26 June 2012
Blog Post 5: Demonstrations of the strength, plus pure stubbornness, of the human spirit
Who remembers Grant Hackett claiming the gold medal in the 1500m freestyle at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games despite having a partially collapsed lung? Or John Landy winning the 1500m race after stopping to help pick up Ron Clarke at the Aussie Nationals just prior to the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. What about Forest Gump refusing to leave Lt. Taylor? And how about the sheer stubbornness of Cadel Evans when he continued riding in 2010 Tour de France after fracturing his elbow?!
The strength of the human spirit really is incredible and it isn't just reserved for the superheroes of our society. Throughout my trip I have been constantly amazed at the continuous displays of courage, persistence, and the never, never, never give-up attitude. While this blog only offers some brief insights into a few examples on the current topic, hopefully it may provide a little bit of inspiration the next time you need an Up'n'Go or pick-me-up.
My first example comes from the conclusion of my first Bike Dreams Tour. After arriving in Como we had the option on our rest day to ride up to the Madonna del Ghisallo; the chapel holds an external flame for all cyclists who have died as well as Fabio Casartelli who died on the Northern Italian slope. While not a long climb, a mere 8.7km from Belagio to the Chapel, it did have some intense average gradients of 10-12% i.e. bloody hard work. Throw in some 32 degree weather plus midday sun and you have an interesting combination.
Knowing I wasn't going to be on the bike for two weeks during my next Italia adventure, I was keen to see the chapel and get out for one last ride. Also keen to go out for a ride was the Bike Dreams mechanic Richard (previously mentioned in Blog Post 3 for a lifesaver award having helped me climb some mountains). Richard's partner Christine had also joined up with us along the way and hence it made perfect sense for the duo to borrow the tandem from Aussie couple Andrew and Christine to climb up the mountain.
Now the tandem is an interesting bike - it can't be carbon as carbon would snap too easily. As such, a tandem requires a steel frame and is a very heavy bike - fine on the flats and downhills but a lot harder to go uphill with the extra weight. Also, riding a tandem requires good communication and coordination between the two riders. Overall, it requires a fair bit of skill, strength and ability to ride.
Richard and Christine had never been on a tandem, didn't have cycling cleats to hold them onto the pedals and Richard was suffering from a severe gastro for the second day - poor Christine who was on the back...
Nevertheless, everything was going smoothly all the way to Belagio -nice flat riding, a gelato for everyone (except Richard who was on bread and water rations) and a lot of enthusiasm to see the Chapel. We soon began the climb and it was clear that Richard was far from his peak. While usually an extremely strong rider, the lack of food for two days plus heat and steepness of the climb seemed to be too much. *if anyone suffers from squimishness it would probably be best to skip the next few sentances*. After climbing for ten minutes, Richard had to promptly get off his bike and literally looked like one of those cartoon characters who has a continuous jet of spew streaming out for at least 3 minutes. Definitely the way to win over the ladies. The proclamation of "[gurgle, gurgle] You go on -I am not [gurgle gurgle] going to make it to the top" was spluttered out between the spew jet streams. With great reluctance, myself, Glyn and Lex left Christine with the green-faced Richard and continued up the mountain.
After a grueling 75minutes of climbing, plus a few meltdowns on my behalf, the three survivors were able to pay their respects in the cycling Chapel, take a few happy snaps and chill out for 30minutes. After deciding it was time for lunch (at 2:30pm in the afternoon; Hannah was definitely grumpy by this stage - lack of food in a Macdougall = short temper) we started riding back down the mountain to the previous town about 1km away. Low and behold we see Richard and Christine crest the hill, ride over the top of the mountain and make it to the cycling chapel. Both drenched in sweat, tears and other charming bodily fluids, the two both exuded an aura of happiness at having conquered the mountain through absolute sheer stubbornness and strength of spirit. Bloody awesome stuff and massive kudos.
My second example comes from my two-legged Intrepid Italia adventure while staying in the little town of Gubbio. On this trip we had two lovely ladies from Delaware in the USA. While both have numerous strengths of character, such as humour, organization etc etc, Patty suffers from an extreme fear of heights. As such, the prospect of traveling up the highest peak in Gubbio to overlook the town via 'a birdcage' chairlift didn't seem quite appealing.
A lot of research had gone into the trip on Patty's behalf, and while it seemed like the perfect fit, the birdcage chairlift had been causing some angst and sleepless nights. Having experienced the power of distraction during intense training sessions, I suggested to Patty that she could borrow my iPhone and listen to some music while going up the chairlift. The idea was readily accepted and plan put in place.
Lining up and looking up the mountain with the chairlift was a little daunting, even for someone who isn't scared of heights. The chairlift incorporated literally a metal birdcage frame big enough for two people to squeeze into. The floor was a few bars of iron with large gaps to see through and you needed to jump into the cage as it didn't slow down to pick you up - I didn't think Patty was going to make it! However, earphones firmly in place with 'Grease Ligtening' pumping out, Patty was firmly ushered into the birdcage by her friend Tri and taken up the top. After a few finger imprints, beads of sweet and 14 "are we there yet?" to Tri, Patty made it to the top of Gubbio. I was so proud of her for looking her fear in the face, taking it on, and conquering the mountain. Thank-you John Travolta!
My final example for the blog post also comes from the Intrepid Italia adventure in the form of my new friend Richard, who hail from New York and is in the NY Police force. His journey to the NY Police Force hasn't all been roses and gelato, it has been full of ups and downs. Richard was born with cerebral palsey and when he was entering his early teens, doctors told him by his early twenties that he would be in a wheelchair. Having a 'screw that' attitude, and 'I am going to forge my own path' mentality, Richard promptly began going to the gym and taking martial arts classes in an attempt to build strength in his legs and defy the doctor's predictions. He also had surgery on his legs to lengthen the calf muscle. Richard is now in his thirties, has been a cop for a number of years and is showing no sign of slowing down - especially after I witnessed some dam cool moves on a dance floor in Rome. Doctors - they don't always get it right.
The choices and attitude you take determines the path you take in life - what will your attitude be?!
13 June 2012
An Italian Lunch (blog post 4.1)
Quick, schnell, andare, no no no - pronto, somebody pinch me!! I believe I may have just died and gone to heaven. No, i havent just run into George Clooney in Como (although a friend of a friend did) and agreed to enter the realm of marriage bliss - manana mañana. Instead, I have just returned from Spello where we had a feast at the Enoteca Properzio - the most famous wine bar in Umbria. I can now definitely verify this claim. Eight generations of sommeliers and harvesting Umbrian grapes from the vineyards between Spello and Assisi in my mind makes the Angelini Family experts within vitoculture world. The Intrepid group was treated to a guided seven-course meal matched with speciality Umbrian wines, olive oil and Modena balsamic vinegar; I was assured that the kilo joule fairy had waved her magic wand today.
We began with some bruschetta covered in olive oil. 'So what!' I hear some of you thinking, 'you can get olive oil for five bucks a pop down at the local BP service station..' This was no ordinary olive oil my friends. Many years in the making, only 5000 bottles ever made (we marked the thousandth bottle), organically, biodynamically, sprititually, ecumenically, gramatically grown olive oil - it was THE olive oil. And matched with a light, fruity grechetto wine. Under the instruction and watchful eye of Roberto Angelini, we firstly swirled the wine to release the aromas, next we held the glass next to our hand to determine the colour. A bit more swirling, some deep inhaling over the wine glass and finally the first sip. Bliss.
A few more varieties of bruschetta were then consumed with more wine before we moved onto a traditional Italian salad with Modena balsamic vinegar and our first experience of an Umbrian red wine. Definitely moving into my home territory now, however, a food/wine coma was starting to set in and the aviators were needed for a sneaky five minute power nap between courses. Mattia, our Intrepid tour leader, had some great ideas about setting up a similar Enoteca but with a room full of couches and beds where people can rest between courses - genius in my books.
Nevertheless, we powered on and were treated to a platter filled with all of the different types of meats and cheeses you could imagine. Two cheeses were flavoured, the rest were for dipping lightly in acacia honey. I took a stab at which cheeses to dip into the honey, and while I think I may have got one mixed up, my inexperienced palate found the whole platter delightful.
Desert was a simple affair of chocolate biscotti matched with a sweet desert wine and Italian espresso. Perfetto. The beauty of presenting guests with simple, traditional, Italian food that was bursting with flavour, and then combine it with rare, quality, regional wine was a winning combination. Naturally I had to roll onto the train and opted not to walk the 8km back to the hotel, a wise decision that was mentally justified by my stair running session this morning - all the 'that girl is crazy' looks from the Italian public have to be worth something right?!
Until next time,
Eat well, happy and in the moment,
Han (+ a few new kilos)
We began with some bruschetta covered in olive oil. 'So what!' I hear some of you thinking, 'you can get olive oil for five bucks a pop down at the local BP service station..' This was no ordinary olive oil my friends. Many years in the making, only 5000 bottles ever made (we marked the thousandth bottle), organically, biodynamically, sprititually, ecumenically, gramatically grown olive oil - it was THE olive oil. And matched with a light, fruity grechetto wine. Under the instruction and watchful eye of Roberto Angelini, we firstly swirled the wine to release the aromas, next we held the glass next to our hand to determine the colour. A bit more swirling, some deep inhaling over the wine glass and finally the first sip. Bliss.
A few more varieties of bruschetta were then consumed with more wine before we moved onto a traditional Italian salad with Modena balsamic vinegar and our first experience of an Umbrian red wine. Definitely moving into my home territory now, however, a food/wine coma was starting to set in and the aviators were needed for a sneaky five minute power nap between courses. Mattia, our Intrepid tour leader, had some great ideas about setting up a similar Enoteca but with a room full of couches and beds where people can rest between courses - genius in my books.
Nevertheless, we powered on and were treated to a platter filled with all of the different types of meats and cheeses you could imagine. Two cheeses were flavoured, the rest were for dipping lightly in acacia honey. I took a stab at which cheeses to dip into the honey, and while I think I may have got one mixed up, my inexperienced palate found the whole platter delightful.
Desert was a simple affair of chocolate biscotti matched with a sweet desert wine and Italian espresso. Perfetto. The beauty of presenting guests with simple, traditional, Italian food that was bursting with flavour, and then combine it with rare, quality, regional wine was a winning combination. Naturally I had to roll onto the train and opted not to walk the 8km back to the hotel, a wise decision that was mentally justified by my stair running session this morning - all the 'that girl is crazy' looks from the Italian public have to be worth something right?!
Until next time,
Eat well, happy and in the moment,
Han (+ a few new kilos)
Italia on 1.73 legs
The two wheels have been packed away and are now awaiting my arrival in Nice. A special shout out to the Bike Dreams team for organizing this and to Glyn who cleaned/packed it away given my rushed departure out of Como - I think it will be my shout at the next few (hundred) coffee stops...
So feeling almost slightly naked without my bike but have definitely put the 1.73 legs and carbon finish to good use over the past week on the Intrepid Italy Uncovered tour. Not many people can say that they literally walked their legs off; it has been pure bliss each evening coming back to the different hotels and being able to whack off one leg. Apparently it doesn't work on both sides though - mum explained that one to me a few years ago around the same time we had the birds and bees talk.
It has been fantastic meeting lots of new people - Intrepid have a policy of a max of 12 people per tour. As the Italy Uncoveored Tour is a combo package (I.e. Umbria and Rome to Amalfi) we had a changing of the guard in Roma with the NZ sisters and New Yorker leaving us and two girls from Mebourne, two from Orange (NSW), a Canadian and Brazilian joining us. The couple from Wollongong, two friends from Delaware (USA), plus myself, are the lucky ones who are going all the way from Venice to Amalfi.
Having an Italian as our Intrepid Tour Leader, affectionately dubbed Capo Mattia, has made the world of difference and meant that we have eaten at all the best local places in Venice, Gubbio, Assisi, Spello and Roma (please see blog post 4.1 for a blow-by-blow description on the lunch in Spello - it was only supposed to be a paragraph in the current blog post but the excitement captured by my typing fingers saw a stand alone post created).
It is interesting how quickly one can start to get to know a city and how quickly one can slip into patterns. Being back in Venice I knew I wanted to go to the Peggy Guggenheim for some Picasso, the Galleria dell'Accademia for some local Venetian art, and participate in a 'must do' Gondola ride; for those not wishing to spend €80 there is the taster option to cross over the Grand Canal on a Gondola for the relatively cheaper price of €2. All new experiences. However, I returned to the hidden little park I had found on both mornings in Venice for some exercise (and receivied the same number of weird looks from the Venetians) and tracked across town, down some alleyways, and crossed a piazza with two trees in the middle just to find the bakery where I had had the Worlds Best pastries. I even got a free biscuit from the lady behind the counter because she remembered me. No longer the timid traveller, I made my way boldly down unexplored alleys and pathways, knowing that in the end you always find some landmark you are familiar with. Unfortunately, my Italian language skills haven't improved quite as much as my confidence and I ended up buying some rather oddly shaped g-string pads definitely made for Italian women - not quite the 100% cotton ones with random fact sheets that they sell in Woolworths back home.
Going from the 'big smoke' of Venice to the little country town of Gubbio, where the population is only 32 000, provided a chance to catch ones breath and explore a gorgeous medieval town at a leisurely pace. Naturally, our groups exploring included frequent gelato stops, scrumptious Italian foods with highlights such as a truffle Lasagne at the two Michellin star restaurant Grotta dell'Angelo, and a locally bought Italian picnic lunch overlooking Gubbio and Umbria that saw stuffed olives, fresh fruit, delectable cakes, and devine cheeses all consumed. I really don't know why I then had a massive craving for a meat pie with lots of Heinz Big Red Tomato sauce a few hours later, I think my brain wiring is experiencing some malfunctions. Either that or demonstrating the power of our addiction to sugar and ingrained habits.
Thankfully I was able to clear my head and wash alway the thoughts of meat pies during our hike down from Gubbio. After feeling a bit like Keira Knightly in Pride and Prejudice when her hair is whipping alluringly around in the wind while overlooking rugged mountains (just replace the Lakes district with Umbria and the 19th century style dress with a Polo T-shirt and Ray Bans), we made our way down a steep, gravel path where I constantly felt like Mr Tummnus from the Narnia movies would step out from behind the next tree. Hopefully I am painting some good pictures because I have literally felt like I am in a movie set the whole time I have been away. The surreal feeling extended into Assisi where midnight walks saw the stars speckled in an inky backdrop with the Basilica di San Francesco bathed by the city lights in the foreground. Unfortunately, the picture wasn't completed with the friar who had been spotted earlier that day; the Nike runners glimpsed intermittently under the tunic would have been picture perfect.
The three hour train ride from Roma to Naples is nearly at an end. To say I am just a little excited to go the home town of pizza and try the best pizza in the world, according to Eat, Pray, Love and our Intrepid guide notes, is a little bit of an understatement. Be prepared for more blog posts on food, apologies if I have made anybody hungry!
Till next time,
Ride safe, ride happy, ride in the moment
Han
So feeling almost slightly naked without my bike but have definitely put the 1.73 legs and carbon finish to good use over the past week on the Intrepid Italy Uncovered tour. Not many people can say that they literally walked their legs off; it has been pure bliss each evening coming back to the different hotels and being able to whack off one leg. Apparently it doesn't work on both sides though - mum explained that one to me a few years ago around the same time we had the birds and bees talk.
It has been fantastic meeting lots of new people - Intrepid have a policy of a max of 12 people per tour. As the Italy Uncoveored Tour is a combo package (I.e. Umbria and Rome to Amalfi) we had a changing of the guard in Roma with the NZ sisters and New Yorker leaving us and two girls from Mebourne, two from Orange (NSW), a Canadian and Brazilian joining us. The couple from Wollongong, two friends from Delaware (USA), plus myself, are the lucky ones who are going all the way from Venice to Amalfi.
Having an Italian as our Intrepid Tour Leader, affectionately dubbed Capo Mattia, has made the world of difference and meant that we have eaten at all the best local places in Venice, Gubbio, Assisi, Spello and Roma (please see blog post 4.1 for a blow-by-blow description on the lunch in Spello - it was only supposed to be a paragraph in the current blog post but the excitement captured by my typing fingers saw a stand alone post created).
It is interesting how quickly one can start to get to know a city and how quickly one can slip into patterns. Being back in Venice I knew I wanted to go to the Peggy Guggenheim for some Picasso, the Galleria dell'Accademia for some local Venetian art, and participate in a 'must do' Gondola ride; for those not wishing to spend €80 there is the taster option to cross over the Grand Canal on a Gondola for the relatively cheaper price of €2. All new experiences. However, I returned to the hidden little park I had found on both mornings in Venice for some exercise (and receivied the same number of weird looks from the Venetians) and tracked across town, down some alleyways, and crossed a piazza with two trees in the middle just to find the bakery where I had had the Worlds Best pastries. I even got a free biscuit from the lady behind the counter because she remembered me. No longer the timid traveller, I made my way boldly down unexplored alleys and pathways, knowing that in the end you always find some landmark you are familiar with. Unfortunately, my Italian language skills haven't improved quite as much as my confidence and I ended up buying some rather oddly shaped g-string pads definitely made for Italian women - not quite the 100% cotton ones with random fact sheets that they sell in Woolworths back home.
Going from the 'big smoke' of Venice to the little country town of Gubbio, where the population is only 32 000, provided a chance to catch ones breath and explore a gorgeous medieval town at a leisurely pace. Naturally, our groups exploring included frequent gelato stops, scrumptious Italian foods with highlights such as a truffle Lasagne at the two Michellin star restaurant Grotta dell'Angelo, and a locally bought Italian picnic lunch overlooking Gubbio and Umbria that saw stuffed olives, fresh fruit, delectable cakes, and devine cheeses all consumed. I really don't know why I then had a massive craving for a meat pie with lots of Heinz Big Red Tomato sauce a few hours later, I think my brain wiring is experiencing some malfunctions. Either that or demonstrating the power of our addiction to sugar and ingrained habits.
Thankfully I was able to clear my head and wash alway the thoughts of meat pies during our hike down from Gubbio. After feeling a bit like Keira Knightly in Pride and Prejudice when her hair is whipping alluringly around in the wind while overlooking rugged mountains (just replace the Lakes district with Umbria and the 19th century style dress with a Polo T-shirt and Ray Bans), we made our way down a steep, gravel path where I constantly felt like Mr Tummnus from the Narnia movies would step out from behind the next tree. Hopefully I am painting some good pictures because I have literally felt like I am in a movie set the whole time I have been away. The surreal feeling extended into Assisi where midnight walks saw the stars speckled in an inky backdrop with the Basilica di San Francesco bathed by the city lights in the foreground. Unfortunately, the picture wasn't completed with the friar who had been spotted earlier that day; the Nike runners glimpsed intermittently under the tunic would have been picture perfect.
The three hour train ride from Roma to Naples is nearly at an end. To say I am just a little excited to go the home town of pizza and try the best pizza in the world, according to Eat, Pray, Love and our Intrepid guide notes, is a little bit of an understatement. Be prepared for more blog posts on food, apologies if I have made anybody hungry!
Till next time,
Ride safe, ride happy, ride in the moment
Han
3 June 2012
A cylinder + a chain + a few colorful words = completion of the 2012 La Bella Italia
Wow. What an amazing few weeks with the Bike Dreams team. We rode as a group of 28 riders from the ferry in Belagio into Como two days ago; ironically I punctured in the last five meters. There was a rather large sigh of relief knowing that I didn't have to change my tyre and could go drink some champagne, or sparkling wine, instead. Como marked the end of the La Bella Italia tour and I am extremely excited to be rejoining th Bike Dreams team and ride from Nice to Barcelona in two weeks time.
The adventures since the Dolomites are numerous - Stelvio has been climbed and conquered, a three peaks with over 3200m of climbing and gradients of greater than 18% have heard a few colourful words come out of my mouth, and new foodie experiences have been enjoyed.
The day of the three peaks is definitely one that I will never forget. I will be internally grateful to the Bike Dreams mechanic, Ricahrd, who put a 32 cog on the back of my bike. For all those not quite in the world of Lycra, having a 32 on the back meant that instead of going backwards down the steep mountains I was able to crawl up them at 6-7km per hour.
The day also included my first puncture of the trip, it just happened to be in a dark, damp, cold, wet and miserable 750m-long cobblestone tunnel. The perfect place to puncture right?! Still being the sight cycling novice that I am, I had packed my Co2 gas cylinder but didn't realize one has to have a converter to get the gas from the cylinder into your bike tube. My adopted Dutch parents, Theo and Marjan, luckily saved the day and not only got out their converter but also helped the DID change her tyre. Life saver award of the day number one.
After riding up and down some more mountains, we were on our last descent for the day with 8km till the campsite. Somehow I managed to break my chain during this descent. The Aussie attitude of 'bugger that' came into play. As such the next 7.5km down hill saw me ride without a chain. We hit some issues though as with 665m till camp we came to a hill. Alright if one can peddle but not too great in my then current situation. The boys were keen to push me to the campsite but it was a bit dicey with all the Italian traffic. Low and behold Ray, the mountain biker from Townsville, joined up with us and had a 9 speed quick link that would hold my broken chain together. Life saver award of the day number two.
Naturally i have been experienceing amazing food, quite surprised i havent actually put on about 10kgs yet... I tried venison for the first time yesterday but, more excitingly, my spinach at dinner (trying to emulate Pop Eye and get big and strong) had butter in it; it is interesting the cravings one gets when away. I have also had fleeting cravings for charcoal chicken and a kebab with lots of garlic sauce- these generally occur at the top of mountains when there is nothing but you, the wilderness, and half of a melted energy bar in your back jersey pocket covered in the banana you squished earlier that day...
The next part of my journey does not include two wheels, not sure how I will go, but involves lots of sightseeing from Venice down to the Amalfi coast. New people, new locations, and new stories to come!
Till next time,
Ride safe, ride happy, ride in the moment
Han
The adventures since the Dolomites are numerous - Stelvio has been climbed and conquered, a three peaks with over 3200m of climbing and gradients of greater than 18% have heard a few colourful words come out of my mouth, and new foodie experiences have been enjoyed.
The day of the three peaks is definitely one that I will never forget. I will be internally grateful to the Bike Dreams mechanic, Ricahrd, who put a 32 cog on the back of my bike. For all those not quite in the world of Lycra, having a 32 on the back meant that instead of going backwards down the steep mountains I was able to crawl up them at 6-7km per hour.
The day also included my first puncture of the trip, it just happened to be in a dark, damp, cold, wet and miserable 750m-long cobblestone tunnel. The perfect place to puncture right?! Still being the sight cycling novice that I am, I had packed my Co2 gas cylinder but didn't realize one has to have a converter to get the gas from the cylinder into your bike tube. My adopted Dutch parents, Theo and Marjan, luckily saved the day and not only got out their converter but also helped the DID change her tyre. Life saver award of the day number one.
After riding up and down some more mountains, we were on our last descent for the day with 8km till the campsite. Somehow I managed to break my chain during this descent. The Aussie attitude of 'bugger that' came into play. As such the next 7.5km down hill saw me ride without a chain. We hit some issues though as with 665m till camp we came to a hill. Alright if one can peddle but not too great in my then current situation. The boys were keen to push me to the campsite but it was a bit dicey with all the Italian traffic. Low and behold Ray, the mountain biker from Townsville, joined up with us and had a 9 speed quick link that would hold my broken chain together. Life saver award of the day number two.
Naturally i have been experienceing amazing food, quite surprised i havent actually put on about 10kgs yet... I tried venison for the first time yesterday but, more excitingly, my spinach at dinner (trying to emulate Pop Eye and get big and strong) had butter in it; it is interesting the cravings one gets when away. I have also had fleeting cravings for charcoal chicken and a kebab with lots of garlic sauce- these generally occur at the top of mountains when there is nothing but you, the wilderness, and half of a melted energy bar in your back jersey pocket covered in the banana you squished earlier that day...
The next part of my journey does not include two wheels, not sure how I will go, but involves lots of sightseeing from Venice down to the Amalfi coast. New people, new locations, and new stories to come!
Till next time,
Ride safe, ride happy, ride in the moment
Han
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