The big day is here! The Queen stage of the whole Giro, and I’m here to see it! Colin’s alarm went off at seven, as usual, but neither of us arose until around 8:30. Both little dogs ended up on my bed after Colin had gotten up from his – guess I’m an honorary auntie now! Had a nice cup of hot tea, ate a (now crunchy) bunwich of camembert with sliced chicken, then headed up to the cafe, and to see what the crowds were like. Riders have been coming up the mountain ever since I got up. It’s another bright sunny day, although the wind is making it a bit colder.

Had another cup of tea in the cafe, caught up on my blog with their free wi-fi, then went back to the campervan. There’s always something to see – some folks are painting something on the road below us, some others are unfolding a very long banner in the snow above and across the road from us – must be for the helicopters. They’ve been erecting the crowd barriers all morning, and have setup the large ‘top of the pass’ banner already. More folks arriving every minute – cyclists, campervans, even large tour busses – don’t know where they’re all going to go.

 

Sat in the sun for a bit and read a very good John Grisham novel Colin had – loading up my charger with the solar panel. Walked back up the hill to the top – could hardly find a path that didn’t have a cyclist either going up, or going down. Used the WC in the cafe, then decided a glass of wine might be nice. Could have sat at a table outside with some other people, or order for myself at the bar, but the lineup was out the door and around the corner, and the servers seemed extremely harried. Walked to the ‘hotel’ side to see what was happening – there was a big buffet and lots of people. I walked thru but there wasn’t really a bar that I could order a glass of wine at – ‘spoke’ with a couple of Italian fellows – indicated that I was looking for vino. One of them pointed to the corner behind them – the bottle is open – there are the glasses. I introduced myself in Italian and told them I was from Canada. One of them said his family name is Wendy – although I’m sure it’s spelled differently. Walked over to where a server was, and asked for some vino rosso – she grabbed a bottle and said it was Chianti and then grabbed a very large glass and proceeded to fill it half-full. I reached for my money belt and asked how much it was – she just shook her head, winked at me, and walked away! I sipped it as I walked around the dining room, left the empty glass on an empty table that hadn’t been cleared yet, and walked out.

The road was so crowded you could hardly move, then we heard the sounds of police bikes/cars coming up from the other side. Where they thought everyone was supposed to go was beyond me – there were people and bicycles everywhere – everyone just glad to have made it to the top of the pass, get a pic taken by the top-of-the-pass sign, or getting ready to descend.

Came back to the campervan – watching the race on satellite tv. It’s a French station, but I can understand certain things. They keep mentioning Stelvio, so even though they’re currently riding up the first mountain of the day, this is obviously the one on everyone’s mind. I even heard the announcers mention Canada a couple of times, and sure enough when they showed the riders in the breakaway there was Michael Woods – a Canadian! Apparently it’s about 5 above here, and the sun is still shining brightly.

Helicopters started to fly over around 1:50 and the motos and officials cars arrived shortly after. It was awesome! The crowds went nuts every time an Italian rider went by. Started my viewing on the snow hill in front of the campervan – got a decent pic of Dumoulin and Nibali without knowing it.

Moved to the straight stretch after the last hairpin just below the summit. Was about to take a pic of a large group coming up when an Oriental girl rushed up to the barrier and leaned way out right in front of my camera lens. I had to say ‘excuse me’ loudly three times before she moved her fat head out of the way.

The sprinters all came by in a group at the end – they got very loud cheers from everyone.

The second the last rider went by the crowd was all over the road again and cyclists were going up and down again, then the place really started clearing out.

Went back to the van and watched the rest of the race on tv. Could see part of the route 3 km below where the race re-joins the road after the sashay into Switzerland, then they go downhill back into Bormio.

Had a bite to eat then headed back up to the cafe to face-time Dom and have a really cheap, but decent glass of wine (wine is cheaper than tea!). Place seems almost deserted after this afternoon, but they’re probably still busier than they’ve been in months.

Got up a little late – didn’t sleep that well, and kept waking up. There was a terrific wind storm at one point, but literally lasted only 5-10 minutes. Had a nice breakfast, then went for a walk up the hill to a closed restaurant that had a bit of a lookout – saw more of the road down the other side of the pass – it’s every bit as bad as the way up this side.

It’s not really a town or even a village here – most of the buildings are combination ski school/hotel/restaurant/bar, and there are still folks going up to ski, although the lifts don’t seem to be operating – guess they’re hiking up.

Lots more campervans in the parking lot – lots more cyclists coming up both sides of the pass, lots of motorcyclists. Even a bunch of Ferraris – at least 7 or 8, and all beautiful, of course.

Had a cup of tea at a cafe – got their wi-fi password so updated my blog and downloaded some pic’s. Went back to the campervan and setup my solar panel to charge my ipad. That didn’t work very well, so I put the charger in between the panel and the ipad and that worked much better.

Saw a couple of the guys go by that had been at Pian di Boccio and ride the ‘scooters’ – they were actually coming up the mountain faster than any of the cyclists.
Just after 5 went back up to the cafe – sat on a cement wall just outside the entrance and accessed their wi-fi to face-time Dom. Said happy birthday to him and had a nice chat – it cut us off once and we couldn’t see each other the whole time, but it was great to hear him. Clouds were rolling in and the wind was picking up so we said goodbye.

Got back to the campervan just as a few raindrops started falling – it’s now hailing. Some of the folks on a higher level of the parking lot (there’s 3 or 4 levels) are getting a bit loud – wonder how late they might party. There are a lot of nice folks here from all over – met the Italian lady in the next van to us – she liked that I tried to speak with her in Italian, and she did understand what I said. Everyone thinks it’s great that I came from as far away as Canada to see the race.

And most important of all – HAPPY BIRTHDAY DOM – I LOVE YOU!!

Got up early and left 2-Laghi (two lakes) campground just after 9.

Drove to Trento – stocked up on food supplies at Lidl, then headed a bit north before we veered of northwest on our way to Bormio/Stelvio, over the Passo del Tonale.

Very high mountains, but around every curve was another picturesque village perched on the steep mountainside.  Italian drivers are crazy – cars are bad enough but the motorcycles come out on Sundays and they are downright suicidal.  Just as one passes, with the oncoming traffic right there, another three whiz by – just nuts!

Turned north at Tirano towards Bormio. Started to see pink ribbons and other Giro signs along the way, so know they pass by at some point. Continued north past Bormio and onto the Stelvio Pass – the 2nd highest mountain pass in the Alps, with 48 hairpin turns.

Took over 100 pic’s on the way – do I ever love digital! Passed by a couple of possible stopping/camping places, but kept going to the top. Passed by the place where the Giro will veer off at some point into Switzerland, and kept going right to the top. So glad we did!
There’s a really large parking lot that campervans are already setting up, so we picked a spot looking over the valley we came up. Walked up just a bit and were at the top of the Pass. There’s lots of hotels/bars/restaurants here – should be a very festive atmosphere over the next couple of days. Lots of cyclists coming up both side of the climb – can’t wait to see what happens tomorrow, and then of course, on Tuesday with the actual race.

Bright sunshine – you can see south one way into Italy at the top, looking west I’m pretty sure is Switzerland (or not far), and Austria can’t be very far to the north. I feel like I’m on top of the world – we’re above the tree-line and there’s lots of snow still on the ground around us.  We’re going to re-arrange the beds inside so I don’t have to pitch my tent in what might be sub-below temps.

Had a wonderful dinner of pasta (stuffed with spinach) with fresh salad – romaine lettuce, radish, carrot, olives, gorgonzola cheese – like a feast on top of the mountain. Met a guy in a camper next to us – had a ‘D;’ on the licence plate – asked if they were from Denmark, but the D is for ‘Deutchland’. Met another guy and asked if they were from England because they had an ‘E’ – nooo – they’re from Espana/Spain, although they were quick to point out that they were ‘Basque’, not Spanish. The parking lot near the top of the pass that we’re settled in is getting fuller by the hour. The small commercial area at the top of the mountain was crowded with cyclists when we first arrived, but when we returned after dinner it was deserted and everything was closed up.

Expect a lot more people tomorrow – looking forward to a nice warm nite in the campervan – there is 8-10 feet of snow on the sides of the road, and as soon as the sun started to set the wind kicked up – would not be very comfortable in the tent! The elevation here at the top of the pass is over 2700 meters. Every time I opened a plastic bottle the liquid spurted out because of the altitude – the dish soap, my water bottle – just sloshed all over.

 

 

Even tho we’re having a ‘day off’ still got up early. Actually woke at 6 but stayed in my tent until 7. Kind of cloudy day, but had a lot of laundry to do. Colin and I pooled our clothes and used the pay-laundry – 5 euros for wash, 5 for dry – you can drink wine here a lot more cheaply than you can do laundry!

Spent a fairly frustrating morning trying to get proper wi-fi access – finally gave up and went for a bike ride into the town of Terme. Got another batch of cortisone cream for my sun-blisters (which are getting better) and rode around a bit.

It’s a very beautiful place with many cobble-stone streets and lots of magnificent views.

 

Got back to camp, face-timed Dom – many ‘screen freezes’ and had to re-connect several times. Had bot a bit more food in the town (well – a few buns, some cherry tomatoes, and – oh – some red wine). Ate a great dinner of tortellini stuffed with gorgonzola, with veggies of all sorts on the side. Tried to plan our route for tomorrow, and where we might stay the night, then park ourselves the next day in prep for Tuesday’s grand climb. Trying to prepare myself for how chilly it might be.

Got up fairly early after a decent sleep. Mosquitos didn’t bother me in the tent but they’re everywhere outside. Packed up, had a nice breakfast, hit the road around 9:45. Going north to Chioggia, then north/west to Trento or thereabouts. Ravenna is quite a bit further north than I thought – our trip through the Apennines was as much north as it was east from Foligno. Countryside here is so different than Umbria – very flat, with lots of lagoons and marshy-looking bits. Also lots of fields in various states of cultivation. The road we’re on is one lane in each direction, quite narrow and very busy. Lots of large trucks, and small cars (all cars here are small). Bypassed most of Padova, then went north – passed thru Cittadella, which has an old part surrounded by very well preserved walls and gates.

Continued north thru Bassano – can now see large mountains looming in the background. Into the mountains on our way north then west to Trento. Very pretty villages perched on the mountainsides every few miles. Sometimes driving next to the river Brenta.

 

Stopped in Trento and ate lunch in the van, then checked Colin’s camping book for a nice place to stay for a night or two. Chose one back the way we came – about 20 km or so, right on Lake Caldonazzo. It started drizzling rain as we left Trento, by the time we got to the campground it was pouring. Decided we didn’t want to stay there – no satellite access, so picked another campground up in the mountains a bit further. Found the place, but no-one was there – office and bar were open, but no folks to let us thru the gate or check us in. Looked for the next site, but the GPS kept trying to send us the wrong way down one-way streets, so headed to the next potential site. Drove a long way uphill on very narrow windy roads. Ended up at a very isolated campground that was so cold I asked if they had a room inside. Originally was told it would be 19 euros, then when I asked to see the room it was suddenly 35 euros. Decided we didn’t like the place so came down the hill to try the ‘no one home’ place again – still no one home. Continued on back to almost the place we started at near the lake. Drove right onto the campsite, bypassing the office by mistake – no barrier, so picked a spot and settled in. Wasn’t even setup yet when someone comes around the van and started speaking to us in French. Turns out he’s also a Brit living in France and he’d seen Colin’s French license plate, and he also is here following the Giro! When he first started speaking in French and we couldn’t respond in kind it was so funny – he realized pretty quickly that Colin was English.

Reminds me a bit of the area around Hope – very high, steep mountains, although as you drive around and thru the passes there is a village every 5km or so – very pretty.

May 18 – Thursday

Getting ready to leave my home away from home – baby goats look like they’re doing really well.

Started packing up the tent just after 9 – took around an hour.

Said goodbye to the Danes – took a nice pic of them with Luisa in the office as they checked out.

Paid up my bill and hit the road in Colin’s van with bike inside (pedals off) about 10:30 or so.

Headed to Revanna, on the other side of the Apennines, and right on the Adriatic coast. Colin noticed a Farmicia just by chance on the road, kind of in the middle of nowhere. Went inside to see if they had something that would help my sun-rash, which looks worse today – almost like welts or pustules. The pharmacist took one look and said ‘oooohhhh – no sun for at least two days’ then went in the back, opened up a drawer and brought back a little box. It was cortisone cream and I’m to use it twice a day to get rid of the horrible looking rash. It does look worse than it feels – at least it’s not painful or itchy, just looks like I’ve got a disease of some kind. Applied the cream immediately and am hopeful that in a couple of days I won’t still look like a leper.

The drive was good – lots of beautiful villages on hillsides – including Assisi not far from Foligno. As we progressed east and the mountains got higher there were fewer villages – just the occasional farm.

As we neared the east coast the mountains suddenly stopped and it was totally flat.

Stopped at a Lidl store near Revanna – German origin but all over Europe. Kind of a cross between Costco and Walmart, but mostly food and produce. Also – wine – cannot believe how cheap it is! Got a cart full of fresh produce plus other essentials – laughed when she told us the total. Would have costed 3 times as much at home.

Went to one campsite but didn’t like it so headed to another one. It’s pretty big and seems like a lot of the folks here are long term/permanent. Got the tent up in a matter of minutes – takes longer to tear down than to put up.

The campsite is very different than Pian di Boccio – no free electric hookup or wi-fi (well – 10 minutes, but that’s nothing) but you don’t have to pay for hot showers. Also, they have a gym and lots of other stuff that we likely won’t use. Only staying here one night anyway.  Minute walk to the Adtriatic Sea – very beautiful.

Up early – bright sunshine, yoga, breakfast on terrace – the usual. At least until I checked on very pregnant momma goat. She had just give birth and baby goat was still wet and lying on the hay. I ran back to the store and told Louisa and Meike who followed me back to the pen. She told me there might be another one coming as momma goat was so huge and had had twins before. Just as I arrived back at the pen a second baby was being dropped! Took a few seconds before it began to breathe, but momma was experienced and knew what to do. Both babies got a good licking. When I checked a little later one of the babies was bleating loudly while it tried to stand up. Momma was calm and didn’t get excited.

Colin and I went on another day-trip. Went back up to Montefalco, which is still all decked out with pink ribbons, bows, flowers and bicycles everywhere from yesterday’s ITT finish. Colin treated me to a wonderful lunch in the shade outside a restaurant on one of the steep, cobbled streets. It was more like three meals for me but I managed to eat it all – very delicious lasagna with mushrooms, asparagus and lots of cheese, followed by veal and a large side salad.

The town has a lookout of sorts that you can see almost the entire valley from – Foligno, Bevagna, all the orchards and vineyards – very beautiful place.

Drove back to Bevagna (via Foligno, just for fun) to get some more food, but everything was closed until 4:00 for lunch. Came back to the campground to watch the end of today’s Giro stage.

Baby goats look stronger every time I go by – standing on their own while momma rests. Colin is mapping out a route to get north – probably taking 3 days, heading north-east to the coast, then north to the mountains. Likely going to get to watch the May 23 stage on the Stelvio Pass – a brutal one! Sitting outside Colin’s campervan, paying attention to one of his cute pups (Ben), drinking a glass of local red wine – what could be better?

Well – the day I came here for has arrived! Starting with bright sunshine and birdies chirping. Had a nice hot shower, did yoga, had breakfast on the terrace. Walked up to where Colin parked his campervan yesterday and got ready for the race. Saw several local cycling clubs ride by, a lot of individual cyclists, as well as a couple of actual racers still practising the route, including Quintana.

Lots of campers and other fans had arrived since yesterday – they were lined up and down the road, with flags and everything. Someone had marked things on the road – WW/108 for Walter Weylandt, who died in the 2011 Giro. Also Scarponi with a heart, for Michele Scarponi who was killed in a crash with a van while training for the Giro a couple of weeks ago.

Festivities started with about a hundred police motos with blue lights flashing, then all of the sponsors vehicles – going at an incredibly fast speed – no treats or freebies from them.

The first racer left Foligno at 12:45 – went past us at about 1:05. It was very sunny, but windy, so not too hot. I’m trying to stay out of the direct sun so my heat-rash (or whatever it is) doesn’t get any worse.

Took lots of pic’s – almost every rider that went by. Each racer is preceeded by a police moto with lights flashing, and followed by a team car and possibly camera moto. Lots of blurred/over exposed/under exposed pic’s, but some ok ones.

(The above is an action shot –  purposely a bit blurred)

Lots of folks congregated and walked past – to and from the church where they were selling coffee and gelatos, etc. Met some nice folks, including a family from Victoria that is in month 11 of a year-long trip – John and his son are on the right in the pic below, and that’s his son again sitting on the hill.

Watched Nibali go by, then the last few, including Dumoulin, who went on to win the ITT by quite a large margin.

Quintana in the pink was, of course, the last to pass us – watched the rest of the race on Colin’s satellite tv.  Headed back to the campsite around 5:45, then met Colin on the terrace to go over our pic’s. Had a bit to eat, heading to bed early.

Got up nice and early so I’d be ready to hit the road with Colin to stake out our spot. Was just finishing breakfast when he and his dogs came up to the bar/store/terrace. Headed past the spot we’d kind of decided on, then went down into Bevagna to pick up some more veggies and prosciutto.

Bevagna from our race-watching site

Back at the site we’d picked there were a couple of dogs on the property across the road, and boy did they like to bark.  Colin moved the van 100 meters or so, which was actually better. We’re just past the top of a small climb, and if we walk just a few meters can see down the hill and to a bend in the road – lots of time to setup shots. It’s right near the ’22 km to go’ marker, not far from the church ‘Madonna delle Grazie’ that I pushed my bike and gear past the day I arrived.

Sat on lawnchairs and ate lunch while dozens and dozens of riders went by. To begin with they were all amateurs, and then the folks that were staying at the campsite. Not sure why I thought they were from Chile, since 6 of the ‘scooter’ riders are Czech, and one is a Fin, but they’re riding the full Giro route a day ahead of the real race, and raising money for a children’s charity.

After a while the real race team cars and riders started coming by and I got some really good shots. The time trial bikes are very different, and with the ‘solid’ back wheel you can hear them coming a mile away – kind of like a very strong wind-whoosing sound.

Montefalco – end of ITT

After about 1:00 it seemed that no more racers would be coming by so I figured it was time to head back to the campground – a 20-25 minute walk.  Many of the roads are decked out in pink.

 

Turnoff to Pian di Boccio, right after Chiesa Madonna delle Grazie.
I got back just in time – it was already thundering and dark clouds had been rolling in. Right after I put my stuff in my tent it started to pour, and the thunder seems almost on top of us. Luckily my tent is now under a shelter, so I’m not getting wet at all.

The storm lasted about 30-40 minutes, and parts of the sky are now getting brighter. Hopefully the weather will be ok for the ITT tomorrow.

The sunburn I got the other day while riding to Bevagna and back (mostly lower arms) has developed into a rash or something – almost looks like hives, or many small insect bites. Doesn’t hurt or itch (much) but looks like I have a disease. Hope it goes away soon.

Ate my dinner at a table outside the bar- face-timed Dom and the babies. Lots of camper-vans checking in – probably to watch the Giro tomorrow. Had a really nice, long conversation with Jan, the Danish fellow Colin and I chatted with after dinner on Saturday, and his girlfriend. Turns out he was in Israel around the same time I was, although he’s about 5 years younger than me. He was on a kibbutz south of Haifa for awhile while I as on the Lebanese/Syrian border.
They were going in to the restaurant for dinner, and I’m heading to bed early so I can leave asap in the a.m. for my viewing spot with Colin. Apparently the church that we are very near will be having food/refreshments during the day while the race is on, and we may see Jan and others from the campground there.

Another beautiful morning in my Umbrian paradise. Had a nice shower – lost a token in the first one I tried, but luckily I had enough time with my one remaining token to wash my hair and get properly rinsed before the hot water ran out on me.

Noticed that there are actually a lot more Chileans here than I thought – there are at least 8 or 9 more tents on another level below the others that I didn’t see last night in the dark. They even have a couple of massage tables setup under a canopy, and one of the vans is black with a big pink map of Italy on the side.

Tested out my solar panel to charge the ipad – seems to work ok but is slower than the electric plug-ins, and a couple of times when I checked the progress it said ‘not charging’ even though the panel was in full sun and still attached to the ipad.  Took a walk around the area below my tent – this place is huge!  If it was full there’d be hundreds of vans and tents.

Went up to Colin’s van for lunch, then watched the end of the Blockhause stage on his satellite tv. Made a major decision change for tomorrow. Instead of going to Foligno for the day we’re going to go to Bevagna to get some more fresh veggies and other food, then stake out our spot for Tuesday’s race. Most of the riders will be out on some part of the course on Monday anyway and we’ll likely see more of them on the road than in the town.

Said goodbye to Roland and Nell in case I don’t see them in the morning – such a nice couple and hope we keep in touch.  They’re headng east to the Adriatic coast, then eventually up to Salsburg.  Hope they have a wonderful trip,