Prosecco Classico Gran Fondo 2012

what i love most about this region, like so many places in italy is that it exists way-off the tourist radar, like Puglia in the south where my aunt lives and areas around Porto Recanati, Numana, Macerata and the rest of the adriatic coast line south of Ancona.. a cycling trip for another day methinks..

our destination friday 5' ottobre, a little leg wamer before supper

our planned assault of monte grappa on 6' ottobre

I'm picking up my 25mm slicks for this later on this evening!!

Al, when do we order the jerseys?

H,

once eleanore, alistair, esstee, hats have confirmed sizes and names on the collarbone.. the order will be complete. samples have been returned to owayo with a couple of minor corrections. jerseys are approx £50 each..

A x

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what i love most about this region, like so many places in italy is that it exists way-off the tourist radar.

this.

does this not overlap with l-eroica ?

does this not overlap with l-eroica ?

Yes - Al suggested up thread that the two rides are perhaps best enjoyed in different years. God only knows what awful hills he's got planned for us next year :(

slovenia or san sebastian.. it doesn't get easier

http://www.slovenia.info/?kolesarjenje=0
http://www.veloclassic.com/cycling-tours/basque-country.html

52 days and counting.... tick tock..

This...

...makes me want to weep.

Some of it is downhill, though. I'm sure it'll be fine.

hats.. you will be full of awesome, when we hit that summit.. followed by an afternoon in Bassano, toasting our heroics with grappa, limoncello and metre long pizzas.. wobbly ride back over the piave river and san giovanni where Cunego makes prosecco just for us..

xx

il campioni...

prosecco, peroni, metre long pizza training... in Exmouth Market, courtesy of Luigi and Santore..
should be an olympic event

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We look like pros! Pro pizza eaters, that is... Love it!!

I took my geared crosscheck to the Surrey Hills today to give it a whirl and see how it stacks up to my Langster. The descents and the flats are, predictably, amazing, but I'm considerably slower on the ascents, even in the big ring, and find it a lot more tiring. It's twice as heavy as the Langster so brings more pain. I can dump the rack and maybe swap the bars to something lighter, but it'll still be loads heavier. Ugh. It also gives my right knee a hard time (old injury).

Hopefully I've have the wheels finished on my 80s racer soon and will be able to test it out the same way. It's still heavier than the Langster but not as much.

Just so you guys know, I am still seriously considering the Langster (set up as ss) as the bike I take on this trip. If my geared alternatives are painful and awkward I'm not going to have much choice.

OH WELL. Thinking positively. Onwards!

Is it worth trying to borrow a road bike? Little Heather off this forum lent me her x bike for the cross Scotland race last year after I posted in the ladies forum, and it was great having the right bike for the job. You are definitely speedy on yr ss, but I suppose it is possible that no gears could make the hills much less fun.

^^^ I look mad. In my defence that photo was taken after 90+ miles of solitary cycling around Bucks and Oxfordshire. But even so.

I think it is worth trying to borrow a road bike if the others don't work out - no sense in throwing away options. It could just be that I'm a puny weakling who usually rides an undergeared bike, so this weekend's touring in the Peaks should increase my power output potential if nothing else.

Will see how I get on with the Baco when I get back and then if that's too tough start asking around r.e road bikes. The Langster is still looking like the best current option currently but that could change.

bothwell.. the sportive is not that bad 122km of rolling hills one or two long drags.. go for a comfortable GI and you'll do it.. monte grappa is all climb with about three hundred hairpins (we are heading the easy way up).. the descent will be tricky but road surface is better apparently..

then bassano del grappa for carnage of the liquid kind..

van booked,
eurotunnel booked,
flights booked
accommodation sorted,
training hills conquered,
jerseys displayed
metre long pizzas eaten

esstee, hats and me in the van playing strip poker, singing songs, i-spy, chatting up the locals on route.

hope bernie and the flight crew have their in flight entertainment sorted to venice.
32 days to go..............
x

hope bernie and the flight crew have their in flight entertainment sorted to venice.

I'm going to sit in silence, staring at the back of the seat in front of me, fingernails pressed deep into the armrests, mumbling "shut up legs" to myself through gritted teeth.

I will continue to do this for the entire trip, even in my sleep. The rest of you should invest in some earplugs.

esstee, hats and me in the van playing strip poker, singing songs, i-spy, chatting up the locals on route.

Ha! I am actually very excited about the drive, I hope you two like 80s power ballads and James Bond theme tunes...

^ i haz all that on my iPlod hats. you obviously know me too well,
and stu probably knows a few shirley bassey numbers x

I just had an email from the organisers saying (this is via google translate, as my knowledge of Italian extends to the names of pizzas and the word ‘prosecco’):

Good morning, following an audit, we have verified that your registration appears to be incomplete.
It missed the medical certificate.
This is essential to the completion of registration.
In the event that possessed the badge of their sports club will be sufficient photocopy of the same.

Did anyone else get this email, and what does it mean?!