GIRO 2010 REPORT 2

Each year as I ride the various Pro Tour Cycle Races I am amazed by the “Kindness” shown me by complete strangers who choose after a request to set up camp on their property to go further and offer use of their facilities and even invite me to sit down with their family to eat not only evening meal but breakfast also. Some times they give me food and drink to take away with me and can be quite insistent there even after showing that there is already enough but that the offer is appreciated.

Tuesday evening in Fossano I found the home of Maurizio & Giovanna by chance simply as it had vacant ground attached. Spoke French with Carlo who gained permission for me to camp . As I was setting up camp I was invited in for the evening meal with the family, a simple meal but welcome. I contributed some wine which only Carlo was drinking with me. After Grace a variety of dishes were offered and the conversation was in a variety of French, English & Italian. There are 11 children in this remarkable family and not all were at home during the meal. Various other people came and went in the course of the evening and after a shower I retired to the tent with an invitation to breakfast.

This family has two disabled children , one with speech difficulties and the other is wheelchair bound and severely incapacitated. Feeding required great patience so you can see just how generous these folk were to offer a complete stranger such a warm welcome. Humbling experience to find people such as these surmounting their difficulties to help others.

Wednesday found me in an area near Tortona as I was looking to ride the Novaro-Novi Luguri route in the morning. Stopped a road cyclist to see if he could translate a request to a Caravan rental yard but was no help so had a go myself. Householder passed me to her sister who having lived in the USA was reasonably fluent and handled the intros and location of the tent. Working on the site were a Pakistani and a Indian who as I set up the tent insisted I join their meal. Kitchen facilities left a lot to be desired but the meal of soup and sausages and veg Asian/Indian style caused no ill effects. They surprised me in the morning by bringing me Indian coffee and delicacies for breakfast, totally unexpected. Neither would accept thanks for these efforts which knowing that they were working for low wages shows how generous people can be to strangers.

Thursday night after setting up the bike for the next days at the park Hotel in Piacenza I headed east towards Modena but decided on a roundabout to try a farm signposted. Several houses to choose from and so as luck would have it knocked on the only door with English speaking residents. The daughter answered and the mother invited me in for coffee whilst contacting the foreman of the farm. He put in an appearance and recommended setting the tent in a barn where the trucks are parked in winter. Once that was sorted I was invited into dinner which was very generous and tasty. Leah is from the Philippines and the children I think were all born in Italy certainly the youngest only spoke Italian and was absorbed by his computer As the daughter worked her face book photos on another , the other daughter was watching the TV amongst other things. Morning once again was a sit down breakfast with the family before I headed back into Piacenza to meet the owner of Vivo sports store.

Since I couldn’t ride the bike comfortably around the Team Pullman parking area at the Fidenza Village start area later that morning I decided the best and safest option was to head back to Zillertal to recover from the injuries of Thursday’s accident. Driving was no problem as I was placing no weight on the muscles but walking was a parody of a 80yo drunk shuffling along. With access to Eurosport I have feasted on Australian Sporting Success these past few days .

Bob Hawke a former Prime Minister also a great sports fan on the day Alan Bond won the America’s Cup declared any employer penalising workers that day was a “Bum”! Well this past week has been just as thrilling for me.

TO ALL AUSTRALIAN SPORTS PEOPLE , THANKYOU FOR YOUR EFFORTS, LONG MAY YOUR SUCCESS CONTINUE !!

GIRO 2010 report 1

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WHAT does one have to do to get a result??

Posted comments on “Cyclocosm Blog” in the past days and people are visiting but as to whether they will come again or not I can’t say as they did not “Comment” and they avoided committing by hitting the “Follower” button !

By now many of you know I was skittled last Thursday on the Giro route before arriving in Novi Liguri that day, I made it to 10m from the finish line some hours before the racers but the same “Officious A$$h*L*” turned me away and guess what he was waiting for me when I came in through the back door a while later. When you watch the TV you can see all those people walking around with a piece of plastic on a tape hanging around their neck walking around the same area with no purpose in mind, truth is 90% do it on the off chance they get on TV so their “reli's” can call them on the ’phone to say they saw them on TV!

Bruised up as I was I was in no shape to persevere against 4 retired Carabinere so called it a day and headed off for Piacenza as there were people to catch up with from previous years Giros. On the way there stopped off at a bar to watch the action over the last 20 kms. Don’t think I have met Pineau yet but was talking to Tyler Farrar about his father's condition on Tuesday when I led the Garmin team through Savigliano to the start point for the TTT on Wednesday. Rode through with them to the relief road roundabout where I dropped back for them to do their training run . During the next 5km I was behind the team car and as 5m of space would appear some cretin would pull along side and gradually ease right until touching was a possibility. When alone I would belt the glass with my fist but that could result in their attacking the other riders with serious consequences so I would ease off and the next cretin would repeat the performance.


After the team stopped for a conflab we all set out again and I dropped out on the outskirts of Cuneo when I spotted “Eric Zabel” coming the other way with a friend. Turning around lost me 150m and so it was serious work to catch and hold them and there is nothing wrong with "Z" these days, if anything he pedals harder in training now that he is no longer competing. That 25 km was constant unremitting red line with little chance of conversation so I still do not know who the 2nd guy was. At a guess an ex racer in less good condition.Eric was point the whole time and as The OTHER showed no interest in going point and I was struggling with the wind even though we were drafting effectively i held the rear. On the outskirts of Savigliano I gave a cheer and eased off expecting to find them in the main square having a coffee.

As I was heading out of town later I came across the Milram Team and again led, through the lanes to the main square where we started down the TTT route,

Linus who everybody had been waiting on asked me if I would mind not joining the training. Whilst we were awaiting him I had already told the others of my run with Eric so I was quite relieved to avoid a repeat effort.

Wednesday I joined up with Moser,Motta, Fondriest and Bettini to ride the TTT Route, yes they were all world champions and yes have cycled with them all over the last few years. During the Giro these guys are employed by Bank Mediolanumto ride with their clients, how the clients get selected beats me as they come in all shapes and sizes as well as ages. For any number of years I have been asking them to include “Disabled Riders “ but to no avail, occasionally as last year there is a pretty young lady amongst the group, she had raced in the Italian Ladies Team but missed Sydney2000 much to my disappointment since I had showed that team the race route in Sydney. On the way to Cuneo the pace was relaxed about 36km but on the return trip after dropping half the group and only Maurizio involved the pace went above 40kph and into the wind on another route as the TTT course was one way only.

After lunch I headed down the course to watch a little of the action before heading off to set up for the next day’s effort of Novaro to Novi Liguri.

Following is an extract that i posted to "Comments" on Cyclocosm blog.I follow this blog in recent times as i think this Guy has a good grasp of the Racing scene

"Pascal is a” larger than life Mechanic with a heart of Gold”! Really touched that you have chosen to give him a high profile on your blog as he has helped me so many times in the past years!
Countless occasions he and other mechanics have come through with advice, parts and support, in fact these “Pro Tour Workers" are the reason i can keep going even in the worst conditions.
Thursday evening after the afternoon crash on the race route before it arrives at Novi Liguri i arrived at Park Hotel , Piacenza where 3 teams were overnighting. Many of the racers and support staff saw how badly knocked up i was and were sympathetic and amazed when i got on with the job of putting the bike back into 100% condition so as to be able to ride race route in the morning if possible. Lampre Team guys were joshing me throughout and to them i am called “JOHNNY” a long story for another day.
Friday i was back at the hotel before going to the start of the race where i rode around the parking as i could not walk with the whole right side spasming if any weight was applied to my right leg and shoulder, strangely enough i could bear the pain of pedalling, little choice though.

After greeting Liquigas, Garmin & Lampre Racers the night before i was able to catch up with Carlos,Cadel, Stephano,Vino and of course Lloydie amongst the many i have come to know through the years. Even gave John Murphy the request to say “Aiuto Disabili” when he was on the podium but he has now gone home so i hope he remembers to do so elsewhere!


These past days at “home “in Zillertal have been painful but full of “Aussie Sporting Success” yachting(the pink lady), car racing(Porsche & F1) and Cycling (Lloydie & Cadel ’s Victories ) so time abed has passed quickly enough.TODAY Gossie!!

Next week in the Dolomites regardless of the pain as i ride the climbs since i will be accustomed to it by then and i hope the weather changes for the better as looking at today’s etappe with Vino in skillet at 67km to go tells me i am not missing the unusual may weather in Italy.
AGAIN THANKS TO ALL THE PRO TOUR MECHANICS FOR HELP & SUPPORT !!


WORK IN PROGRESS SO "FOLLOW" AND SEE THE RESULTS !!

PAINT JOB

What is a “hit” and what is a “Visit” in Blogger terminology? Posted for the first time in several weeks and told “Twitter” and the “hits” started coming in but the essence of the “blog entry” was to get “followers” and you guessed it “No Change”!

Rode out today about a kilo before spotting a rider coming towards me so after the traffic slowed behind us both I scooted around to have a chat. Swiss guy in new “BMC” jersey with sparkling new bike with all mod cons, spoke hesitant English and either no energy with the wind in the face doing 22kph or wanted to discourage company so I got back to a better speed alone. He was from Visp an area I have ridden many a time with “Romandie & TDS” tours, as well as passing through to Zermatt, etc for skiing and over the Simplon Pass for Italy. Think this area featured in some films, Italian Job or Bond me thinks!
?


Read an item about NYPD collection of bikes recently and an owner’s plan to sue for their damaged $US1500 paint job which reminded me about the paint job on the bike I was riding today. The frame ex Lampre team given to me by Fondriest was passed to a “Mate?” who promised a free paint job in preparation for the 100 year anniversary of Giro d‘Italia, well 6 months passed and as we are equipping it I found an invoice for £155 stuck in the seat post ! Guy was retrenched so either he was diddled by the Paint shop or there was a misunderstanding to which I was not a party. Long story cut short, I would have refused a quote as the frame paint job was still OK and not in need of painting let alone paying to have it done. Since the mate had paid out I was left to do “The right thing” and reimburse but now “they” don’t have “touch up paint” and no “After sales service” to speak of! Previous bike through the same people years earlier treated no better so had I been aware of who my “mate” was dealing with it would have been “No way Jose”!



Fat Cyclist has posted once again a “rare” item and as usual I find lots of comments leading to some really interesting sites some of whom come visiting here also. Click on “underlined names” if you wish to enjoy the chance encounters!

DECALLING done by Bassett Signs was a kind donation for which i am grateful but the pink paint is the problem as it was a "special" for which the "painters" did not think of the need for "touch up"!Which of us does not chip or lose paint in the normal course of events?

CHALLENGE

Watching the “London Marathon” today reminded me how important finding “Sponsors” for “Disabled/Physically Challenged Athletes” really is!

These amazing athletes in their “Chariots” may only be limited by the Organisers and Media as I am sure that there are many more who would line up if allowed. Compliments to those allowed to race, you justified your presence and many more of you should be allowed to take part. Watching German Eurosport I was unable to get the full benefit of the report of those participating as my language skills are somewhat lacking but there was no doubting the efforts expended by those allowed to compete!

In the past weeks I have posted remarks since withdrawn about the lack of support for this blog, fact is there appears to be no support for my efforts to create an opportunity for “Disabled/P.C. Athletes” to be at the “Tour de France” even though I continually come across those who voice a desire to be there, being “nice” to me is not helping the cause.

Followers and Comments are the only thing that “Sponsors” are interested in and the opportunity to help this year has passed! Next year there may be someone “game “ to try and help create an opportunity but that will depend on the efforts of you the readers. Simply put “Vote with your finger” by joining the “Followers” and adding your “Comments”, when I see a reader from “Cabot, Arkansas” continually coming to the “Blog” from “Bookmark” it makes me wonder why they don’t show that they want to help by becoming a “Follower”?

There are others out there also visiting regularly by “Bookmark/Favourities” who could also lend their weight to the body of opinion needed to convince “Sponsors” of the value in helping this project and others connected with “Disabled/Physically Challenged Athletes”!


20 followers will ignite a renewed interest in adding to the blog and as the “Tour de Romandie”, “Giro d’Italia” and “Tour de France” are about to occur once again I will have plenty of material to pass on to those interested enough to become “Followers”! Your choice each of you know “Disabled people” and maybe they will enjoy being directed to supporting “Athletes” of their community group.

AS SAID BEFORE I NEED ENCOURAGEMENT, and you the readers will benefit if you choose to support this activity.

Ciao

P.S. Noticed that there are a lot of "Hits" but few "Visits" since the posting, would like to know what the difference is and wish those "Hits" had Used "Followers Button " to register their interest!