After waking up before 3:00 I really didn’t get much more sleep, but I always knew what time it was – the local chuch bells in this village don’t considerately turn off at night like many do.
After a bite to eat we proceeded to follow the route for a ways, then found a campground where we could drop our water, etc. Once that was done we got back onto the route and came across some folks we’d met before.
They are a couple from Belgium that travel in a very large motorhome, complete with a motorbike in a compartment at the back. They sometimes help a couple of the teams hand out waterbottles, and are especially close with Quickstep. They offered me some bidons that I hadn’t gotten yet – FDJ and Sunweb – my collection is growing!
We returned to a spot we’d passed earlier – just past a bridge, then two sharp corners at the beginning of a climb. We were alone in our choice spot until another car joined us, then a couple of team cars pulled in up the road a bit to hand out bidons.
The race passes our spot twice, and as I was testing my shots on the motocops I ran into a problem – the camera’s memory card was full! I ran back up to the campervan to retrieve my extra card but the damn packaging must be child-proof or something. I couldn’t rip it open quickly enough so I grabbed my other camera and took the card out of it.
I rushed back down to my spot in time to see the first racers arrive just before 2:15.
I was happily shooting away as the peloton began to pass, then again the camera stopped working – another full card! I couldn’t believe it.
Of course right then the most unexpected/spectacular thing I’ve yet seen at a race happened – right below me I could see the bridge before the first sharp turn, and what was on the bridge racing along beside the riders but two horses!
They were obviously terrified of the cars, motos and helis but had nowhere to go so they just kept galloping up the road straight towards me. I have no idea what the riders thought but I was freaked – I ran up to the other man that had parked near us and was grateful when he seemed to know what to do.
He waved his arms to get the horses’ attention just in time to avoid getting stampeded by them. We have no idea what happened to the poor things but they made it by us with no one getting injured.
By the time the race had passed on the first circuit I’d settled down a bit and managed to cut open my new memory card – so much packaging for such a small thing!
On the second pass it was Cdn Michael Woods in front! And he managed to hang on and win the stage but not only that he took the overall lead!
We hadn’t put the flags up so it took us little time to get on the road. Because of where we were, and where we were going next we decided to pop back to Papiano for the night. Laundry and a shower were both much appreciated.
We again took the paege, making our way south to the coast then west along to Santo Stefano al Mare and to a campground that we’ve stayed at before. I can’t say how lovely it was to have a nice hot shower, and on top of that – clean laundry!
There are several resident kittens that quickly became my dear little friends since I just had to feed them – doesn’t make up for how much I miss my own Sly guy back home, but helps a bit.
I had wi-fi for the first time in a week so tried to catch up on emails, etc, and even posted a blog, but it seems to not have worked.
After giving the kitties a large breakfast the next morning we were on our way to the Poggio.
We got a perfect spot in the parking lot above the race course right in a corner overlooking the Sea. (Note about photo: this was taken through a chain-link fence, so the blurry lines are part of the fence, but this was our actual view)
We had a delicious cappuccino at the cafe/bar on the corner, and chatted a bit with one of the older gentlemen we’d met here last year. He asked if we were german – he worked in Germany for two years and speaks a little german, but we managed to have a short conversation with my italian.
Returning to the bar later in the afternoon we had a drink and enjoyed a small complimentary plate of appies before going back to the campervan for a salmon and rice dinner.
It had been a fairly hot day, but the almost constant breeze from the sea helped a bit and my solo walk in the evening was very pleasant.
Race day came with sunshine and blue skies. We’re somewhat surprised that there is only one other campervan in the parking area – it’s been recently resurfaced, which is great, and it is pretty full, but cars, not campers. Last year – end of March, of course – there were dozens of campervans.
We had our cappuccino at a different cafe/bar, then took a little walk around the village before visiting the wine shop – the one with the hoses in the wall – then the other cafe.
There are some other fans here, but nothing like last year, and we’re all pretty good about the face masks and/or distancing, etc. To compare I’ve included a photo from last year taken at a similar time race-wise to this year:
He was very polite and apologetic, but we weren’t allowed to use flashes. Colin re-located further down and around the corner, but I stayed where I was, just around and down a bit from the crest of the Poggio.
The tv heli appeared about five minutes before the first racer – Alaphilippe! – followed closely by Wout van Aert (winner of Strade Bianche).
There were only a few seconds before more and more riders passed – and I finally got a shot of Nibali.
I also got decent shots of Michael Matthews – who had a torn shoulder – as well as Belgian champion Naesen.
After many of the racers had passed I got ready to sneak across the road to watch the end of the race on tv in the bar – just then Colin came up the hill to do the same thing. The Poggio is just 4 km from the finish, and it’s all hairpin turns downhill then a bit of flat road to the end in Sanremo.
Another wonderful race day!
Before leaving Montemagno we took a couple of short walks up and down the road. 
There are several large homes with great views, and most of them have guard dogs, or at least signs for them.
This year’s Milano-Torino is much flatter than most previous years and we’re near one of the few minor climbs.
We parked at a nice wide spot right on the road with a good view below us, as well as along to the town of Grana.
As usual the racers were preceeded by motocops.
There was a breakaway of six riders who passed our spot at 4:24, with about a three minute lead.
The peloton blew by in one single group – I think it’s the fastest race passing I’ve seen yet – first rider in the breakaway to last of all about three minutes total.
There was one single rider a little bit behind who must have had a mechanical or something, then they were gone.
We were able to hit the road very quickly, having little to pack up, and took the paege towards Torino. Because we were on the motorway we managed to bypass the end of the race and made it to Cavour in a couple of hours, stopping in Pinerolo for groceries.
Feeling hungry we decided to go out for dinner – I did remember some of the roads and paths so we were able to make our way easily on foot with the doggies to the town centre. My favourite cafe was closed so we went next to a restaurant that had been recommended to me three years ago, but I’d never actually gone to.
‘Ristorante La Posta’ was worth the three year wait – it was excellent. We had a lovely table outside, surrounded by beautiful flowering shrubs. We started with a shared antipasti of salmon tartare on shredded apple, then for my main course I enjoyed the gnocchi with cheese sauce – very delicious, with enough leftover for tomorrow’s lunch.
La Posta has been in existence since the 1700s and has at least one Michelin star, so it’s not surprising it was so enjoyable.
We got to see the sun rise – it was a very quiet and beautiful morning.
By the afternoon it was again brutally hot, reaching at least 40 but there was no shade or relief to be had. We put the campervan’s awning out but had to retract it because of the wind.
During the day amateur riders did, as usual, come up the road, and more than one rider and car stopped because of our flags. 
One group of three Italian men that stopped stayed for a bit to chat – they even brought out a bottle of local Chianti that they opened and shared with us. They all live near Rimini and Colin has their phone number so he can call them during the Giro in October and maybe get together.
The race didn’t arrive until almost 5:30, and the dust was flying. I got a pretty good photo of Wout van Aert, who was the eventual winner.
At one point I moved down the road a short way for a different view and 
I was well off the road as the verge was over two feet wide and had just been cut so I shouldn’t have been in any danger. Thankfully death was avoided, but – damn!!
I also got photos of a fairly tired looking Peter Sagan, and a very dusty Michael Woods.
We started packing up as soon as the last racer passed – there wasn’t much to do. We’ll have to sweep a bit later as there’s fine white dust everywhere.
I did manage to snag a nice pink route marking arrow for my collection – it’s now placed in the left-back window.
Last week we took advantage of the slight easing of our lockdown restrictions and went to Ikea just outside Ancona on the Adriatic coast. We had a good long shopping list and managed to get almost everything on it. I debated leaving a trail of peanuts to follow back out in case I got claustrophobic in the maze but did make it to the exit without freaking out.
Putting the kitchen pantry/shelving unit together the next day was fun – kind of – and the resulting space and organization is very much appreciated. I also got a huge wooden cutting board to roll out my pasta on and it’s beautiful. I’m getting better at making pasta – or at least it’s not nearly so messy.
We’ve taken a couple of short trips for lunch at Il Ristoro at Lake Trasimeno, as well as one to Montefalco. There’s some work being done on the highway that runs from Perugia to Rome and it happened that the exit for the shortest route east to Montefalco was closed off so we took another road a bit further south. It was longer and wound more through the hills but we saw some very beautiful countryside.
Not many restaurants were actually open, but we did manage to find one with a large outdoor terrace and a view over the plain to Foligno and Bevagna.
We were the only ones there until a group of old men began arriving – I think they were there to drink espresso and play cards.
On our way back to the parking area we noticed a little pet house and a dish up against the high stone wall – we guessed it’s for some of the local cats.
I’ve continued to go for nice bike rides every couple of days – I never really get lost and am getting to know the different back gravel roads better.
We’ve had a couple more bad storms, complete with lightning and thunder – Mo barks every time the thunder rumbles, as if to warn it that she’s very fierce and it better leave us alone.
Colin and I have both joined a local facebook group and have posted a few photos that are getting lots of thumbs up. I imagine a few folks are puzzled about my name – real name vs facebook persona – but they do seem to appreciate my photography of their beautiful village and surrounding area.
I got back on the bike again 3 days after my little mishap – nothing hurts but I still have road rash below my right knee. I’ve started to venture further and further from Papiano, usually going generally west-ish.
On Sunday I took a little trip to Spina and back – we’ve driven through it before but never stopped. It was a nice place, and the cafe/bar on the main road was full of motorcyclists.
Yesterday I rode to Compignano, which is a lovely village we drove to a week or two ago. Just a km or so before the village I saw a dog on the side of the road – I had a hunch that I better boot it so I pumped the assistance up to the max and started pedaling as fast as I could. Sure enough the dog came at me, snarling and snapping at my left foot. I was going pretty fast but he kept up for quite a ways – I was screaming at the top of my lungs, but didn’t dare try to kick at it in case I wiped out. He finally gave up the chase and I continued on to the village.
Since I didn’t want to risk encountering the dog again on the way back I took an alternate route – a small gravel track that led to another village we’d driven through before. Almost right away I came upon a carabinieri (police) car, but they just nodded and passed me by. 
The road ended up being quite perilous – very steep up, where even with the highest assistance I had to work very hard, then so steep down there were warning signs about the gradient. After my wipe-out last week I decided to be extra cautious and got off and hoofed it down. 
I was going to say that I pushed the bike down, but it was more like I tried to hold it back – it seemed to take a long time to reach the bottom, and felt like I was walking on marbles the entire way.
This morning’s ride was a bit longer than planned – I haven’t bothered to hook my Garmin GPS device up yet – although I had looked at a map – and thus ended up missing a turn and found myself somewhere totally unexpected and confusing just after passing through Villanova.
Rather than compound my problem I just turned around and backtracked home. I did pass through some lovely countryside on the way, however, and just put on a few more miles than planned.
The weather has been very changeable – lots of sun, but also fierce winds as well as pounding downpours. We’ve watched a couple more Clint Eastwood movies, saving the best for last – The Good, The Bad and The Ugly – a classic for sure.
We went up to Deruta one day and got some more clay pots for a nice new succulent and the geraniums – the patio is looking very colourful!
You can’t solve injustice with hate or violence, and the USA desperately needs a leader that isn’t such an incompetent dickhead!
On Tuesday we took the dogs for a nice walk along the ridge and on the way back we encountered a fellow we’ve seen several times now. He speaks fairly good english and told us that there was going to be an aerial display above Perugia. We kept walking and were just discussing if we should stay on the ridge to wait for it when we looked north towards the city as Colin said he heard something.
Sure enough there was an italian flag appearing in the sky – red white and green smoke from the Italian Air Force Trecce Tricolori Display Team. The wind was blowing fiercely but the flag was visible for some time. It was pretty cool – the display team is flying over every ‘major’ city in the country over a period of 3 or 4 days to boost morale.
That evening Colin met with the owners of the cellar below us – he’s been wanting to buy it ever since he got the house but the old lady that owned it wasn’t interested in selling. Now that she has passed on her three adult children are keen to sell, so Romena, who speaks fluent english, is now the go-between and interpreter. As long as the structural engineer says that all is good we should be able to make a deal. Not only will it make great storage for the bikes, etc, but the ceiling of the cellar can be insulated so the floor of our living room and kitchen won’t be bleeding heat on cold days.
We took another little trip to Trasimeno, this time going to one of our favourite restaurants – Il Ristoro in Monte Buono. They had only outside tables, which were setup all over the lovely lawn under the trees. We had excellent bruschetta to start, then for my main course I got the gnocchi with ragu – it was very good. Another thing to go on my Ikea shopping list will be a potato ricer so I can make my own gnocchi.
I’ve been on a few more nice rides, although I had a mishap yesterday. I was almost home from an 18km ride and was just coming down the very steep gravel lane from the ridge above us when I felt the rear tire sliding out. I wasn’t going very fast as I ride the brakes pretty much the whole way down but there was nothing I could do. I stuck my right leg out thinking I would just stop but because it was so steep there was too much momentum and down I went.
I landed hard on my right knee and shin and barely had time to stick my hands out as I face-planted into the verge on the edge of the track. It smelt faintly of mint, which is a lot better than the dog poo I could have landed in, and was also much softer than gravel or a face full of brambles.
It could have been a lot worse – I picked up my camera case, which had been thrown from the basket, then heaved the bike up and started walking down the hill. I contemplated crying, but decided it wouldn’t help. I didn’t walk far before I climbed back on the bike and slowly and gingerly made my way the last 150 meters home.
This morning the weather had turned ugly, so no bike ride. My leg doesn’t feel too bad, but my muscles and joints are sore and the bridge of my nose throbs – wearing my glasses does not help the pain, but I don’t think the nose is broken.
After a wonderful few days at the coast with my very dear friend Lorna I made it safely to Italy. I love you Lorna!!
The flight from Van to TO was almost full, but the flight on to Rome was at most half full. As soon as they announced that boarding was complete there was a mass scurrying of passengers to the empty seats – some got a full row to themselves.
Colin was there to pick me up and I got to meet his new rescue dog Henry – a little sweetie.
The next few days were spent wondering if the races I came over early for were going to go ahead – right up until Wednesday evening we thought it might be ok, but then the bad news came. Not only Strade Bianche was postponed, but also Tirreno-Adriatico and the Giro di Sicilia – so disappointed!
We did have a nice day trip to Trevi for lunch one day, and have been regular patrons of the bar – Antonio makes a decent cappuccino and fusses over the dogs. We met a very nice british couple at the bar – they own a house in the village and are staying for an entire year. They know the area well and told us where an excellent butcher is in the next village – we picked up some excellent lamb chops for dinner the next day. We couldn’t see any chops in the display case but when the butcher understood what we wanted he went to a side room and brought out a leg of lamb then cut two nice thick pieces for us.
The weather has been mixed – pouring rain a couple of times, then other days beautiful sunshine, although not yet really hot. We went on a nice long walk yesterday and I tried out the new Nikon D7200 camera that Colin very kindly got for me. I still love my Canon, but can see that having more than one camera has its advantages, especially at a race (if there were any down here!).
We’re not in a ‘high risk’ area for the coronavirus as it’s mostly up north right now and our plan is to go south to Sicily in a couple of weeks. So far there doesn’t seem to be any panic around here – stores are still fully stocked and folks seem to be going about their normal business. Hopefully it stays this way.
We did get some more disappointing news, however – there’s an annual festival here, the ‘Festa di San Guiseppe’ and they fly large balloons from the village square, including ones at night with candles in them. It looked very interesting and we were excited that we would be here for it, but it also has now been cancelled out of an abundance of caution over the dreaded coronavirus – darn!
We’re still able to get some race watching in, albeit on tv – Paris-Nice is going ahead so all is not lost.
Sally McKenzie's European Adventures 