Once again the weather in the Trentino region is sunny and warm which should encourage more visitors to what i regard as the friendliest of the Tours on my annual program . With this being Easter week i am surprised that more international visitors are not on hand to witness the strong showing of talent leading up to the Giro d'Italia .
Overnght i was the guest of the Croche Blanca in Fai Paganella and they were kind enough to allow me access to the internet to catch up with the posts of the weeks action . Took the long road around to Andalo wih breathtaking scenery that you pay little attention to as you struggle up the mountain , hard to pay attention to the corners as you absorb the scenery .
In the Pullman Parking area i was able to farewell a few of the racers since their teams do not qualify for later events that i plan to visit . When i eventually reached the presentation area i had the chance to chat with Gibo Simoni who was as usual in an ebulant mood . Aftr being called up to the podium by the speaker i listened to his long winded description of my previous visits and answered a few questions in my parrot fashion Italian . "Aiuto Disabili" and such i have had 11 visits to practice but some of the questions needed translation .
Took the direct route to Madonna as i had a Lunch appointment with Cristina who teaches in the local primary school , and met up with her in the town centre Cafe where she was having Brunch with local friends . A pleasant interlude before going to her home to have lunch with her two daughters . Pasta was followed by fried Lettuce , something i have not eaten before in this manner but will be trying to prepare myself in the future .
Coffee and cake left us short of time so instead of walking i raced up the final kilometre and arrived some minutes by the race . Whilst waiting Francesco Moser repeatedly asked where Cristina was because she had to walk as there was no car access even through the back way . Thursday i had put Francesco on my phone to Cristina who is the sister of a guy he used to train with when making a beginning to his illustrious career . As it turns out he had also met her in the Gran Sasso many years earlier when she was there for skiing and he for cycle training although he is also an accomplished skier and wins ski races even these days .
When Cristina finally arrived Michelle Scarponi was just coming off the Podium so i introduced her and he was gracious enough to offer the podium bouquet . I also introduced her to Tiago and Luca as they came down . When Francesco came over they gotstuck into reminiscences so i had a chat with the day's winner Roman K. and Popovitch and a few other racers . The team manager of Nippo was also there as the team had won the team award and i had the chance when speaking with him to find that he hadn't expected any podium results so was really pleased with his team's results . Photo of Crstina with Moser aftcollecting the bouquet .
On the way back to Austria i stopped in at Bruno's Orchard in Cloz , had missed him in January as he was in Sth America on vacation. He related the story of my meeting a regular guest at his Pension in the Jura Mtns during the Tour de France . As mentioned in another post i had been cycling the Tour route a day ahead of the race as i short cut two stages into one so as to have extra time in Morzine . As was riding up the hill i saw an Aussie flag so shouted "Swing the Billy " an Heidi arranged a cuppa for me . With her was an English family who i would see on the TV the next day and her boyfriend who is German . Seeing two bikes before i left i asked who the other bikers were and she then said she rode all over europe on her motorbike . Having confirmed that she visited Italy i asked if she visited the Valley Non and she said "So you are the Guy Bruno speaks about!" . Small world indeed and of course she related the story when she again visited Bruno in October last year .
Previous days reports are on www.tourdafrance.blogspot.com .Should you enjoy reading of my visits to the various tours follow on twitter/skippydetour or sign on as a follower on these blogs in the way Georgethecyclist blogspot.com has done . Even when off exploring he makes the effort to checkout what i have been doing . Wednesday, tomorrow he flies into Paris to start his European adventures once again and i am off to the Tour de Romandie . Tour de France posts this year will again be emailled only to those registered as following .
S: Another gem of a report. Felt as if I was there breathing it in with you. Keep 'em coming. I'm out the door for my hop across the pond. See you soon.
ReplyDeleteRegards, George