Disability

Disability is not to be taken lightly ! Trentino, Romandie and now Giro d'Italia are poorly attended by those using wheelchairs ! FACT is i look around at these events and when i spot a wheelchair user i try to have a chat with them to discover the local sports facilities available to them . 9 out of 10 times the wheelchair person will take the time to speak with me and relate a little of their experiences . Many a time they have difficulty expressing fluently and apologise for a lack of words . Contrast this with "normal people" in fact the general public in these countries who straight out give you the "non comprende" but will accomodate a pigeon version of their language and then break in later displaying their superiority in english when someone else makes the effort to relay information to you .

OK a lot of the fault lies with me since at 65yo i should have learnt all these languages when i was mixing with these nationalities whilst living in Oz . First serious girl friend was Polish and visited the home frequently so used common courtesy words whilst there , also had german , french and italian companions at various times with the same effort in their family homes . No idea then i would find myself in later years swanning around Europe on the bike and in need of the ability to carry a conversation past simple courtesies . Shame on me for the lack of effort to relearn these languages in more depth whilst riding around in recent years .

Brain dead as far as learning languages but still able to see that these events simply do not cater for "Disability" ! OK i saw the occasional older person in a wheelchair being pushed around the ITT at the Romandie and perhaps they were formerly a sports oriented person . Occasionally a parent will bring their child who has no interest in the event and are physically unable to participate / compete in any sport . 15% of population give or take statistically are "Handicapped" in some form whether physically or mentally so why is this segment of the population being ignored?

Can it be that the "Sponsors" simply do not care ? President Chirac proclaimed 2003 the "European Year of the Disabled" but since then my impression is that the numbers i see at these events have declined . Even Paralympic Gold Medalists have told me they have no interest in visiting the route of the Giro d 'Italia as it passes in their home town , amazed me but who knows the behind the scenes stories ? Perhaps reading this blog post will motivate them to let me know the story . Have asked many to contribute a post that i can publish here but as yet have had no takers .

Today drove parts of the route from Regio to Rapallo as i looked for places to ride my bike and whilst doing so was on the lookout for internet points to do a blog . Finally gave up after passing the "Passo de Boco" . The racers climb is smooth sailing but the descent is a nightmare of twists and curves and there is no way that i will return there on the bike so will take the easy option of riding around the last sections whilst awaiting the racers arrival .

Looking at the TV footage i can see a little in Cav's protest and had it been other than an Italian i think Petacci like Steels would have suffered for "interferance" although you have to look hard at the replays to be convinced . Some will say that Cav left his acceleration too late but he was travelling faster as he arrived at the line and this is not the first time that this has happened to him !

Currently in the "Citta di Lavagna" where the municipi has helped me with facilities so as to post this blog entry .