of the window in her low-cut, tight blouse, she had a bottle of Sangiovese in her olive skinned left hand and waved, then she called to me “ciclisto, ciclisto bello – come here please, I need you” ……………er, well not really! It was more like this:

I was briefly alone and saw a couple of guys from the same team up ahead – something like “UC Castelfranco”. These guys were roleurs – big guys (6 feet, 170+ pounds) who looked like they could lay down some smack on the flats, I guess they were in their 30s. I bridged up to them and immediately the three of us took short 20-30 second pulls at 25 mph, we were flying along, working together when we passed another rider in a nice green and blue kit (think Sprite can), he latched onto the back but didn’t take any pulls – I couldn’t really see his face I just knew that he was there and suffering to stay on – as we approached a round-about he was just about pinched off the back, however, after the round-about, he was right back on our wheels – he took the slightly shorter left side route around the round-about (pretty crafty). I took a pull then pulled over to let one of the UC Castelfranco quarter horses through. No one came through so I flicked my elbow and moved over in a very obvious fashion – no one came through. I looked back and the quarter horses were nowhere in sight but the Sprite can was on my wheel, I got a good hard look at him – the guy was ancient – his skin was brown and wrinkled, he didn’t have sunglasses on so I could see that the whites of his eyes were yellowed like an old newspaper, his face was strained, there was a large protruding vein running diagonally down the center of his forehead, the carotid arteries running down the sides of his dark, loose-skinned, wrinkled neck were pulsing – I was actually frightened for a moment – it was like I came up upon one of those unliving/undead pirates from the “Pirates of the Carribean” movies. He said something to me in Italian – I said, “mi dispiace, non parlo Italiano – I’m sorry I don’t speak Italian” (I used that term almost as much as “un cappuccino per favore”). He indicated to me by grabbing his leg and yelping that one of the quarter horses had cramped up. So it was just me and him. There was a group of about 40 riders about 300 to 400 meters ahead of us – we caught glimpses of them on the long straights or when the route took 90 degree turns – I motioned to him to sit on my wheel and I would try to pull him up to the group. I now had a focus, and, I thought, a noble purpose. He gave me the thumbs up and we began the pursuit. I took it up to 25 mph and looked under my arm to see if he was there – I could see his front wheel about 4 inches from my rear wheel. I took it up to 26 and did another check, still there – we stayed at 26 for about 5 minutes and he was still there, looking smooth but not particularly comfortable – yet he still gave me a thumbs up – a few more minutes and I took it up to 27, the underarm check showed that he was about 2 inches from my wheel – we were really close to the big group of 40 now – I gently nudged it up to 28, yes 28 mph and here’s the Ancient Mariner in the same air bubble with me, his wheel was only an inch or so from mine. We did it!!! We caught up to the back of the group and I kept the momentum up until we were mid-pack, then I pulled over – he rode up next to me and gently but firmly took my arm (which somehow transported us to a very quiet place), he looked me right in the eyes and said something like “grazie, grazie, tu molto forte - thank you, thank you, you are very strong”. I made up Italian and said somelike like “e tu molto forte, con complementi, molto respecto per tu, tu un inspirazione” he understood and his eyes shone – I asked him “quanti anni – how many years do you have”? “Settanta – Seventy” was his response (from the neck up he actually looked older but from the neck down he could have been my age). He rode like he was born on the bike, smooth and relaxed with a perfect pedal stroke despite the fact that he was suffering immensely – I was a little alarmed at how close he rode to my rear wheel but he just did it – which made me focus on keeping all of my moves super smooth – so he helped me too.

He and I stayed safely in the big group until we rode through the narrow archway in the old wall around Treviso and across the finish line in front of the Pinarello store. We said our goodbyes and he left an indelible mark on me – I’d like to ride like that, right here in Italy when I’m 70 – it’s not just a hobby or a sport, it’s a lifestyle and a culture and I’m in it for the long haul!!!!

Results:

I finished in an official time of 3:33:55, my cyclometer put me at an average speed of 21.8 mph, I was 522nd overall and 65th in my age group (whatever age group that is). Interesting note – about 10 minutes after he finished the Gran Fondo, while sitting under the giant pasta feed tent, Simon received a text message that said something like, “Congratualtions Simon, you have finished the Gran Fondo in 3:41:31, you were in 726th place overall and 13th in your age group.” How’s that for high tech quick results – I guess the timing chip sends the signal to the Gran Fondo computer which records the time and placement data and had Simon’s contact information in it such that it could send him his results immediately – even before he stopped sweating!!

UDACE Race on Croce d'Aune

2008-07-17T09:29:00.000-07:00

By "Guest Blogger"

Bud Napolio

San Francisco, CA

Below is a long report, not just on a race, but on the whole experience of racing in Italy – the executive summary is that I finished 8th in the Veterani Category (ages 40-47), at 47 I was at the upper end of the age group. The course was a challenging roughly 20 kilometer (12 mile) loop that we did 3 times followed by a roughly 10 kilometer (6 mile) climb up the fabled Croce D’Aune (the climb where Tullio Campagnolo had the idea for the quick release and thus hatched his company). The 20 K loops had everything - hills, cobblestones, flats, roundabouts with “traffic furniture”, sections that went through towns where the road was only about 5 riders wide as it squeezed through ancient buildings, fast descents, a GPM (KOM), false flats, tricky tight corners. The 10 K climb was steep and tough with lots of switchbacks and has been used in the Giro d’Italia on several occasions.

I can’t even begin to tell you how wonderful this experience was and the decent result was just icing on the cake. Pat asked me to be the guest blogger for the Velo Veneto Blog, so that’s why I rambled on in the full report below. So for the none or two of you who would like all the gory details read on:

Race Report: Pedavena Race

Sunday July 13, 2008

Racing in Italy is just plain different.

Registration:
Team Velo Veneto showed up at the race venue which started at the 110 yr old brewery in Pedavena near the town of Feltre in the foothills of the Dolomites. We were there a little early and registration had not yet opened. I asked one of the women at the registration table “Scusi, dove bagno? – excuse me, where is the bathroom?” She got up from here chair, smiled at me and then practically took me by the hand all the way around to the back of the building. She took me right to the door of the men’s room and then asked me in Italian, with hand motions that I understood, if I could find my way back. Oh yeah, and she was gorgeous in a very natural, non-put-together, non-made-up way: jeans, a loose fitting silvery-grey T shirt and her hair up in a bun. Then as I was washing my hands the janitor came in and started yelling at me something I couldn’t understand. “Mi dispiace, non parlo italiano – I’m sorry I don’t speak Italian” I said. It didn’t slow him down, he yelled at me “Chiuso, Chiuso – closed, closed”. I repeated my line again – “Mi dispiace.” and rushed back to my warmer, prettier new friend.

I found my way back to registration and told Velo Veneto Director Sportive Pat Carroll “I might need your help filling out the registration form.” “What registration form?” he asked, “They take your racing license, it has all the information they need, they don’t have you sign waivers or anything like that here.”

So I got into the registration line for my category – my racing age is 47, so I am a Veterani, which is ages 40-47, so I’d be the old man of the group. There were two registration lines, one for the 4 or 5 categories that exist for those under 47 (juniores, dillentantes, under 23’s, etc – or something like that) and one for the age groups over 47 and the women. Since I was 4th in line I was given number 4, the guys in front of me, #’s 2 and 3, had butts about as wide as my thumb and looked ready to rock. I gave the lovely woman my license and she gave me a number that was different from the numbers we use in California in a few respects – it was fairly small, it was more cloth-like than paper-like and it had been used many times before as one could tell by the many pin holes in it. She took my license and said “otto euro – 8 euros”, that’s right 8 euros to race, not $30 to $40, and no paperwork to fill out.

The Course:
A humdinger!!! 3 roughly 20 kilometer giri (loops) with hills, cobblestones, flats, roundabouts with “traffic furniture”, sections that went through towns where the road was only about 5 riders wide as it squeezed through ancient buildings, fast descents, a GPM (KOM), false flats, tricky tight corners – it had everything. Then after the 3 loops we did a roughly 10 kilometer climb up the fabled Croce D’Aune. It was on the Croce D’Aune where Tullio Campagnolo came up with the idea for the quick release and the company Campagnolo was born. There’s a monument to him and the company at the top of the climb.

While we were getting our kits on near the Velo Veneto Van, one of the volunteers in an orange vest came over to talk to us. I think he heard us speaking English and thought we were a curiosity so he came over to check us out. It didn’t matter that he didn’t speak English – through Pat, and his able assistant, David Covington’s translations, we found out that his name was “Mamo”. Mamo gave us some pointers on the course – “watch out for the descent that comes halfway through the course, it’s fast and in a forest so there may be slippery leaves all over the road. The final climb up the Croce D’Aune is very steep at the beginning and at the end, but fairly “pedalable” in the middle section.

The Start
The skies were dark and there was loud, threatening thunder. All of the categories would start together and the placings would be picked separately. That meant us Veterani (40-47), Gentlemen (48-55) and Super Gentlemen (56+) would have to deal with the young budding pros out on the course.

The way the race started is there was a guy on a PA, he called up every single rider by name and race number – “Buda Napolio, numero Quattro”. There was another guy with a clipboard and a whistle – as each rider showed up on the start line, this guy would toot his whistle to acknowledge the rider checking in and then cross the name off the list on his clipboard. I wasn’t fully aware of how the system worked so there was a bit of a delay between the calling of my name and the whistle toot acknowledging my taking my place on the start line as I stood in the back waving my arm when they called my name. I wanted to start in the back to stay out of the way of the young bucks but my numero 4 meant that I was called up to start in the very front row.

As I stood there waiting for them to finish calling up the 100 or so racers, it started to rain. I was able to move back a few inches so that I was under the huge inflatable “Sportful” start arch. I was in Italy , I was in the front row, there was a herd of young bucks behind me, the course was technical, tricky and hard, it was raining and I was pretty darn nervous.

David had my camera and was able to capture my apprehension in about a dozen photos.

The race began with a promenade behind a small bevy of motorcycles and a lead car or two. They don’t do road closures here, and there is no center line rule. They do sort of a rolling closure and shepard cars off the road as we go – there were many cars on the left hand side of the road that had to stop to let us pass – most of the drivers sat patiently in their cars and more than a few got out of their cars to cheer us on – that was really cool.

The Race:
The speed during the promenade was about 15 mph, for about 8 minutes or so we rolled out of the brewery parking lot and through town. For this early on a rainy Sunday morning there were a surprising number of townsfolk out to watch the promenade and cheer us on. Then the lead car and motorcycle armada sped up and it was “game on”. Immediately, and I do mean immediately, 4 riders jumped off the front hard and the speed went from 15 to close to 30 mph, we quickly pulled them back in, but from that point on (i.e., for the next 2 hours or so) the race was fast and hard. I drifted to about 1/3 of the way back in the field and hung on for dear life. The challenge was to maintain the pace, avoid the road hazards (traffic furniture, cars pulled over on the left side of the road, the narrowing of the road through the old town, the fast descent (which wasn’t so slippery) and be very watchful as any gaps could quickly convert from a few seconds to minutes. One several occasions I saw a gap open up ahead of me – when this happened I waited a few seconds to see if someone would close the gap, but if not I bridged up to close the gap. On two occasions I almost got pinched off the back of what was beginning to be a leading group but I was able to hang on. My teammate, Alex, wasn’t so lucky in this respect – he got pinched off the back and ended up in a chase group that finished 5 minutes behind the lead group

At one point, I was suffering from the pace and drifting toward the back of the lead group, I was last in the line and considering easing up. All of a sudden the church bells from a local church tower began to ring – “Dude, you’re racing, IN ITALY , how cool is that, dig in man” Inspired by this divine intervention I found my way to the middle of the lead group. I was really pleased that I could hang on to the lead group given the difficulty and technical nature of the course and the fact that there were plenty of young bucks in the group. Somehow, each lap felt easier than the one before it, although Pat and David informed me that our splits per lap were incredibly consistent.

The racers in the pack were very smooth and safe and had perfect etiquette, any road hazard was translated through the pack, a few guys bumped elbows here and there and apologized to each other or made a joke about it by popping their elbows out and looking side-to-side like a gorilla ready to rumble. One guy who was in front of me held out his arm with his hand turned backward to me as if to say “clear this space”, he then took a quick check behind him to see that me and the other riders understood and proceeded to blow his nose into the dead space behind him.

I managed to hang on to the lead group for the last lap and was thinking, I’d be really happy if this race just ended after the third lap without having to climb the 10 kilometers up the Croce D’Aune. I had already been redlined for an hour and a half and was thrilled to have hung on to the lead group. But climb we must.

As soon as we hit the base of the climb the field splintered, I was about mid-pack when we hit the climb and just set out at a high tempo – a handful of guys jumped at the bottom of the climb. “It’s a long climb, there’s no way they can keep that pace” I thought, well I was about 90% wrong, I never saw most of those guys again. However, in the early part of the climb, I was able to begin picking off a few riders either alone on in clumps. Then things sort of stabilized. I couldn’t tell who was in which class, all I knew was that those of us who were 47 and under had 2 digit numbers and those over 47 had three digit numbers. It didn’t really matter though, I was racing in Italy and that was an end in itself.

As we climbed there were about 4 of us in a clump, that skinny #3 from the registration line, a guy with a frame and jersey that looked Eastern European (Croatia isn’t that far away) – the lettering on his jersey and frame had P’s and O’s and what looked like upside down K’s and a bunch of consonants without vowels to interrupt their flow. We were picking off riders but not many, finally, this little group split as skinny #3 and me rolled away – we took turns leading each other and then we rolled up to his teammate, even skinnier #2 – 2 and 3 had a brief exchange and then 3 and I rolled on. Somehow, we started talking with each other between breaths, I asked him “quanti chilometri a il fin – how many kilometers to the finish?” He thought 3 or 4 – we both let out an “UGH”, then we rounded two more switchbacks and he said “Americano – ultimo chilimetro” as he pointed to a sign on the side of the road. “Grazie” I said as I upped the pace a bit – he sat on my wheel for a while, but by 500 meters to go he was gapped. It felt a bit odd as we were sort of temporary “amici – friends” but hey this was a race. I saw the 300m, 200m and 100m signs but could not see the finishing arch. “Uh oh”, I thought, “what if the finish is not just around the corner – I’m burning my last match here”, fortunately, I rounded the last switchback to see the 50 m sign and the long awaited finishing arch. As I approached the finish line and official called out “numero Quattro – Buda Napolio” on the PA.

Results/Awards:
After a brief cooldown, David took my number off my jersey to return it to the officials in exchange for getting my license back. It turns out the official who had my license was the natural beauty from registration – that David, he’s no fool.

After maybe half an hour or so, the results were taped to the wall of the caffe, bar, ristortante at the top of the Croce D’Aune not far from the monument to Tullio Campagnolo. They only list the top 10 in each category, if you’re not in the top 10, you don’t know where you finished. Alex finished 8th in the Gentlemen category, he’s 52 and an incredible climber, I’m sure he would have been top 5 if he didn’t get pinched off on the loops back in town. I also finished 8th in the Veterani category which I’m incredibly pleased with. This really felt like a hard circuit race and then a hard hillclimb race rolled into one.

We waited around for the awards ceremony, there were plenty of “Sportful” bags filled with various items ranging from Sportful products to groceries, there were huge bottles of what looked like either apple cider or moonshine grappa and other items in the back of the hatchback that served as the lead vehicle (complete with the open roof from which, during the race, an official waving a traffic paddle of some sort stood looking and sounding very, well, official).

They were calling out the results counting down from tenth place to first, they started with the younger categories and after they called out the rider’s place, race number and name, the riders would walk down to the officials and collect his prizes. They got to the Veterani Category and said “8th place – Buda Napolino – numero quattro”, I took a few hesitant steps forward as I realized that the riders in 10th and 9th place hadn’t collected their booty. “Well they must have left” I thought, so I walked down to the awards presenters in full view of all. I said “Bud Napolio, numero Quattro, otto” They said what I thought was – “we’re on 7th right now, your award is next.” So I stood there like an idiot, while they called 7th, 6th, 5th, etc. I figuratively had my hand out waiting for my bag of goodies when Pat called out to me and waved for me to come over. I left my idiot spotlight next to the presenters to head over to Pat – Pat told me “they are only awarding prizes to the top 7, but they are recognizing the top 10.” Oh that’s what they said – duh!

In the end, I am really pleased with the race and the whole experience. Regardless of the result, it was definitely a “peak experience.” Finishing in the top 10 on such a challenging course, in Northern Italy - the epicenter of competitive cycling was just the icing on the cake.

It was a happy ride back to the Hotel/Bar/Ristorante Monte Grappa for yet another delicious Italian lunch and shared bottle of red wine followed by a sweet, delicious nap.

Tour of California Training Camp

2008-02-24T20:38:00.000-08:00

Friday night dinner at "Syrah"

What at fantastic weekend we had for the Tour of California training camp weekend. We had a enough sun to keep everyone happy and did about 300 kilometers of riding with about 11,000 feet of climbing in three days. The dining was wonderful.

The group heading out toward Cazadero and the "King Ridge" ride.

Regrouping on King Ridge Rd.

The view south down the coast on Meyers Grade Rd.

The pro peleton with 1 lap to go on Stage 1 in Santa Rosa

Il Re Leone (The Lion King) returns

The Cricket, Paolo Bettini heads off with his Quick Step team

Two laps to go

Cipo's group was dropped

Marmolada, et al...by guest blogger!

2007-09-11T12:51:00.000-07:00

the view from Passo Valles

Good afternoon gents! Well, I just finished my second long ride in the Dolomites. We did Passo Rolle, Passo Valles, and the Marmolada. The ride was 94K with a total 3100m+ (over 10,000ft) of climbing. Jack and I went for the time record up Passo Rolle. The record is 1 hour and 3 minutes. Jack and I both did the ride in around 1 hour and 10 minutes. The conditions were not ideal. It was very windy and it was constantly in your face. The climb is between 5 to 10% grade the whole way up. Jack managed to wreck himself while trying to zip up his jersey or his time would have been faster. I on the other hand threw my chain twice. If we haven't had problems and had some better weather we would have been much closer to the record. Pat indicated that he thought the headwind really impacted our times. The temperature also affect us. We were both cold even though we were riding hard. I really couldn't ride at threshold, which is an indicator that my legs are dead. The descent is fast and beautiful but not too long. The ride up to Passo Valles is not all that difficult. The climb is only about 7.5k long. It is a good break for the climb up the Marmolada. You have a very long descent off of the Passo Valles back to Alleghe for the start of the climb to Marmolada. The actual Maramolada climb is up to Passo Fedaia. The climb starts at the little town of Caprile and is 14k long. The start of the climb is not too bad but does have some kickers. The last 6k up the Marmolada is painful. There is an extended section that is over 15% grade that is at least 1k long. About 3k from the top you finally get some temporary relief with a few switchbacks, but each switchback is at 15% grade. There are actually signs that tell you the grade. The views from the top are incredible. There is a lake at the top that provides some incredible views and was good for a photo stop. We are now headed back to Castelcucco for some rest before dinner. And our hotel proprietors are fixing a Veneto specialty...rice and peas (Risi e pisi)

I do not have high expectations for the TT (back home in Tennessee...ed.) this weekend since I have riden well over 430 miles and 30 hours since last Monday.

Ciao,Tim

Soave Race....by Tim V.

2007-09-09T13:00:00.000-07:00

Good morning gents!I did my first Italian race this morning. It was like nothing you can imagine. We started in a littlle town of Soave in the Verona province. The town is ancient and is enclosed in a stone wall. All of the racers start at the same time. We had about 150 riders show up for the race, based on the size of the crowds and the use of sequential numbers. We started the race by first riding in and around the town to the applause of the locals. People outside the cafes and coffee shops cheer you on as you ride through town; this parade was made interesting by seeing how many riders could jam their way through the narrow entrances in the stone wall. . The real race begins as you leave the walled city. The pace quickens instantly. We went from riding along at 15 mph to about 33 mph. I was wondering who the hell was on the front of the pack. The pack is frantic as you jam down the roads following the lead car and motorcycles. You get the whole road as you ride and cars are forced to the side of the road. Note that this is an easy way to go from the front to the back of the pack. If you aren't real careful you will have to hit the brakes to avoid the car on the side of the road and the pack will go by you. I observed this happen and later had it to me as we went through the narrow streets of a little village. This put me too far back. I basicaly TT'd with some guys on my wheel, but they would not work and just stayed back. I would have done the same thing if I were them. At one point, I was riding beside a guy that looked to be around 60 years old on a 5K climb and he paced me back close to the lead pack. This is where I got seriously dropped. The roads are wide enough for one car and maybe your bilke in places. The 60 year old guy descended like il Falco. He was passing people everywhere. I on the otherhand was getting passed all down the descent. I would catch people on the climbs and get passed like I was sitting still on the descents. You wouldn't believe how fast these guys take blind curves. When we got down the final descent I was quite a ways back of the large lead pack. I went into TT mode with an Italian guy on my wheel. We worked together for the last 15 miles hovering around 24 mph on a relatively flat section. At the 1K line he told me to go ahead using a hand gesture, since I spent more time pulling than he did. We ended the race together coming through a large Arrivo banner with the castle as a backdrop. This race was as hard as any on the TBRA calendar and required more handling skills than I have ever needed. The madness of the pack at the start is worse than any crit race that I have done. The Italians will put their bikes through spots and ride within inches of cars coming directly at them. I wished I had their confidence on the bike. The training that we have done this week in the mountains affected my power, but I still wouldn't replace the mountain rides for a win in any race. The races are just the cherry on top of the Sundae, delicious and desired but by no means the best part of the Italian riding dish. Tomorrow will be a recovery day and on Tuesday we head for another 3 pass climb in the Dolomites. This is one camp that I think all of you would enjoy. I will be putting some pictures up on the web when I get home to try to entice all of you to do a training camp over here with me next year. Ciao,Tim

Guest blogger....Dolomiti

2007-09-07T20:00:00.000-07:00

Guest blogger....Tim V. from Knoxville, TN...these are his comments sent via Blackberry to his friends back home.

Good afternoon gents. Another day of riding in Italy that cannot be described by words of mere mortals. We did the following three climbs that were in the Giro d'Italia in 2007: Passo Giau, Passo Tre Croci, and Tre Cime Lavaredo. Total climbing today was about 3000m (10,000 ft) in about 48 miles. Brutal to say the least. I rode well up the climb to passo Giau. I was the first to the top by a few minutes. The climb was great. It was 9.5K of climbing at threshold. The views from the top are what make this climb so phenomenal. The mountain tops are gagged rocks protruding from snow covered base. Majestic spires rising above the rounded domes of the Dolomiti break the skyline and make you feel like you are in another world. The descent off of Giau is wicked fast. I am getting better at descending, but I did have a wreck. A guy was coming up the mountain and was partially in my lane. I had to cut the curve tight to avoid him and laid the bike down. It hurt like hell. I also ripped my Assos bibs. Thanks to Marzolf I have another pair. The guy did ask, in Italian, OK? I was pissed for wrecking, but I don't think it could be avoided since he was riding in the center of a narrow road. A German couple behind asked if I was OK. I lost one of my Edgar Soto water bottles because I didn't realize it was gone. This will necessitate the purchase of another one from a local shop. The climb up Passo Tre Croci was not too bad. Jack and I crossed about the same time. We then descended down to Misurina to get to the base of the climb up Tre Cime Lavaredo. Tre Cime Lavaredo is the hardest climb I have done. My right shoulder was killing me from the fall. The 4K main climb had an average grade of 15 to 18%. Did I say that it was the hardest climb that I have ever done. My shoulder was really causing me pain. I could really not pull on the bars too hard. In fact my lever is a little loose and I had to climb in the drops at times. Jack was the first at the top by a couple of minutes and climbed well. We kept about 200 m within each other. A hard day on the bike, but this was the best riding I have ever done. The group is great and the SAG support is spectacular. Pat really knows how to pick the rides and was leapfrogging us to keep us supplied and providing us cold gear when we needed. I repeat, riding in the Dolomites is the best riding that I have done. The group gets along very well and looks out for each other. All of you would enjoy the riding immensely. More news later. Now we are heading back and I am going to the pharmacy to get some things to heal my wounds and some ibuprofen for my shoulder. Right now I can hardly lift it. Ciao,Tim

and from guest blogger....Heather Mac...

Here is the report I sent, sorry it is late :-). The trip has been truly epic - far more than I ever expected. I can't thank you enough.

Italy is perfect!!Today we ventured out of Castelcucco up north to retrace the last three climbs from one of the hardest mountain stages of the Giro!!Starting in Agordo we meandered through one of those picturest valleys I have ever seen - like a post card you thought had been doctored.... We eventually started our climb up to Passo di Giau - top elevation 2232 meters. This first climb was over 5000 feet with an average grade of 12 percent. We then headed down into Cortina - the decent was epic, the roads are simply butter over here! After a brief pass through the perfect town we start the next ascent up to Passo di Croci (1805 meters), with approximately 12 percent grade. A very short downhill before we hit the real climb up to Tre Cima di Lavaredo (2320 meters). Average grade 15-18 percent - oh my god!! Thank god the views are amazing - these mountains are on steriods, we feel like we are in the land of the giants.Total ride distance: 48 milesTotal time in saddle: 5 hoursTotal elevation gain: 10,000 feet!!!!There are 4 of us here along with Pat our camp leader. A couple from upstate new york who both race cat 4 and one guy from Tennessee also a cat 4. The two guys are equally matched and Susanna and I are exactly the same pace - plus she and I can head out for shopping excursions :-)Today we will ride a simple flat 2 hours to Castelfranco for coffee and back!!Life if good!!:-) mac

UCI Masters World Championships...St. Johan, Austria

2007-08-28T15:14:00.000-07:00

This video is from the "World Cup" race in St. Johan. Bob Addy and Geoff Marshall from Perth, Australia competed. Bob finished this race in 21st. Later in the week, Bob was 12th in the UCI World Championship race and Geoff was 29th in the same time as the winner. Good on ya mates !

Here we see Ian Lovell, another Aussie (in all blue over the top)....this was Ian's 7th time in St. Johan and he earned his highest placing with 17th. Well done mate.

Here's the "Emir"....Jim K from Seattle. Jim, Maria and their kids Ella and Jacob spent two weeks with us. Tons of fun !

Here's Charley D from Seattle.

Here's Domenic V from Toronto. This is his first year of racing. He should be very happy with his progress. This video is from the Pro/Elite race which he didn't finish. But earlier in the week he finished the 116k race for 19-29 yr olds (plus older guys who raced down in age). It was the fastest race I'd ever seen in St. Johan....45.5k/hr average...way to go Dom !

Of course I raced too. Dropped out of both races. It's been a long season. The other shot is our group right before we left Castelcucco for St. Johan.

Prepping for Worlds

2007-08-14T09:39:00.000-07:00

Only a few days to go before we head North to St. Johan in Tirol, Austria for the UCI Masters World Championships...or if you're German....Weltmeistershaft.

Since the Giro Dolomiti we've had a week of pretty easy training last week and some racing this week. This is the peak vacation time of year for the Italians (meaning we can't find any massage therapists not on holiday!)....so there are races every day of the week until we leave. We've chosen to do the Giro del Veneto a four stage points race. Today we raced in Sarego in the Vicenza province. Last weekend we raced in Biban di Carbonera on Saturday and Cusignana on Sunday.

We met a couple of Aussie blokes at the Giro Dolomiti. Turns out they're headed to St. Johan as well, but didn't have any plans for the two weeks between the Dolomiti and Austria. They were looking for races....so of course they jumped at the chance to join Velo Veneto for a couple of weeks when they heard we had plenty of racing to choose from as prep. Both guys are from Perth, Australia (western side of the country....the most remote large city in the world!)

Bob is 66 yrs old and a former pro from Great Britain originally. He rode in the 1968 Tour de France. He's a wonderful guy with lots of fun stories from his days in the pro peloton.

Jeff is 65 and a former "Croc hunter" (think Crocodile Dundee) in his youth in the 1960's. Yeah, there actually were croc hunters before it was outlawed. Jeff said that a good croc skin back then could fetch about $600...alot of money 40 yrs ago!

It's been a great pleasure having them here and they seem to really be enjoying the racing.

Also here and getting ready to head to Austria are Jim ("The Emir") and Charley, both from Seattle. Jim's wife Maria and their two kids are along and a joy to be with. And of course Domenic is still here. He'll race the 19-29 yr old race, then his first open elite race our final day...184k. And of course Lupo is a fixture.

Stay tuned for some stories of succes we hope !

Giro e' finito

2007-08-05T03:34:00.000-07:00

The Giro delle Dolomiti is finished! Wow, it was tough. We are very happy to be back "home" in Castelcucco.

Following the "rest" day, we faced 112k with four passes again (Thurs, 2 Aug.), total of 3100m of climbing. First we had to drive into the mountains for the start in Canazei. It was chilly, about 46 degrees when we arrived. Our men from Panama and Mexico were shivering just thinking about it ! But not to worry boys, first off we immediately climbed the easy side of the Marmolada. That was followed by the Passo Giau. With this event I've seen and climbed most of the major passes in the Dolomiti...but the scenery on the Giau was the best I've seen....incredible...and the climb was tough...10k at a bit over 9%. Again the speed of some of these guys shocks us. Most of us did the climb between 46-53 min. The winner? 35 min!!! Maybe there should be drug testing.....?

Following the Giau was the Falzarego and then the Pordoi with a final decent back into Canazei. I don't know if I mentioned that the riding time for our long day was over 8 hrs. Today was more than five and a half.

Things got a bit off track the next day. The day of stage 5 dawned with cold rain. Our riders who came specifically for the Giro decided to start the shortened stage and two of them finished...Ian and Tom. Hats off to you guys!

The rest of us took the day to catch up on sleep and rest sore legs. And then that night at dinner a crazy thought entered everybody's minds. Hey, what if we skip the final day and go ride the Stelvio? Are we gluttens for punishment? Ian and Tom decided to go ahead and finish the Giro (Ian was 9th on final GC in his age group), while Pat, Domenic, Alex, Juan and Rod drove up to Prato Stelvio to start the 24.3k (1800m of climbing) Passo Stelvio, the highest pass in Italy with it's 48 tornante (switchbacks or hairpins). The guys were thrilled...."what a way to end our trip" was the consensus. Ian (and wife Lyn) and Tom stayed in the area an extra day and will do the Stelvio today.

So, will we do the Giro delle Dolomiti in future years? Hard to say. It's a great event, but not really a "race". We missed an opportunity while doing the Giro to compete in a five day UDACE stage race with some climbing in the Friuli region. Chances are we'd opt to do that next year and then have a 3-4 day climbing "mini camp" headquartered in Canazei or someplace like that. All in all though a great experience. Now time to rest, recover and prepare for the UCI Masters World Championships in two weeks.

2007-08-01T08:38:00.000-07:00

Woops, I forgot to put the battery back in my camera after charging. So no pictures yet. But what a day. We had the longest and biggest climbing day. In all 168k (104 miles) and 3400m (11,150 ft) of climbing over four passes....Passo Gardena (2,121m), Pso. Campolongo (1,875m), Pso. Pordoi (2,238m) and Pso. Sella (2,244m). Consider we start in Bolzano at an elevation of 266m and climb to Selva Gardena at 1550m before you really start the first pass!!! It was a long day in the saddle, about 8 hrs of peddling. And a couple of fun decents with no restricted speed (coming off Gardena and Sella). This all happened yesterday (July 31).

Today was a rest-day....so what do you do on a rest day other than sleep in? Of course you drive 200k round-trip in order to see the highest pass in Italy and a mythical climb of the Giro d'Italia....the Passo
Stelvio (2,758m). Here are some pictures.....

Giro delle Dolomiti Stage 2

2007-07-30T09:43:00.000-07:00

What a difference a day makes !!! Today was gorgeous, and tomorrow will be even better.

After Stage 1 we chatted with a friend of mine from Holland who's done the Giro six times now. He understood our frustration with the speed of the peloton. But he made a very good suggestion. Ride at the back of the pack.

So today we did just that, in front of the phalanx of cars, motor cycles, ambulances and other official vehicles. It made all the differece. But even more was the course. The first 20k was along the valley floor. Then we began to climb. At this point some of us used this climb, which was 7k long, to warm up. After a left hand turn (and with 2k of warning that it was coming), we started the timed climb. Today the timed climb was 13k long. The first 6k was about a 9% average....then a 2k section that was every so slightly downhill, so being in a group was important (plus it was a bit breezy). The last 3k we about 5-6% average. The road was perfectly smooth. Today everybody found a much better pace and we all finished within 3 min. of each other. Still we are amazed at the speed so many of these guys and gals can climb. And regardless of age or size. You find older (meaning 60+) guys going pretty darn well, a number of really strong women and even some guys over 180 lbs that can crank it out.

Our group had plenty of smiles at the top. The scenery was wonderful, the roads, the course, the pace. All is good now !

After the feed stop, we started at the back again. The decent was really nice, and safe and you could nearly go at unrestricted speeds, and move up the field. Another long climb (and plenty of room and good pace to move from the back to the front if you wanted to ride that hard) took us to the second feed and the views were even better.

Because I've ridden where we'll be going tomorrow before, I know today was just a preview of what the Dolomites offer. I'll definitely take the camera.

Giro delle Dolomiti Stage 1

2007-07-29T11:47:00.000-07:00

We're in Bolzano now (a 150k drive from Castelcucco)...competing in the Giro delle Dolomiti. To be honest it's not exactly what we thought it would be. I say that because the organizers have a very tight control of the whole peleton. We knew that there was only one timed climb each day, but they have a schedule they follow....for traffic control purposes.

So today....we cruise out of town, all 800 of us, behind the lead car....at about 25k an hour. The first climb was supposed to be 30k into the stage which should've taken about 1:15 to cover according to the printed time schedule. Luckily, or not, most of us were right near the front when all of a sudden, 14k into the ride, we go under a banner with the timeing chips beeping across the sensors. The climb is on, 9k at about 9% average. I say luckily or not because if you start a climb like that and try to stay with the best climbers here (and believe me there are some guys (and gals) who fly up the hill), you're liable to blow up. The biggest explosions came from Dom and me !!! Dom uses a SRM power meter and while the pace wasn't Tour de France speed....we are talking some serious watts being pushed (probably high 300 for the smaller guys and maybe 400 plus for some of the bigger riders). Lupo was our first finisher....in 130th place! WTF? Here's a guy who's winning UDACE races and he's 130th? Ok, he's 8th in the 50-57 age group, with Ian (climbing with a lowest gear of 39x23, while the rest of us have like 39x29's) 13th in that age group. Tom K had a good climb, starting conservatively and passing all of us but Lupo and Ian.

At the top of the climb was the first feed zone. The organizers have a time schedule to follow, so you can't leave until they send the lead car out again on schedule. Then comes the frustrating part. OK, so we're up on the hills with some narrower roads and little villages. It was up and down a bit, but we were going like 10k/hr up the short little ramps and 25k/hr down them. We had all received a nice pair of Giro Dolomiti cycling shorts in our race packs.....I think they should include a new set of brake pads instead !!! Anyway, another feed zone with the mandated wait, and then we're off and back down to the valley. OK, here the lead car does 45-50k/hr which isn't bad, but on a 9% decent, the brakes were used ALOT ! Once back down in the valley at least they let us cruise at a pace that you could peddle some.

So in all we did about 83k in over 4 hrs. One funny thing about the end of the ride....at the front of the group, more and more riders were trying to get up there. It was so they could get in line for lunch quickly ! Actually it was a pretty good lunch.

We're staying in a decent little hotel about 5k from the start on the other side of Bolzano. It's pretty Euro, meaning smaller rooms, no air conditioning and lot's of church bells to listen too. I think the guys who's been in Castelcucco for awhile miss it as they take such good care of us at the Hotel Montegrappa.

OK, tomorrow is a new day. Maybe a new plan? Check back tomorrow.

BTW, our roster for this event....

Paul "Lupo" Wolfe, Canada (wife Christine joins us tomorrow)

Ian Lovell, Australia (and wife Lyn)

Tom Krenitsky, New York

Juan Gaudiano, Panama

Alex Brackmo, Mexico

Domenic Valela, Canada

Rod Ciardullo, New York

Pat Carroll

It's the Gelato

2007-07-22T08:46:00.000-07:00

What a weekend. It all started on Friday as the temperatures continued to rise here in the Veneto. Time to head to the pool ! Dominic, Juan, Gene and I raced down the water slide eight times with Gene and Dom splitting up the wins and Juan and I filling the minor placings. Then is was time for a little swimming competition between Dom and I followed by some observation of the local population. Boy was it nice to be cool for awhile. July is typically the warmest month of the year here and we've finally got the heat.

On Saturday we raced in Sandon near Padova. I must say that Padova is not our favorite part of this region. No mountains....and too much heat!

Lupo was 5th from a break in the Gentlemen's race, and Alex was 9th. Dom, Juan and Gene rode well in the sweltering conditions, meaning near 100 degrees.

Today, Sunday was the big one though. We travelled north of Belluno into the Dolomites for a race in Longorone. The course was a 7+km lap with about 90m of elevation gained per lap. It was basically a big chain ring climb, but the winning break came on the flats after the decent. Our Man .... Paolo Lupo (aka Paul Wolfe) was victorious after soloing to a 2 min win with 4 laps to go. The field gave him an inch and he took almost a mile !!! Alex was 8th and I was 10th for a banner day for the Velo Veneto gentlemens's group. Gene got things started with a massive attack the second time up the climb and after that was brought back and the pack hesitated down in the valley, Lupo was gone.

Lupo loves riding in Italy....but he wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for the awsome gelato.....and that is a direct quote ! And now he's earned is usual two day break from training. We'll see him on Wednesday for his favorite ride on the climb from Valstagna to Foza. "World class" he says.

Enjoy your rest Lupo...you earned it ... il Campione !

On a fun side note, while Dom and Juan were racing we started chatting with a young boy, age 12 named Filippo. He mother said, "speak english Pippo". Many Italians speak more English than they let on to but are shy to try. We found out that Pippo's padre was in the breakawy group so we asked his name and said we'd cheer for his dad Fabio. With a lap to go we told Pippo and his mom that because the Americani cheered for his dad, that he would win....and Fabio came through! It was fun to chat with them all afterwards.

GF Pinarello

2007-07-18T04:35:00.000-07:00

The Gran Fondo Pinarello was Sunday, July 15. The worst part of these fondos is that they start early in the moring...this one at 7:30 a.m. The UDACE races usuall start between 2-4 pm....so you have a leisurely morning, then by the time you're home from the race it's time for dinner and you don't have to get up early the next day...perfect Italian lifestyle.

The Pinarello starts in the main piazza in Treviso, right in front of the Pinarello store where they have Miguel Indurain's World Hour Record bike and Jan Ulrich's Tour de France winning TT bike in the window.

Like all fondos, the first 500 riders at the front of the pack are "seeded"....then everybody lines up behind them. Not wanting to get up at 3:30 am in order to get to Treviso and line up at 6:00 a.m., we started at the back of nearly 2000 riders in the short, or "medio" fondo course, which covered 125k.
It takes about five min. once they start for us to get past the official "starting line" where the timing chip you wear on your ankle records your start.

The first 25k of the course is pancake flat, so the peloton is moving pretty good and if you want to move up the field you've got to hit the gas and do a team TT up the side of the pack. Dom and I were the first Velo Veneto riders to hit the first climb at which time you're like a fish swimming upstream trying to work your way through slower riders. At one point he managed to swim a bit farther ahead and find some open road and that was the last I saw of him.

The course has only five main climbs. About 10k's before the last climb over the highest point of the Montello (sight of the 1985 World Championships), Juan caught up to my group and in his typical "non-hampster" style (meaning he pounds a big gear!) who started setting tempo I was happy to let the young guys do all the pulling.

One thing you learn in the Pinarello is that since the climbs aren't that long or steep, really busting a gut up the climbs doesn't mean you'll drop the 50 rider pack you were just in as down the decent and back on the flats they will invariably chase you down!

Anyway, Dom had a final time of 3:24, Juan and I came in at 3:29, followed by Lupo, Alex, Larry, Gene, Maria and Tom (Jinny rode the "Gourmet" ride....and had the biggest smile on her face at the finish...LOL)

The results can be viewed here.

Actually, the day before the Pinarello, five of our riders did an UDACE race in Travettore di Rosa'. Lupo finished 2nd in the Gentlemen's category riding with Alex, Gene and Larry. Domenic raced in the Cadetti.

Monday was a rest day and the guys rode to the pool (called "Conca Verde") near Crespano for some swimming and "people" watching...LOL

Yesterday, the group went up to assault the Passo Rolle again. For Alex, Gene and Tom, it was their first time up this climb in the Dolomites. Gene's comment was "that climb alone" was worth the trip to Velo Veneto.

Today, everybody but Tom and I (he's more of a flatlander from Indiana) did the MonteGrappa via the Campo Croce route. If you're counting, that's an UDACE race, a Gran Fondo, and two big climbing days in the last five days. Why so much? Well partly, most guys don't want to travel all the way to Italy to have a bunch of rest days, but also we're preparing for the Giro della Dolomiti next week....so a big block is better to do now than right before the Giro starts July 28.

The next couple of days will be much mellower. Probably another trip to the pool and rides of 2-2.5 hrs instead of 3+ with big climbs.

Right before we left the post ride pasta feed at the Pinarello, this guy came to our table to eat....definitely old school ! They actually have an event, I think in Tuscany where all the riders are on old bikes, with vintage clothing, etc. Just like the 1930's and before. You gotta love this country!

Ciao for now.

Buon Compleano

2007-07-13T05:08:00.001-07:00

Who's your mechanic? For our man Domenic of Toronto, it's Marco Argentin on this day, installing some new bars. Marco is one of the Italian National Team mechanics....yeah, that's right, he worked for Paolo Bettini and the Squadra Azzuri at the World Championships last year.

But it's not all about the bike here at Velo Veneto. We like to "party" just a little bit with our Italian family at the hotel Montegrappa. Last night it was Luca's 38th birthday. Here he is with two of his children, Laura (8) and Luis (6). Also pictured is Renato Palazzo, our camp founder. It was also his "compleano" yesterday. Luca's wife Lydia was in the hospital, having just delivered their 4th child two days before. We look forward to seeing her and Letizia soon.

When you're at our camp you feel like part of the Bolzon family. Normally on Thursdays the family takes the day off (the bar, ristorante, pizzeria in closed to the public) and we go to a nearby town to eat at Luca's brother's pizzeria. But last night was special....it was an honor to share a meal with the family.

Fantastic dolce and custom macchiato after !

Arm Warmers

2007-07-11T09:50:00.000-07:00

Been a bit lazy lately in updating this blog. Mi dispiace.

Nothing out of the ordinary to report. Lupo did get 3rd place in a race last Saturday in Francenigo.

Top 10 get bags of groceries !

Last Sunday was the UDACE Veneto Championships. Surprisingly the fields weren't as big as I thought they'd be. But they were very high quality. No results to speak of unfortunately.

I guess the big news around here the last week is the crazy weather we're having. Is it global warming? July is supposed to be hot and muggy in the Veneto. But it's been cool, 60's and 70's with thunderstorms and no humidity. More like the weather in the deep Dolomites near Cortina instead of the sweltering Ventian stuff we're supposed to have.

Also, famiglia Bolzon, our hosts at the Hotel Montegrappa, have a new baby. Letizia was born last night at 10:30 pm. That makes 12 grand children now with another in a few months, and the youngest daughter isn't even married yet.

This coming weekend 10 of us will be doing the Gran Fondo Pinarello

Here's a few photos from the summer so far.

Mariano's Geleteria...great post ride food !

Antonella, she handles reception and the breakfast room at the Hotel Montegrappa.

Dinner with the gang at the hotel.

Dominic with Laura, 8 yr old daughter and sometime server of famiglia Bolzon.

A couple of weeks ago in Valstagna on the River Brenta.

Cracking?

2007-07-03T10:13:00.000-07:00

What a weekend ! Saturday five of us raced in Visnadello. Allison got to go against the newly crowned Italian UDACE champion. I'm sure she'll post something on her blog in the next few days about that. She and Mike are enroute to the USA as I type. They'll be missed here, they were great.

Domenic did his first race of his summer stay here. He just started riding early in 2006 and got a taste of Italian cycling on his trip to Velo Veneto last year. So he's back for a real long stay this summer. MUCH fitter, leaner, new bike, power meter, the works. And it shows. He rode wonderfully well, in only his second UDACE race ever and he's done less than 10 events total in his short career. I'm sure we'll see wonderful continued improvement from him this summer.

Lupo and I took turns getting in to breaks, but again missed the one that stuck.....argghhhh....but the form is starting to come. That attacks feel stronger and the recovery quicker....so it's just a matter of time.

Everyone was so impressed with riding the Passo Rolle earlier in the week, that instead of racing on Sunday, they all chose to head into the heart of the Dolomiti to ride some big passes.

We had planned to do the Sella loop starting from Arabba, but were stopped by the Caribinieri because the Maratona Dolomiti was in progress. Woops, I'd completely forgotten about it....9,000 riders strong with closed roads!

So we went to plan B....climb the Passo Fedaia (Marmolada) and Passo Pordoi instead. The Marmolada is a bitch! It felt way harder than what that link shows. Maybe it was tired legs from the race the day before....or not low enough gears (Dom and I had 39x25), but Dom had to walk for a short while because his low back seized up. Lupo was ok with his 34x25, Mike & Ali had 39x29 and survived fine and Maria toughed it out on her 39x27....(I'm going to go with a 39x29 low gear for the Giro delle Dolomiti at the end of the month)

My altimeter showed consistent grades of 10-13% for the last 6k (12k total climb lengh from whre we started) with only a few 6-7% hairpins in the last 2k for respite. Strudel was well earned at the top!

The Pordoi is much easier, starting in Canazei after the decent off the Marmolada. Also a 12k climb but mostly 7-8%...and the views are spectacular. Photos and videos don't come close to what it really looks like. Also, at 2257m, the air is getting a little thin up there.

Again, time to eat at the top of the Pordoi. Mike said his power meter showed that he had burned almost 2500 calories and we'd only been riding for 2 1/2 hrs !!! By the time we had gotten back to the van, we'd done about 68km (42 miles), but that took nearly 3 1/2 hours!

Ok, so aren't Monday's supposed to be rest days? Not for Mike and Ali (they were leaving the next day in their defense). Time for one last leg breaker. One should always been careful heading out with Lupo to explore a new climb. He's liable to try and find something that will crack the hardiest of souls...and he did. The Monte Tomba, 5k from Castelcucco, one of the rarely used routes up the Monte Grappa. The first mile isn't too bad, but then it's about 3 miles at 10-15% and after that another 2+ miles at 8-10%. OK, that was enough...the Ali Cat FINALLY CRACKED! I'm sure she'll come clean in her own blog after she's recovered. Of course a spin over to Bassano del Grappa to purchase some Grappa to take home took the pain out of the legs.

Passo Rolle videos

2007-06-30T01:56:00.001-07:00

i Dolomiti

2007-06-28T18:15:00.000-07:00

It's been a big training week for us again. On Tuesday we took the group into the Dolomites to ride the Passo Rolle. This is a 21k climb that goes from 700m up to 1984m elevation. It is gorgeous as you can see. It's not a steep climb so when the Giro d' Italia goes over it's usually one of the first climbs of the day. Check out these photos....

On Wednesday we took the group, with hesitation up the Monte Grappa 1775m (a 26.4 k climb with 1600m of elevation gain)...I say hesitation because the weather looked a bit iffy, with storm clouds coming and going over the summit. We waited an hour then decided to give it a go. Sure enough, about 2k from the top, the leaders (Dom and Lupo) ran into rain. We didn't have the van with us this time, so worries about hypothermia on the descent caused most of the group to turn back down.

But not Lorenzo, the Ali Cat and Michele (Mike in Italian for his friends back in Berkeley...lol). I told them as I passed them going down that I'd ride back to Castelcucco and get the van, then drive back up and get them. Well over 2 hours later, there they were in the Rifugio at the top, only enough $$ for hot chocolate, shivering, waiting and hungry. Mother Grappa had made them pay a price (43 degree rain!), but Allison set a record for the 30-34 age group women, 1hr 47min....she's one tough chick .... Complementi Ali !
Here's the Grappa on a nicer day !

Today, Thursday, was a day that everyone admitted they were about "cotto" (cooked). I took them on a 54 mile ride with about 3,000 ft. of climbing (we took out the final climb in favor of a race play section).

Damn, that Ali Cat is a tiger! The girl knows how to suffer, right there for the final sprint to Asolo (after Mike fell off the pace!)

The reason we had taken out the final climb (one used in International U23 races here) is that Ali told me she was ACTUALLY tired ! But there she is having a go.

Good luck to the ladies back in the Bay Area....she is going to throw down on you all in July !!!

Ok, racing on Saturday then a big ride in the Dolomites on Sunday over four passes....Sella, Pordoi, Campolongo and Gardena !

Until then, "in bocca al lupo"

Mike & Ali

2007-06-25T14:15:00.000-07:00

Here's a short video of Mike & Allison at Velo Veneto. The first section is Mike climbing from Valstagna to Foza (14k, 900m gain). Next are two short clips of Ali racing with the Super Gentlemen in Monticello Conte Otto (I'm riding at the back of their pack trying to film and not crash!) And lastly is Mike attacking from the main field in Ponte della Priula. Great job you two !!!

Lot's of Zone 4/5 !!!

2007-06-25T12:50:00.000-07:00

Well, week one for UDACE racing is in the books. FYI, UDACE stands for "Unione Degli Amatori Ciclismo Europeo"....or as Lupo likes to call it..."hibachi" racing...maybe because you'll be fried after the weekend !

We have eight riders here at Velo Veneto right now and five of us did two races last weekend. (two others just arrived the day before, and the third is just training with us).

Here in the Veneto region we have Treviso, Vicenza, Belluno, Padova, Venezia and Verona provinces to choose races from (there are 5,000 licensed racers in the Veneto region!)....all are within an our drive of our base in Castelcucco.

On Saturday we chose the race in Monticello Conte Otto, near Vicenza (home of Campagnolo) about 45k from Castelcucco. For Mike, Ali and Larry, this was their first UDACE race experience. The course was a 4.5k circuit with a couple of tight corners where a wider road turned into a narrower one. I had warned everyone that for the most part, corners in Europe (unless it's the final corner) are not taken at high speed like American criteriums. For that reason, if you're not at the front of the group the accordian effect is huge. In fact that is a race tactic that is used. The riders at the front will coast coming into the turn, going from speeds between 25-30+ mph down to sometimes 20mph or less. If you're farther back than the first 10-15 riders, you're hard on the brakes then really having to jump on it coming out of the corner because the leaders have attacked out of the turn and the field will really stretch out with gaps starting to form. This is where many of the breakaways get started.

To those not used to this, it seems a bit strange and a waste of energy. Well yes, it is if you're sitting in the pack versus, being aggressive at the front, attacking, covering attackts, etc. The Italians don't like to sit in !!! If you want to do that, they'll try to make it hard for you.

Of course every race is different. On some courses where the roads are very wide and the pack is large, sitting in is much easier. But are you "racing" just sitting in?

If the course has narrow roads and lots of tighter turns....look out, the field will explode....much like what you see on the videos of races in Belgium....the strongest truly will survive and dominate. That's why you MUST ride at the front ! It's very hard work, but the only way to get in the breaks.

OK, too much rambling....back to Monticello. The weather was warm, about 86 degrees with moderate humidity. Ali was first up with the "Super Gentlemen" (age 56-70) and "Donne" group (the huge majority of the time the women race with the SuperGentlemen). Unfortunately, she was the only women (there was a big Championship in Milano this weekend, so our fields were a bit smaller than usual). Check out Ali's blog for her own report, but she was stoked at the finish, talking tactics and giving her fiance Mike some pre-race advice on what to expect.

The next race was the Veterani (40-47) and Gentlemen (48-55). This was a pretty big field, probably about 80 riders. I had "promised" Larry that I'd watch out for him in the group (being his first race), but I wasn't true to my word.... something about pinning a number on me and I get all competitive it seems. Hence I was covering attacks from the start and was getting fried after only a few of the 13 laps we did. Lupo took over looking for the right move mid race, but had to go back into the pack for a rest and that's when "the move" that worked was off the front...about 15 guys. Mike was watching and waiting, ready to fire his silver bullet and made an all out attack with about 6 laps to go....but it's hard to get away solo when the pack is cruising along at 45k/hr. Next Lupo (aka Paul Wolfe) got away with another guy with 4 laps remaining and hung out there at about 15-20 seconds. In the final lap I went to the front and just set tempo, fast enough that the tired riders left in the main field wouldn't attack, but slow enough that we didn't pull Lupo's break back. He held on for a 6th place finish among the "Gentlemen". After the finish I looked down at a heart rate monitor that said 170 average HR (174 threshhold), 188 max for the day, 59k in 1:22, 43.1k ave. speed.

On Sunday, we raced in Ponte della Priula. This time the Gentlemen raced without the Veterans and some of the bigger guns were back from Milano. This day the course was more wide open with only one technical turn, but it was windy....so grovelling in the gutter was the order of the day. Again we (Lupo, Larry and I) missed the winning break. At times like that I like to just get some hard training in....so setting a hard tempo at the front, or chasing down as many attacks from the pack as possible....all in an effort to get stronger. Throw tactics and saving energy out the window. These races can be so intense that you can't really train hard enough during the week, so this is your chance to bring your fitness up. Nothing results wise to report for us....the same with Mike in the Veterani....missed break, so he also did a bunch of work at the front, trying to form a chase break, setting tempo etc.

The star of the day was Ali. There were some of the stronger Super Gentlemen back from Milano and they busted up the field into three groups. Ali said it was a really hard race and the guys were actually being gentlemen, watching out for her, helping her to stay in there as she was working so hard. She was rewarded with the winners flowers, a podium girl kiss and the requisite bag of groceries !

Big training this week coming up. Trip to the Dolomites on Tues, then the Monte Grappa on Wed. Stay tuned!

Time to Rest

2007-06-21T04:38:00.000-07:00

Today the plan was for 75k's with some speed work in the last half of the ride, but after three hard days of training, Mike & Ali were a bit "cotto" (cooked). That and the fact that it's starting to warm up here, mid to upper 80's with some humidity. Sooooo, we decided that being more rested for the races this weekend was more important that pushing it. We did a nice spin through Cornuda, took a few pictures of Market Day, then around the Montello (site of the 1985 World Championships) and back through Asolo. Along the way, we passed a young rider who decided to sit in with us and when we slowed a bit he wanted to chat...with Ali first of course! His name is Diego Bernardi and he's a 19 yr. old "dilletanti" rider who lives in nearby Fonte and rides for one of the top teams in the area (last year two of he teammates earned pro contracts). In fine Italian fashion he called his mother and told her he'd be late for lunch because he had met some Americans and wanted to chat with them. One of his dreams is to visit America and maybe race his bike there. He loves all things American. Funny how we're all so in love with Italy and all he wants to do is come and see how we live. Maybe we can help facilitate that!

GF Campagnolo

2007-06-20T09:12:00.000-07:00

Almost dinner time here in Italy on Wed, June 20. The Gran Fondo was three days ago, so why am I just writing now? Sono molto stanco !!! (I am very tired)

This year because of some conflicts with one of the towns the ride went through, the race started at the ungoldly hour of 6:45 am which meant having to get up about 4:30 !!!

As usual, those that care too, meaning most of the bunch, start out like bats out of hell (once you clear the starting area and get out of town anyway)....at one point I saw 61k/hr on a flattish stretch....well, ok, that was me trying to bridge up to the next group.

So you hit the first main climb at the 36k mark and face 9km at a 6% average with maximum of 10%...not too bad for openers. Check back here soon for some video I took while riding up that first climb.

At the top of that climb is the first feed zone and the point where the long distance course deviates....they do 213k !!!

By this point you're riding in smaller groups, like 6-10 riders. Following a long decent with about 10 hairpins, the second main climb is up, the "le Ej". This climb isn't to bad for the first half, but the road is rough. The total climb is 11k long but the last 5k averages about 9% with extended pitches at 12-13% !!!

Paul had started farther back in the grid than me so had to make up 3-5 min on me. Just as we're hitting the steeps, Lupo comes spinning by in his 34x25 (my 39x25 takes good fitness to haul over those climbs!). Ciao Lupo, go ahead, I feel like asdlkekdfl !!!

But down the other side who do I see but senor Wolf. The rough decent had taken the starch out of his collar and we rode down to the next feed zone and actually stopped at that one.

There is no flats and from the bottom of that decent you cross the river and immediately start up the Croce d'Aune....or as we call it, the "kick in the crotch e' !!! This climb is used often in the Giro d'Italia....it's 11k with the first 3k at about 7% average, then a flattish few k's with the last 4-5k averaging about 10% with 12-13% max grades....mamma mia !!!

FYI, at the top is the Campagnolo monument where Tulio Campagnolo in an amateaur race in the cold and rain couldn't get his frozen fingers to work changing his real wheel gearing....which lead to him inventing the quick release and the BEST gruppo company in the world !!!

I'm not sure how or why, but my legs came good on this final climb and this time I dropped Lupo then headed down the other side with it's smooth roads and sweeping turns....it's easy to hit 50 mph on this decent...fun !

I thought we were home free, but we hadn't noticed a little article in the race magazine about a new climb they added this year....2.3k at 8% with 11% max grades....ok....now they've broken my will and Lupo has caught up again....drats!

Once over that "denti", which means jagged tooth, it was flat to the finish, well almost. We got into a group of about 7 riders and hammered the 10k home, into town, a sharp left turn on to the cobbles then a 250m grind up to the finish....ah oh, cramps!!!

And so Pappa Grappa and Lupo finished together in 198th and 204th in

4 hrs 49 min for 122k.

btw, the weather was great....about 60 degrees at the start and low 70's by the finish....perfetto.

Since that time there have been two airport runs to make (the first right after a quick lunch and shower on Sunday) and fresh legs arriving wanting to hit the road. Hence today was a day off for me, driving the van and taking pictures.

More soon and coming up this weekend UDACE racing !

Good Weather for GF Campy tomorrow?

2007-06-16T08:34:00.000-07:00

Let's hope the weather for the Campagnolo is better than what the guys in the Giro d'Italia stage 15 to Tre Cima Lavaredo faced....7 degrees celcius (45farenheit) and raining !!!

Start the Racing !!!

2007-06-16T07:49:00.000-07:00

Buongiorno from Bella Italia ! Time to kickstart the action here at Velo Veneto. Tomorrow is the GranFondo Campagnolo. There are three distances to choose from. "Lupo" and I will be doing the "medio" fondo which is 118k long. The long distance is 214k which would take too long to recover from since we need to start speed training for the UDACE races that begin for us next weekend. Check out the event website here...

http://www.granfondocampagnolo.it/

I'll post a event report later, but we expect this to mostly be a training ride as neither of us are fit enough to go for a high placing in our age groups.

Tanto, Tanto, Tanto !!!

2007-06-15T21:00:00.001-07:00

Ok, I just had to include this video....both for the "yutes" (young guys) who loved it....and the older guys who didn't...lol

It's from Lorenzo "Jovanotti" Cherubini...2005 top Italian hit

Ride with Champions

2005-12-05T08:37:00.000-08:00

These photos are of the Team Swift "Ride with Champions" on November 13, 2005 in Santa Rosa, California...that's me leading Chris Horner !

California vs. Italy

2005-11-13T16:22:00.000-08:00

Ciao Tutti !!!

Hello everyone...you know, Cindy and I are really lucky. We get to live in one of the best places to ride a bike in all of North America, the wine country of Northern California. We're looking forward to having the new Amgen Tour of California come to Santa Rosa next Feb. 20. The weather here is pretty ideal year round for training...heck this week I rode with Levi Leipheimer on Wednesday (he tore my legs off and he just got back on his road bike!) and today we had a fund raiser for the local Junior team and we rode and chatted with Fred Rodrieguez and Chris Horner!!! How much better can it get?

But you know, in mine opinion it still doesn't hold a candle to riding and racing in the Veneto region of Italy. Yes, I know I'm biased, as we hope to see you all at Velo Veneto in 2006 and beyond. (We'll have the camp open from early June until early September 2006), but I honestly believe that and for those of you who have been to north eastern Italy before, you know what I'm talking about !!! (Am I the only one who falls asleep at night sometimes dreaming about the roads around the Monte Grappa?...LOL)

So I hope that your training is going well and that you have plans for a wonderful 2006 of cycling, wherever that may be.

In boca a lupo,

Pat

Thinking of the Veneto

2005-10-17T13:24:00.000-07:00

I did a nice relaxing ride at home here in the Wine Country recently. It's harvest season and the weather is perfect with cool nights and warm days. The vineyards are turning fall colors and the sky is a clear blue. I wonder how the weather is for my friends in Castelcucco right now? I think of Italy often, in fact the other day I was looking at some maps of the area and realize how many roads I still haven't rode on even though we've been going there since 1999. Heck just on the Monte Grappa, which I went up or down on four different roads this trip, there are another handfull of new roads to try, most devoid of cars and often only as wide as a bike path with beautiful smooth pavement. It's not a dream it's reality!!!

When I look back on the 2005 season at Velo Veneto, so many wonderful memories (and one really bad one) come to mind. One of the fun things we did is have a nickname for most everyone. Mine was Pappa Grappa because I love to try all the roads up and down the Monte Grappa. Cindy is "The Biscuit" as in Seabiscuit. Paul was Lupo which means Wolf (his last name) in Italian. Garrett was Fabio, later changed to Luigi for reasons that will stay within the team! And then there is The Hummer. I don't know about anybody else, but I'm not a big fan of giant SUV's. As a taller rider (6'1"), I can usually see over or around most riders in the peloton. But riding behind John (Vancouver, Canada) is like driving behind a Hummer. You can't see anything (he's 6'3" with wide shoulders) and while the draft is great, when he cranks it up to 50k/hr plus, it's hard to hold his wheel!

One of the things we do at Velo Veneto is keep team age group records for the epic climbs in our region. Congrats to "Lupo" for setting two records on the Monte Grappa and Passo Rolle. Cindy got her record on Monte Grappa and Chris (Mesa, Arizona) broke a 15 yr old record for the Passo Rolle, set by camp founder Ron Palazzo. Complimenti tutti!!!

Another record was established for the most time sitting drinking coffee at the Hotel Montegrappa. The first Sunday of September we rode the GranFondo MonteGrappa and at 167k with over 10,000 ft. of climbing we were a bit cooked the next morning. Monday's are usually a rest day, but this day will be remembered for quite some time. Lupo arrived at the hotel for breakfast at 7 am. I trailed in at eight with Fred. By 1 pm we decided that it was time to walk from the veranda out front to the dining room for lunch (with April of Biciveneto). There we sat until 5 pm, and plenty of wine later. So Lupo now holds the record for Chair Sitting on a rest day, 10 hrs!!!

The last week of August, the team made the trek north to St. Johan, Austria for the UCI Masters World Championships. For a Masters age racer, this event is a must, at least once in your racing career. The fields are huge and VERY strong, as it should be in a World Championship. Lupo had a go and was in a small breakaway that got caught only 3k from the line. Cindy, after 2nd and 3rd places in three previous trys, finally won!!! It was the most thrilling moment of our cycling careers to date. Now I understand why the Euros cry with joy when they win a big event like a stage of the Tour de France, etc. And then it all came crashing down as we arrived for the elaborate awards ceremonies. She was disqualified for having raced in the Sea Otter Classic and the Liberty Classic in Philadelphia, both on the UCI calendar. There is much to the story with politics, etc., but suffice it to say that we all were totally devastated. It was among the worst lows you could imagine after being so high only a few hours before. Do you think she'll be motivated in 2006?

One of our guests was Brian, an American TV executive who has lived in Torino, Italy for the fast few years. He is the Exucutive Producer for the 2006 Winter Olympics TV coverage...so we will be watching his work closely as he has now educated us on the finer points of TV work. So great to have you Brian! In boca a lupo.

Oh, one last story. One night we're talking about movies and Garrett, age 20, was saying that some new movie that he'd just seen was the BEST MOVIE EVER !!! Now keep in mind, how many movies has a 20yr old seen? So we convinced him that maybe it was the best movie he might have seen, but he can't judge ALL the movies every made. Fair enough, so out of this comes a new Velo Veneto camp saying..."Top 10". This means that an experience is probably one of, if not THE best ever you've had, but we'll just call it top 10. Like finishing a training ride in the Dolomites. If you're from Arizona, that's probably the BEST mountain ride you've ever done, but definitely "Top 10"...LOL.

And so we look forward to 2006. We plan to be in Castelcucco from early June until early September. We guarantee that your training rides will be "Top 10" and the UDACE racing too.
Until then...Auguri e Ci vediamo !

"We Are Here"

2005-08-08T01:08:00.000-07:00

Yes, we are here in Bella Italia...firmly ensconsed now for over two weeks in Castelcucco. As our host at the Hotel Montegrappa, Luca, says..."if you need something...we are here."

We've had a great first two weeks. All our prep getting the team van set up and the team jerseys and shorts went flawlessly, so Cindy and I had a couple of days to get some riding and resting in before the first riders came on July 25. Since then we've had 3 riders with us.

We also had a 12 yr. old girl who lives here with her father who is in the US Air Force. She was a wonderful young lady to spend some time with. Cindy did three "private" training rides with her (including a new Velo Veneto record for "Esordienti" on the first 11k of the Montegrappa) and she hopes to spend time with us next year and bring some more friends. Maybe we'll have a special 3-4 day stretch just for her and her friends. Annelise also shared some of the photos they've taken at the big races they've seen across Europe. In Boca a Lupo ... Annelise !!!

We've done 4 races so far. In the first on Saturday, 30 July, it was as hot as an oven and humid to boot. Cindy was the only one of the five of us to finish, and of course she won! The next day we were racing near Belluno at the base of the Dolomites and with the morning start times the temperature was a bit kinder. Paul had a puncture and abandoned, I got dropped on the climb during the second lap but finished 18th, Tom got caught behind a crash and couldn't regain the front peloton and eventually abandoned while Garrett was surprised that despite losing the main, but shattering peloton, he hung in, finished and was 8th place in the Cadetti group.

During the following week we took everybody up to the Dolomites on Tuesday and rode 70k over the Passo Cereda and Passo Duran to Zoldo Alto...the stage of the Giro that Paolo Salvodelli won back in May for the Discovery Channel team on his way to the Maglia Rosa. The course was epic and Paul stated that it was the best riding he's ever done. Quite a statement from a guy who's ridden in the Pyrenees and Fresh Alps including many of the famous Tour de France climbs. See what you're missing?

We've also had plenty of good training closer to home in the Treviso province including motor pacing to get the leg speed for racing here at 45-50k an hour.

This past weekend was the perfect ending to our second week with ideal racing weather on Saturday in Bolzano Vicentino near Vicenza. Cindy won her 3rd race so far ( and finished with the breakaway group of Super Gentleman, taking 5th across the line!) while Paul was very active at the front of our Veterani race. Tom and I rode near the front but like Paul didn't take part in the "hargey bargey" going on in the final sprint and come across the line safely mid pack. Garrett, only 20 yrs old, and still new to racing at this level, had great improvement and rode strongly until the last 5k when his attack was a bit much and he trailed the field to the line. But Garrett definitely gets the most improved rider award at the camp thus far. Unfortunately, he must return home a week early to be with an ill family member. Next year Garrett !!! (And good luck racing at the Univ. of Colorado next season...)

Yesterday, the weather was not too kind. Cindy was fortunate to have dry weather for the first 50 k of her race, but the clouds came in an opened up on the corriedori for the last 10k. Cindy still managed to win, but had one other women right on her heals across the line. Il Lupo (the wolf...Paul) forgot his license so just sat at the back of the field for a workout then pulled off with a couple of k to go. Tom had a nice finish racing in the worst conditions of the day and Garrett "made a tactical blunder" by his own admission and had to abandon half way through the race. It's been so much fun to see this young guy gain some fitness, confidence and experience the last couple of weeks. He is a Cat. 3 at home in the US and racing here with guys older and stronger than he is like racing with Cat. 1's at home. I know he's looking forward to taking what he's learned and move his racing career to a new level back home.

I have to tell one funny Garrett story though...sorry to pick on you there "Bufalo" ... the day he arrived, he had a cleat problem so we rode to the bike shop in Castelfranco. Garrett rides Northwave shoes and Shimano pedals...in typical Italian style, the shop owner just shook his head and made it known he though Garret had the wrong equipment...that he Northwave was "kaput" and he should have Campy or Look pedals. Garrett got a big kick out of that. He and Tom both seemed to love the folks at Cavalera and they are seriously thinking about ordering custom frames for next year, especially Tom (and yours truly!!!).

Ok, enough for now. We'll be training hard this week and racing next weekend in the Giro di Vicenza in preperation for Masters Worlds the last week of August.

Auguri !

Tour de France, Stage 1

2005-07-02T20:28:00.000-07:00

Wow, how cool was it to have Dave Zabriske win today's stage? While Dave Z is from Salt Lake City, Utah...he lives much of the time he's in the US here in the Bay Area of NorCal and can often be seen showing up at an occational local race or two (much like Levi Leipheimer). And Dave Z was a rider at the Velo Veneto camp in 1997!! There is no doubt that American cycling is at a zenith right now (6 of the top 14 finishers in today's TT). Dave Z is also the first American to win a stage of the Tour, Giro and Vuelta in a 12 month period. But he couldn't beat me in the 2004 Burlingame Criterium, LOL !!!! Enjoy the Tour.

Leaving Soon

2005-06-28T14:04:00.000-07:00

As has been my pattern lately, I haven't been posting to this blog. Shame on me!!! That will change very soon as we leave for Italy on July 20. The Velo Veneto racing camp is about to open and it looks like we'll have a nice group of riders to get things rolling when they all arrive on July 25. Expect plenty of reports from Bella Italia as we live La Dolce Vita in the Veneto region.

Since I last wrote, Cindy has raced at the Liberty Classic in Philly where she place about 60th out of almost 200 starters and also defended her titles in the Nevada City Classic and Burlingame Criterium.

Philly is one of the most prestigious races in the world and includes many Olympians, National and World Champions on the start list. Cindy was dissapointed in her finish as she was bumped off the road with about two miles to go in the race and had to put a foot down. A group of about a dozen riders was off the front by about a minute, including World Champion Judith Arndt (who was also 2nd in the 2004 Olympics) and World Cup leader Oenone Wood of Australia. Cindy had hoped to have a good sprint in the main field and finish well up the list of riders who made the money (top 40). But alas it wasn't to be. It's not often the women get to race in such a large, capable field where aggression and positioning are so important. Now she knows how I feel trying to stay in the front of my races in Europe!!!

In 2004 Cindy was on a roll the last couple of weeks of June when she won back to back races at two of the Northern California "Classics", Nevada City and Burlingame. This year as a "marked" rider she didn't have the results she was hoping for and quite frankly was very frustrated, especially with the "negative" racing against her in Nevada City, and then only at herself for her performance at Burlingame. I'm sure if she can get that coveted Rainbow Jersey she's been chasing at the Masters World Championships the last few years, all that will be forgotten!!!

Check back the week of July 25 for the first of my reports from Italy.

Misc.

2005-05-17T08:13:00.000-07:00

Boy how time flies when you're having fun. It's been about six weeks since I last posted. I think about posting often, but to be honest I've been pretty lazy about it...OBVIOUSLY!

I originally started this 'blog as a way to let everyone know what was up with our training and racing and most especially our Velo Veneto racing camp. In years past I had sent out race report e-mails to a list of cycling friends as we travelled through Europe for 2-3 months each summer. But Blogging is great because you don't impose on anyone to read your "ramblings" as they can go to your "blog" site by choice. You just have to keep it updated!!!

To be honest, there isn't that much to report, well at least not from my riding/racing perspective. I've decided to take this season off from racing and concentrate on making a few bucks at the golf course. I really love it which makes the time away from the bike easier and since I dedicated the last 10 years of my life to the bike nearly 100%, maybe a season's break is good. When we get to Italy in July I can get back to 24/7 cycling. Speaking of our arrival in Italy...we originally we supposed to be there by now, but there have been serious health issues with family and friends up in Portland and Seattle, so we've postponed the camp until July 25. I'll miss not being able to view the Giro d'Italia in the Veneto region the next two days (May 18/19) as it passes through the region.

Cindy has been riding well since I last posted. She was a guest rider for the Victory Brewing pro women's team at the Sea Otter Stage Race in mid April and had a great time riding with those girls as a super domestique. A couple of weeks ago her whole Dewars team had great success at the Santa Rosa downtown criterium...Cindy won the Masters Women's race, Laura Charameda took the Cat. 1/2 women's race (with Cindy 5th) and Gavin Chilcott was victorious in the Masters Men AND Pro/1/2 races!!! The Santa Rosa Press Democrat did a nice story on the race and team Dewars.
Cindy's next big objective is the Liberty Grand Prix in Philadelphia on June 5th. She has done this race twice before in 2000 and 2001 back when it was a women's UCI World Cup event. While it's no longer on that calendar, it's still one of the top races in the world for women, so she is VERY excited to be back. As a great bonus, our daughter Crystal is coming down from her home near Springfield, Mass. to spend a couple of days with "mom"!!!

So I'll try to be better about posting here. I do PROMISE that when we get to Italy, I will post at least once a week !!! A Presto ....

We're still here !

2005-03-29T08:19:00.000-08:00

It's been three weeks since I've updated, a busy three weeks. I started my new caddie job at Mayacama on March 9. I'm loving every minute of it. I had always said I would get back in to golf some day, which was my sport before I started cycling in 1995. I'll have to smooth things out schedule wise so I can get out on the bike at least three days a week, and we've continued to have rainy weather, so that's been tough.

At the races, Cindy has been doing well (I'm working weekends so no racing for me right now). The week after Merced there were two National Calendar races in Fresno. She seemed to have either some really bad allergies, or a head cold as the week progressed heading into the races. She almost didn't get in the car to drive down the morning of the race, but she went and raced hard. There are some great pictures of the races here.

Two weeks ago she drove down to LA with her Dewar's teammates for the San Dimas Stage Race.
This was one of the spring races she was focusing on. The key to this race is the first stage uphill time trial. Unfortunately Cindy dropped her chain after about one kilometer of the race when she shifted from the big ring to the small ring. The chain jammed and she had to get off the bike and take time to fix it. She figured she probably lost close to 1 minute with that whole mess, pretty much putting her out of contention for a top 20 on GC. But she raced really hard and agressive in the road race and crit and earned the respect of the top pros.

And then this past Saturday, the Paris Roubaix of Nor Cal was held...Copperopolis. This is a 100k race over some of the worst pavement you'll see. The scenery is wonderful as you can see here in the photos by Abbiorca.com. Cindy finished 4th in the women's race as admitted that it was one of the hardest races she's done in a long time. You're fortunate to get through that race with your bike intact...but your body, most the arms and back will be sore for a couple of days afterwards.

Here is Cindy's own report...Copperopolis was very tough. Struggled every time up the hill then wasn't where I need to be on the chuck holed decent (trying to avoid the on coming car on a turn) and two girls got away with multiple back ups in the small group I was in. I made some strong attempts to bridge and only had others sitting on my wheel. I asked the singles in the group if they wanted to catch the two up the road ... one says .... "I don't know." dh, I smiled and said, come on, lets race! That didn't work either. There were only 6 of us the last time up the hill and one girl lite it up good on the climb stretching us like a rubber band. I got gapped near the top and worked like a crazy girl to get back on. Once back with group, yup, she was still up the road. To add yet one more element to this fun day, there was brutal wind in the valley. We're now 5 and coming down the decent to the finish I decided to take first position and peddled it as much as possible, it was enough speed (or scare tactic) and close enough to the finish that two of the girls got dropped on the decent so there were three of us sprinting for 4th. I lead it from a 1 k out and punched it hard at about 250 meters to take 4th. Let me tell you that this is a very difficult 4th place. I am so sore. But the BIKE - IT WAS GREAT! The road surface was far worse then last year due to rain. Carnage was left all over the road with flats, broken wheels etc. Yeah, I think I'd go back again...Cheers, Cindy

So this week Cindy is off for some training and resting at home (she's also working 24 hrs a week at the Sonoma Country 4H offices).

Her next two races will be as a guest rider with Victory Brewing...the Morgon Hill Gran Prix and the Sea Otter Classic.

For me...I'm probably going to be working my first "Pro" tour event...a Canadian Tour event in Stockton that I think will be shown on TV on the Golf Channel the week of April 14-17.

McLane Pacific Classic

2005-03-07T15:06:00.000-08:00

The McLane Pacific Classic in Merced, California is the first big race on the US National Calendar. All the top Pro men's and women's teams are there and for the Masters and Category riders it is also a important event with big fields. You can check out the coverage on cyclingnews.com and also some good pictures of Cindy's teammates Gavin Chilcott and Laura Charameda. The photos were taken by Dewars team supporter Abbiorca.com photography.

Cindy had a decent weekend. She said she didn't feel sharp and focused in the crit but did win a prime and finished 16th earning us enough money for a nice dinner! In the road race she was feeling much more agressive, getting in breakaways and always riding in the front of the race where the action was. She finished 15th in the road race.

Speaking of riding in the front, I need to vent about the way too many people "raced" in the Masters 45+ road race this weekend. First off let me say that my form and fitness is behind because I've started a new job! I'm a caddy at the Mayacama Golf Club four days a week, except the months we're in Italy running Velo Veneto. So I only get to train on the bike a few days a week.

So anyway, I figured I'd be way behind in fitness for the McLane road race and I'd be suffering just hanging on in the field. Not!!! I just can't do that anymore. I've gotten so used to the Italian style of racing....Attack, Attack, Attack ! It's like it's almost in my genes now because over there you either attack or die. There is no sitting in. Here in America most of our Masters races have a fairly small number of riders who dominate things. We all know who they are and when they attack you go if you can, but most often there aren't enough strong guys willing to chase, so they go away to yet another victory. If they can't get away, they are most often some of the best finishers/sprinters too, so either way they can win. It seems that was the tactic they were content with this weekend. If there had been an award for "Most Agressive" rider, I would've won it. I was in a number of breakaways, including one with Laura Charameda that lasted almost 15k's. Unfortunately two of us against 85 other riders just wasn't going to work. How nice would it have been for us to stay away and have me finish 2nd to Laura...wouldn't that have made the rest of the peloton proud, have a 41 yr old women, with her "secret" teammate in the break, school the rest of them for the victory.

Of course attacking just for the sake of attacking can be foolhardy, but you sure get a better workout in than being a wuss like the rest of the lemmings and just sitting in the draft, then sprinting at the end. I'd rather finish 50th but having "made" the race, than 5th in a sprint and feeling like I hadn't raced. So Laura and I were caught with about 20k's to go, but there were no counter attacks, so after a few kilometers of cruising with the field I attacked again solo. This too was brought back with about 10ks to go. Now it was time to rest and plan one final assault. I had tried to gauge the total distance (78k's I thought) of the race on my cycle computer, but I guess I mis-calculated (There weren't any signs marking distance to the finish as per usual). I thought we had about 2k's to the finish and I was preparing to move in to position for a final attack when all of a sudden we were going over the last roller and there was the finish line. Being way out of position all I could do was watch the front of the group, led by that hard ass Laura sprint away. She ended up 7th. (She also finished 8th in the Pro Women's crit the day before).

The bottom line was that we had ALOT of fun this weekend. We raced hard and weren't afraid to "Have a go". In my opinion, that's the only way to race.

I don't know when I'll get to race again as I've chosen to work Saturdays and Sundays at the golf course. But there will be plenty to talk about as we share Cindy's stories from the races.

Another W

2005-03-03T08:14:00.000-08:00

Cindy did it again. In her second race of the season, she was victorious at the Snelling Road Race on Feb. 26th. The women did five laps of a 20k circuit that features a few rollers, some real bad pavement for about 2k's and usually a bit of breeze. Cindy got in a few breaks, but nothing was staying away. Coming in to the finish it was grouppo compato and around the corner with 500m to go she was 4th wheel. The group hesitated just a bit and she made her move, going clear and winning on the slight uphill sprint to the finish by a few bike lengths !!!

I wasn't there as I hadn't pre-registered and they capped the Masters 45+ field at only 50 entrants.

The next day was the Merced Criterium and Cindy was very agressive attacking and getting away in breaks. Just as one of her breaks was caught, another move went and of course that was the one that stuck. The three riders stayed away to the finish and Cindy ended up 2nd in the field sprint good for 5th place on the day.

This weekend the US National Calendar season starts back in Merced again for the McLane Pacific Classic .

Canadian Invasion !

2005-02-22T11:45:00.000-08:00

Spring is one of my favorite times of the year here in the Wine Country. The wild flowers are blooming and the grape vines will awake from their winter nap in March. But one of the easiest ways to tell that Spring is on the way is when riders from the Great White North hit town! I'm speaking more specifically of our frineds from Canada who ride for the Victory Brewing women's pro team. Many of them were teammates of Cindy's when she rode from the old 800.com women's team in 2000-2001. Gina and Amy hit town recently and in the next week or so the rest of the squad will be in town. They use Santa Rosa as a home base for the US National Calendar races here in California. I also saw World MTB Champ Roland Green out training with Levi Leipheimer the other day.

Preparations for our camp in Italy are progressing well. We placed advertisements on the SoCal website and the SportsBaseOnline site.

I had a nice chat on the phone today with Luca, the manager of our hotel in Castelcucco. His English is coming along and my Italian is progressing as well.

If you really want to get a good flavor of the cycling culture in our Veneto region check out the BiciVeneto site. The creator of this site was a guest at the camp years ago and loved it so much that she stayed in Italy and got married to a local!

Forced break?

2005-02-17T08:57:00.000-08:00

What, being forced to take a break from training and racing already? Yep, that's what a bad saddle sore and falling arches will do to you. We missed the races in Fresno last weekend, the Pine Flat road race and Dinuba criterium because I developed a saddle sore near the end of a ride that was so uncomfortable I was even having to be careful sitting in a chair. No need to go in to much detail, but that forced a few days off the bike, so our trip was cancelled. Then over the weekend my foot started hurting in the ball of the foot below the big toe. One of Cindy's teammates is a sports med Doctor and he thought that I might have an arch problem...probably because I don't wear proper shoes around the house. A trip to the running shoe store for some over the counter orthotics seems to have relieved that problem...but no flip flops for me anytime soon.

So the next races will be the weekend of Feb. 26-27 in Merced.

A New Season

2005-02-07T13:51:00.000-08:00

It was another beautiful day in Nor Cal as we embarked on our 11th season of bike racing. As we drove through the Valley of the Moon and looked out at the vineyards and lush green hills, Cindy and I thought back to our first race in March 1995. It seems like only yesterday and now here we were ready to start another year and our fifth season since moving to California.

The Sunday, Feb. 6 event was the traditional season opener...the 28th Annual Cherry Pie Criterium in Napa. The course is a L shaped route of about 1 mile with a 300 meter climb to the finish every lap. Because my main priority this year is to run our Velo Veneto camp to the best of my ability, my motivation for early season racing is a bit lower than usual. I know I will have plenty of opportunity to race in Italy from May until September, so I enter these Spring races in California very relaxed...and that feels pretty good, no pressure. I know the legs are pretty good for this time of year and I feel lighter without the burden of self imposed pressure.

The masters 45+ field was reasonably big, probably 60 starters or so. Curiously I felt no first race jitters as far as riding in the pack for the first time since last season. Midway through the 40 minute race they rang the bell for a prime and shortly after the lap began the pack seemed complacent so I rolled up the right side of the road and increased the tempo. Nobody went with me so I increased the pace without visibly attacking and again no reaction...so I put the hammer down. Now it was a 1k time trial to the finish line. It was a breezy day so it didn't take long to get up close to redline at 28 mph. I looked under my arm a couple of times and it looked like I had about a 100 meter gap...but then somebody was trying to come across to me shortly before hitting the climb to the finish. I relaxed so as to save something for the climb then hit it hard and he faded from view again. Knowing I had the $15 safely in my back pocket I actually coasted across the line and the officials wondered if I was a lapped rider, or the prime winner. I made sure there was no mistake.

The rest of the race was pretty uneventful as the strong teams (I was the only Velo Veneto rider there!) kept things together then started the leadout at a lap and a half to go. I felt that the position I held at the front for the sprint was as good as I've ever been able to do...the only problem was that after coming around the final corner to start the sprint in the top 6, I immediately started going backwards as the sprinters lit it up!!! I had no sprint legs and was floundering in about 15th until I picked off a few guys blowing up before the line and came across in 12th. It was fun to get things going again.

For Cindy, she went one better than last year's placing...she WON !!! Last year she was in a two up break with Kathryn Curi of Team Rona. This year Cindy, Kathryn and a few others did their best to try and get a break away, but weren't successful. After seeing me flash my cash at her following my race, Cindy said she was going prime hunting too!!! She finished second to Kathryn in both primes...but in the end she got the most important thing...The Victory! Check out the photo here. That was pretty exciting. I am so proud of my wife. At the age of 41 she is stronger than ever and on her day she can beat the top women in Northern California, arguably one of the strongest regions in the country for women's racing.

So we're off and running. We'll have a busy next three months, racing almost every weekend until we leave for Italy on May 9. Stay tuned...Ciao!

Way to go Bridget...you tough Aussie Chick!!!

2005-01-18T15:39:00.000-08:00

Great result at Aussie Nationals last week for our friend Bridget Evans from Brisbane. Kudos to her and her partner/coach Paul Hughes. Hope to see you guys in 2005!!! Check her out here.

Low Morale...No Sun

2005-01-18T14:51:00.000-08:00

It's been awhile since I've written anything because my morale has been down in the dumps. I don't have any personal racing goals for 2005. My main objective is to have our first year running Velo Veneto be a success. So my racing will have to take a back seat this year. That plus the fact that the weather has sucked since Christmas, that is until a week ago. So I figure I'll go to the group ride on the first sunny day in awhile...and nobody shows up by five after for a 10 a.m. ride. What the heck? Two minutes later, just as I'm ready to leave one guy rolls up. So we head over Trinity and I stay in the saddle in a gear that keeps my cadence close to 60. He jets up the hill then sits in the sun waiting for me. Down in to the Napa Valley we go and we're just cruising along about 20-22 mph. But every time there is the slightest little roller he goes to the small chain ring while I shift down to the 53x21...and have a faster cadence than him. Finally after 10+ miles of this I ask the guy if he wants a little advice as he says he's going to do his first road races this year. I suggest that he leave it in the big chain ring unless there will be a sustained hill (i.e. longer than 30 seconds) that he'll be going less than 15 mph. He talks about cross chaining or something and I point out that my chain angle in 53x21 is less than his in the 39x14, and I'm spinning more. Go figure? I guess a lot of newbies don't understand gear inches. I also suggested that if you don't have to shift between chain rings in a race, there is less likelyhood that you'll drop your chain at just the wrong moment. We were going to come back over Spring Mountain but the road was closed from a rock slide, so we went over Franz Valley instead and again I went the 60 rpm, this time in 53x21 and he jets away again. At the top I explained what I was doing and he was totally unaware that such training was something to consider. I guess that's why you start out as a Cat. 5

So anyway...the sun has been hiding alot and we love it when it's out. Most of my friends who ride around here say it's been lots harder to stay motivated this winter...I guess that's why they say us Californian's are soft!!!

Turn up the Power

2005-01-03T15:51:00.000-08:00

Well the time has come to start the power training for real. My guess is that most amateurs don't do enough, or any of this kind of training. The pros do, check this out. We first started true power training with Glen about two years ago. Basically you climb in the saddle in the big chain ring, on climbs up to 30 minutes long or more. It takes some getting used to and you must be careful not to overdo it. We have two kinds of basic workouts we do.

The first is a loop that has seven 4-6 minute climbs (total of 3hr15min of riding). This time of year we start by doing them in the 53x19. By February we'll be doing them in the 53x17 and hopefully by March we'll be ready to have a go in the 53x16. We you first try this kind of workout you seem to be ripping your legs to shreds. You'll finish plenty tired and probably want to have a couple of easy recovery days. As you become stronger and recover faster, you usually can have a good hard ride after only one rest day. The key is to stay in the saddle, use a round pedal stroke and try to stay solid on the bike with good form. The hills we use have grades that start out at 5-6% and go up to 12-13% and at times you might be going only 10k/hr with about a 40 cadence.

Our second loop we did today. For this we go out to a dead-end road called Pine Flat. It's a seven mile climb that gains about 2,000 feet (total ride 57 miles, about 3:25). The first five to six miles aren't too bad with only a couple of sections of 8-10% grades, but there is a 1k stretch with about a mile and a half to go that averages about 12%. Today we made it but had to get out of the saddle to keep the bike moving forward. We did the whole climb in 40 minutes with Glen up the road in 36 minutes. By March we should be able to do this in the 53x21 in close to 35 minutes and Glen will be down to about 30 minutes.

Of course weather has been an issue here in California the last week. Today it was dry, but we've had over seven inches of rain in the last week and it's been pretty cool, hi 40's to low 50's. There was even a light dusting of snow on Pine Flat at about the 2500 foot level. The dead end of the road at the 11 mile mark is at 3100 feet. Glad we didn't go all the way up there today!!! The weather plus the fact that there is a 22% section...well, we'll leave that ride until later in the Spring!

2004-12-31T18:47:00.000-08:00

Me & Fast Freddie

2004-12-31T18:46:00.000-08:00

Levi Leipheimer joined us too!

2004-12-31T18:45:00.000-08:00

3 Time US Pro Champ!

Fast Freddie

2004-12-31T18:32:00.000-08:00

We had the pleasure of doing a ride with Fred Rodriguez, aka "Fast Freddie" last Tuesday. He was in town to spend time with Team Swift, our local team of juniors that Cindy does some coaching with. Freddie was awsome, he spent time working on sprint leadouts with the kids and telling them stories about his stage win at the 2004 Giro over Petacchi and his second place in the 2002 Milan-San Remo to Cipollini. Afterwards he posed for pictures and signed autographs. He also served his "Fast Freddie" coffee which was very strong and very good.

So our first race is only five weeks away on February 6, yowza!!!

Feels Like Waiting

2004-12-21T18:15:00.000-08:00

Do you ever feel like you're waiting alot this time of year? I do. I feel like I'm waiting for the days to start getting longer. I feel like I'm waiting for the holidays to get over with. I feel like I'm waiting for Spring (and it was 68 and sunny here today!) I feel like I'm waiting for racing season to get going (which it will in NorCal on Feb. 6, 2005...not that far away.) Oh well, be patient my son...all in good time.

Had a couple of real good rides last weekend. Four hours on the road bike in sunny weather on Saturday, then a great 3 hr. MTB ride in Annadel Park (12 minutes from the house) on Sunday...total for the week, 21 hours. We've been doing more on the dirt this Fall/Winter, more for the mental side than physical. Since our 2005 season will be so long and involved with our Camp in Italy we figure that more days off the bike now and more variety with doing some off-road training will be good for the mental freshness come August next year!

Speaking of last Sunday...Cindy hosted a Holiday Party for about 30 of our friends. It also doubled as her birthday party. There's a good reason that I'm not a big party guy...I can't handle my liquor. Like an idiot, I mixed drinks having some wine, beer, scotch and a gin&tonic. About 3 hrs in to the festivities I knew I was in trouble and spent the better part of the next couple of hours paying homage to the porcelin goddess. Ouch!!! Fortunately the purging worked and a big glass of Gatorade set me up for a good night's sleep and no hangover the next day. But there were enough after-effects that I wimped out and didn't get out on the bike on Monday. Live and learn...again, and again. You think at 45 yrs old I'd be a bit smarter. Oh, well I hope the guests didn't miss me too much and had a good time.

Happy Holidays!

"The Window Has Closed"

2004-12-17T18:33:00.000-08:00

For the last few mid December's, Glen and I have this running joke about how long it will take him once he starts training again...to drop me! Well, today, with only four rides and less than 10 hours under his belt, he gave it a try. We were out on a beautiful, but crisp day in Nor Cal for a 3 hour ride. Glen and Cindy spent most of the time on the front discussing ways that she could train to improve her climbing on the really steep hills. I was trying to stay out of Glen's way as with this head cold, the last thing you want to do is ride right behind me as I clear my blow-hole. About 2 hrs into the ride we start a fairly gentle 5k climb up the Bohemian Highway from Monte Rio to Occidental then turn left up Graton Rd. to the top. Glen seems to be pretty motivated this year. He has come back from New Zealand with only a few extra lbs. So the closer we get to the top, the more he increases the pace. Now mind you this isn't a steep climb, maybe 5-7%...I'm in the 53x21 most of the time. Then for the last K up Graton Rd., Glen clicks it up a gear or two and stands up, boom there goes Cindy ("I wasn't going to push myself with this cold"). I had to make a quick decision as to whether I should let him go or...NOT! How can live with myself if he drops me on less than a week of riding? Heck, I'm no slouch...(Cat. 2 with lots of Euro experience!) So quickly I click up a couple and stand up to close the small gap, then hang on for about 500 meters over the top and....made it. This is a good Glen Mitchell we're dealing with this year I think. He's motivated and relaxed. Look out US Pro peloton. Of course this wasn't always the case. I first met Glen in November, 2000. We didn't talk too much until I crashed and got run over by a pickup truck on Dec. 16, 2000. Glen (and his now wife Tonia) were one of the first visitors I had in the hospital. At home recovering on New Year's Day 2001, they stopped by to say hi, and I asked Glen how the training was going. He said something like "what training"? I got pissed at him and told him to get his butt out there and put in the miles. Are you a "pro" or not? Of course he wasn't really at that time as the Noble House farce of a pro team never came to be. So it looks like the window of opportunity to drop Glen may be closed until Dec. 2005 ... and that's a good thing.

Male in testa

2004-12-16T11:13:00.000-08:00

Male in testa, that's Italian for "head cold", which is what I'm suffering from right now. Both Cindy and I seem to have picked one up at the same time. I figure one of Gary and Barbara's kids might have had the sniffles and they have kindly shared with us. Of course it didn't help that we did a 140k's yesterday, the famous Geyser's ride here in Sonoma County. For the most part the ride is flat although we definitely had a head wind out to Cloverdale. Then you have a 35k stretch where there is about 1300 meters of climbing with some sections up to 16%. For those challenged in the metric system, that's 4000 feet of up and down climbing in 21+ miles. Somehow the weather god's also seemed to bless us with a bit of a headwind on the way home too! Can't complain though, it was 60 degrees and bright sunshine. Oh, one other thing, it was Cindy's B-day...seems like we somehow do long rides on certain special days. Last New Year's Eve day, we did the 7 hr Skaggs loop, didn't make it to midnight to welcome in the New Year...wonder why.

Today is the 4th anniversary of my near fatal accident of Dec. 16, 2000. Strangely enough, I've ridden down the Oakville Grade Road where I crashed twice in the last month. That's one way to exorcise the demons! Time for a day off, think we'll walk downtown to the movie theater and see Ocean's 12.

2004-12-13T17:47:00.000-08:00

Glen at Redlands 2004

Glen returns

2004-12-13T17:21:00.000-08:00

Still a bit sore from golf on Saturday. When you don't play often, you'd be surprised how sore your legs can get walking 4-5 miles over hill and dale hauling around a golf bag. Those who play occationally understand, those who don't play can't seem to understand how you can get so tired from such a "non-athletic" sport, or so they think. I think while cyclists are great aerobic athletes, but in general we don't tend to be the most talented overall. Even Lance Armstrong has said he wasn't much of an athlete in "ball" sports.

Speaking of athletes, my friend Glen Mitchell is back from New Zealand. Glen has ridden as a pro in the US since 1999, most recently with Sierra Nevada. He's been on two New Zealand Olympic teams. This is always a fun time of year for me as Glen comes back here having not ridden his bike for at least 4-5 weeks, so I get about a week to 10 days to put the hurt to him. Today was our first ride and I noticed that he'd taken care not to gain too much weight and he seemed much more comfortable on the bike after a couple of hours. He's motivated to have a good season in 2005 and is looking forward to his "new" team. When I say new, I shouldn't reveal too much as the team hasn't announced their roster and sponsors yet publically. Suffice it to say that two teams are merging and a former pro who's well known in the anti-doping crusade will be making a comback with the team. Stay tuned for the details later!

2004-12-12T13:29:00.000-08:00

At home in Castelcucco, Italy, August 2004