It's only 59 days until Jim and I queue up for our date in hell. We are both in the 500 to roll out of Feltre for a all day bike ride. As Hayden puts it "my pops likes to suffer" and yes Hayden suffer we will. http://www.granfondocampagnolo.it/index.asp There's still plenty of time for the rest of you to make your travel plans and join us.

I'm back....Internet connections have been very hard to find. The Alps are behind me as I'm in the Ardeche. This area is just east of Provence on the west side of the Rhone. I'd say it could be the perfect place. Maybe it's the flatter roads which I sorely missed in the Alps. Jim and I rode 4 days up there and the rides where measured in hours not miles. My luck on staying healthy didn't hold out. I got a cold on the day we drove north and it stuck with me until yesterday when I drove south after spending the night in Lyon. Jim's flight home is a story I'm sure he's willing to share. Needless to say, flight direct is my story and I'm not budging from it.
Today's ride is down the Ardeche river through the Gorges de L' Ardeche to the Rhone and back.
This part of France is perfect for this time of year. Warm but not too hot. Outdoor dinning everywhere, Rose' flowing like water. How could life get any better? Rose' you might ask, it's that pink wine what high school girls drink? Hell no, if you haven't had a good Rose' sitting outside as the sun goes down you have one more thing to do. I'm living a dream come true if only I wasn't alone.

I have left Italy and arrived a few days ago in Lyon France. I must say it's a nice as Paris, in fact I'd call this city the little sister of Paris.

Jim Taylor arrived and we made a quick but long drive to Provence. After two nights we traveled northeast to the Alps. The rains that we encountered yesterday are past us so the peaks are now in full view. More posting later today after we go up a famous climb this morning. Oh yea, the French roads are not as steep as the Italians. Not even close to the same. If you have rode your bike in the Alps and suffered ,say the hell away from Italy.

Wednesday
I rode around the Stella. 4 or 5 passes, I can't remember but I saw 2000 meters at the summits more than once. I felt much better than I expected. My body has ajusted to the time zone. Going up the Pordoi wasn't anthing like last year were I thought I'd never make it to the top. This short ride in distance took me 5-6 hours ( I don't have a watch or bike computer) to complete. My brake pads have less than 500 miles on them and they look to be half gone. As one mate would say "they're wearing out like **** pencil erasers". At this rate 3 to 4 more days of this descending and I'll be metal to metal.
I'm shipping 1/3 of my clothing back home as I need to lighten my load and there's no need for cold weather gear. I'm throwing away 1/3, now I can carry all my gear without going into a anaerobic state.
1 beer outside on the deck, then dinner. It was a early night.

Thursday
I'm in need of something else do as this morning I felt completly drained. I guess 2 beers was to blame or was it the fact that I'm old? The map of the local area shows a gondola that goes south which I can see and one that goes north which I can't seem to find. After short walk (less than 200') I found the ski lift that goes north out of town. You take the escalator up to a tunnel that moves you through the hill just behind the hotel. From there you take the gondola to the upper base area and chair lifts from there. I'm too beat (lazy) to take the ride up and catch the view from up top,
My plans for tomorrow are shaping up. I'll catch the bus out in the morning to Bolzano and the train south from there. Once I get to Verona I'll go west to Torino and settle in for a few days. Sunday In the morning of the 24th I'll get into Lyon pick up the car and be ready for a long but with luck quick drive south with Jim. In the mean time I'll look for some flatter country.

I'm alive!!! What an ordeal. When I asked Pete Banko about his trip to Italy a few years ago he said the Campagnolo Granfondo was the best day he's had on the bike. This guy has more miles than anyone I know so when he says it's the real deal I take notice. His advise to me was "train like a madman". Well I must be a madman as I didn't come even close to my goal of fitness. But heck, no problem how bad could it be? 212 K 4000+ meters 9 time zones from home. Well let me say I spent all day on my bike going up grades so steep I'll never want to do this again. And for my sins I'll get to live another day. I'm getting back on the bike this afternoon to test my legs.
I'm in the north of Italy in a area called Val Gardena. The village of Ortisei is where I'll call home for the next 3 days. With luck I'm based at 1200 meters because the passes I'm going over in the next few days over 2200. I'd like to get in some flatter rides but I'm afraid it's back to the same old game of suffering.

What better time to rebuild my bike than one day before I fly? No problem, if only I could find my 13X29. Bummer I'm not able to find it, someone must have taken it from me and in it's place they put a worn out 12X25. Again, no problem Italy is full of bike shops. I'm sure I can find a 29 tooth cog somewhere.
All my clothes are washed, bags are packed, tickets, passport in place where I'm sure to not loose. The new camera is no longer a complete unknown. Heck I've got it mastered in 8 hours. Simple and light Nikon D200, not! Holy cow, what was I thinking? All I wanted is to take a few nice pictures for the world to see.

What? No rain this weekend. But it's the 3 day party weekend, Memorial Day. So how's a nice ride the Sunday sound? Drive to Randle, http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=randle,+wa&ie=UTF8&ll=46.522966,-121.961975&spn=0.043525,0.079823&z=14&om=1 ride south up and over the hill, down the south side to Swift Reservoir and back. This road maybe one of the best keep secerts in western Washington. Very little traffic, a solid climb with a fun desent between Mt St Helens and Mt Adams. Budget all day.