Italy: Part 2

Well, it's been a while since we actually went to Italy, but I've been wanting to actually record the experience and there is no better time to do it than while watching BYU v. Utah at 12:30am (I should probably just go to bed; this eastern-time stuff is ridiculous). I rarely contribute to this blog, but Brittany told me that she had done the first part and I needed to do the second.

This is our only picture from the second night. We were pretty tired.

 So, when we left you last we had gotten to our hotel and were very tired. Brittany didn't mention that there was a fair amount of driving that had to be done after the races (I think it was a 2 hour drive to our hotel from the finish line). My perception of cycling races was that they ended in or around the starting point for the next stage, but that isn't true--not that it never occurs, but a lot of the time there is some travel involved. This goes for the cyclists as well and many of the team buses were pulling into their hotels at the same time as us, which was around 7 or 8pm. I had anticipated having a lot of down-time in the evenings, but this wasn't the case. By the time we got to our hotel and ate dinner it was time for bed. The next morning we got up, had some breakfast (toast, hot cocoa, some cheese) and headed to the start of the race. We had to walk for quite a while to get to the village (this is where the cyclists sign in and wave to the crowd) and left a few minutes after we got there. I'll admit it was kind of fun to walk into the restricted areas and watch the faces of the other fans as they wondered why you were so lucky. 

The second day was a little different. We rode in the Santini car (our hosts) instead of a Giro VIP car. This meant that we had to stay ahead of the riders by quite a bit. To give you some idea of how it works: the peloton or gruppo (depending on your French or Italian preference), a.k.a. the main group of riders, is sandwiched by team cars. Most teams have 2 or more team cars. These cars are unable to pass through the main group of riders so one will stay in front and one in back. There are neutral cars that provide support and these are able to pass through the main group with permission (I'm not entirely clear on all of this, but this is my understanding of how it works). The VIP cars also ride near this main group. Then there are the official's cars, these are the guys who make sure people aren't drafting behind team cars (a big no-no, but it happens all the time) and getting illegal assistance. Two official cars ride at either end of this group making sure that everyone is out of the way when the riders come through. The first one has a loud speaker that announces what's going on in the race and the last one is accompanied by the medical van, these cars make sure that no riders are left on the road. All of the roads are closed until the final car goes past. Our hosts had permission to ride on the closed roads in front of the official's car. 

We rode ahead for a while and then stopped to watch the main group go past. It is an interesting experience sitting and waiting to see a group of cyclists ride by. It only takes about 1 minute for all of the riders to pass by, more if there is a breakaway group out in front, and there are usually a couple dozen riders who are behind the main group. On big climb days these are usually sprinters and are said to be riding "the bus" because they are all just trying to finish without getting disqualified, which means they have to finish within a certain time margin of the leader. The point is that you end up waiting longer than you watch, but we were able to meet some interesting people, including the race organizers for the 2015 cycling world championship, which is in Richmond, VA. Similarly many of the locals will wait for hours just to catch a glimpse of the race. They display banners and flags. We saw some kids who got out of class to watch through the gates. These small communities pay a lot of money to get the Giro to come to town and some may only get the Giro to come by once in a decade. Contrast this with American cycling races where people just get upset by traffic stoppages.

After the riders went by, we took the passo Gavia over the mountains where we would see the race go by on the other side (the roads are so narrow that they only allowed team vehicles to ride with the cyclists). I was pretty sick most of the time as the combination of jet-lag and winding roads made me extremely nauseated. However, there were some thrilling views and some heart-stopping drops of sheer cliffs without guard rails. When we got to the top there was plenty of snow and it was freezing! I wished that I had brought more than a light jacket. We stopped at the top where there was a little cafe that was decked out in cycling nostalgia. I really have no idea what to compare this to. I don't think there is such a thing as this in the United States. Basically, there are so many cyclists riding up this mountain that someone can open a cafe at the top and make enough money to stay in business. I'm sure there are other things to do, but it was obvious that this was a cycling establishment. We had a bite to eat, a warm drink and then headed back down the mountain. 

We arrived well ahead of the cyclists and staked out a spot in a cafe that was on the race route. We sat outside and had a great view. Willem, our host, brought out his iPad so we could watch the race via the internet. Brittany and I took the chance to go and buy some race merchandise (it's all over the place!) from some of the trucks that drive around repeating the same annoying message every few seconds. We hung out for a couple of hours watching the race, making conversation, and teasing Thomas for disliking vegetables. I really enjoyed relaxing and talking about cycling for a while and the atmosphere was great. If this kind of experience exists in the US then I have yet to find it. It seems like Americans can never enjoy waiting. The cyclists flew by (it's really amazing how fast they are going) in several groups and they were spread out quite a bit because of the difficult climbs during the stage so it probably took around 15 minutes for all of the cyclists to pass by. We watched the climb up the Stelvio pass on the iPad, which was slightly disappointing, but the road is much too narrow. Spectators would have had to drive up early that morning or camped up on top. The snow was several feet deep and it was a bit strange to watch the cyclists climb with all of the snow in the background.

After the end of the race we headed back to the cars and started the long drive to Milan. I was sick most of the time and spent the 2.5-3 hours sleeping or trying. Brittany and Willem had a nice conversation and I chimed in from time to time. We arrived at the Milan airport in the early evening and ate dinner in a little restaurant at the hotel. This time we stayed in the Sheraton, which was much more American than the other places that we stayed. We preferred the agriturismos, but it was a very nice hotel. We were sad to say goodbye, they were EXCELLENT hosts, and we had a great time. I wished we could have stayed for the time trial in Milan, but it would have been quite hectic and besides, we had to leave some things undone so that we could return in the future.

The rest of the trip was pretty bland. The most exciting thing to occur was probably when Brittany picked up a couple of the in-room concierge items before reading the do-not-pick-this-up-or-you-will-be-charged-for-it sign. This didn't seem too serious except that it was wired with all sorts of sensors so we called the front desk and they assured us that it was okay. I suppose that's only funny to infrequent travelers such as ourselves (Brittany will probably laugh at me for even putting this in here).

In the morning we ate some breakfast, compliments of Willem, and walked over to the airport (our hotel was directly connected to the main terminal). We flew to Munich, Charlotte, and back to Gainesville. Jackson was mildly happy to see us, but we were thrilled to be back with him.

Overall, the trip was incredible and northern Italy is unbelievably beautiful! I could have done without the jet-lag and nausea, but I can't complain too much. When we made our video we focused on building a legacy assuming that going to this race would help us further our love for cycling and engross us in the culture. I think it's safe to say that this has occurred. I'm not sure if my kids--or even Brittany--will ever enjoy cycling as much as I do, but I hope that it will continue to be a part of our lives for some time. Hopefully we will be able to return to Italy and see the Giro several more times. Of all the grand tours I am sure the Giro will always have a special meaning to us because of this trip. I can't thank Nashbar, Santini, our friends and family, and our new friends Willem, Thomas, and Mick enough for the MOST INCREDIBLE EXPERIENCE EVER! We will never do anything like this ever again, thanks everyone.