VeloVeritas

Giro d’Italia – Day 7: Stage 20, Napoli – Anagni (0)

How is it that a country which spawned Campag, Ducati, Ferrari and Armani can’t get the plumbing to work?

Last night’s hotel had the electrical switch for the shower just a couple of inches from the shower head; the difference between being scalded and freezing was two microns on the control.

The people are so friendly here in Naples; the boy in the toll booth last night gave us a row for not having the €1:60 ready – we should have known it was a pre-pay toll. The roads are horrific, a lot of them are concrete, which has split and potholed – dire.

The Edinburgh Nocturne – It’s Millar’s Night (1)

The Face Partnership, the guys behind the Revolution Series on the track, brought an evening of exciting, all-category and professional racing to Edinburgh last night, in the shape of their successful Nocturne format.

The circuit was based around the Grassmarket area of the city, and with plenty of restaurants and pubs lining the route, the beautiful evening had a particular festive feel to it.

Giro d’Italia – Day 6: Stage 19, Avellino – Vesuvio (0)

It’s 12.25 and we’re headed for a road that the men’s lifestyle and driving mags rave about; The Amalfi Coast.

Amalfi, Porto Fino, Sorrento – playgrounds of the rich and famous.

The stage today is the last big bare knuckle battle; Di Luca’s last chance to unseat Menchov.

Giro d’Italia – Day 5: Stage 18, Sulmona – Benevento (0)

Ciao, ciao ! To go in the “it’s a small world” file – when we left you last night, we’d narrowly escaped running out of gas en route Sulmona.

After a bit of messing around, we found the apartment; who answered the door?

Scott McGrory, former six day star – with 15 wins – and that isn’t easy in ‘the race to nowhere’. He works for Fox Sports TV in Australia now and was sharing our digs.

Giro d’Italia – Day 4: Stage 17, Chieti – Blockhaus (0)

I woke with a start, in the middle of the night, damn! I thought, things I should have mentioned, in the diary – Blockhaus; today’s mega climb, we caught sight of it yesterday morning as we hurtled down the Autostrada.

The computer was reading 30+ degrees, the road was gently rolling along, parallel to the Adriatic and in front of us was this huge mass of snow covered rock – awe inspiring, but with too much heat haze to photograph: we’ll get a close look today.

And I should also have mentioned – Cipo; he strode into the hotel lobby, just off his bike, tall, slim, tanned and looking very fit – I do have concerns however, that he shaves his chest.

Giro d’Italia – Day 3: Rest Day (0)

I just don’t feel right in the mornings ’til I get my Gazzetta. Dave drove past a couple of newsagents this morning, I could see the pink pages, but not get to them – it was terrible!

Dave predicted that Carlos would get 9 out of 10 – he was spot on. Levi got 4 and the man that the Gazzetta loves to hate; Gibo Simoni didn’t even get a mention.

Silvi Marina was the destination; Dave battered the Peugeot down the Autostrada for our rendezvous with Rubens Bertogliati, Ben Swift and Dario Cioni.

Giro d’Italia – Day 2: Stage 16, Pergola – Monte Petrano (0)

La Gazzetta Dello Sport doesn’t like Gibo Simoni, he gets a 3 out of 10 for yesterday’s effort, where he contrived to drop 17:59 on the stage – ouch! Saving it for today? We’ll see.

At 08:00 it’s already 28 degrees! It’s going to be a “Hot one!”

Dave’s at the helm of the Peugeot – we’re following Ale (Pez’s man in Italia) to the start at Pergola – the Stereophonics are telling us to “Have a nice day” and I’ve got my Gazzetta – can’t be bad.

Rab Wardell – Rab’s Rás (0)

Giro or not, we had to do our final catch up with a man who doesn’t just talk about racing – he’s in the saddle, jousting with old war horses like Kirsipuu and Eeckhout.

As we approached the Monte Petrano climb, yesterday I caught up with Rab, back in the Old Country, via the wonders of digital technology.

Giro d’Italia – Day 1: Stage 15, Forlì – Faenza (0)

Coming down the stairs at 05:00 am to the find the car had been broken into wasn’t a good start to the day. But that’s life.

The M8, M77, Prestwick, Ryanair and here we are; in the 37 degree heat of Bologna, heading south to Faenza and our credentials.

Getting the ‘creds’ is always a big relief; there’s usually hassle to get them; it’s always nice to feel those bits of plastic around your neck.

Bert Roesems and Rab Wardell #2 – Two Tales from the Rás (0)

We last spoke to our two men inside the Ras after stage three on Tuesday evening; with the toughest stage of the race to come the next day.

It was Friday when we spoke again; we hadn’t had a chance to check the results for the day, so that was our first question.

Bert Roesems and Rab Wardell #1 – In the Mix at the Rás (0)

Whilst the world goes ‘Giro crazy,’ other races that don’t involve pink jerseys go on their way without Lance and all the hype-the FDB Insurance Rás is one of them.

When Viktor and I heard that Nico Eeckhout, Jaan Kirsipuu and Bert Roesems were riding, we nearly hopped the ferry to Ireland there and then.

Edinburgh Nocturne Criterium – Preview (0)

A phone call from Craig MacLean the other day;

“I’ll be up in Edinburgh on Monday morning, to do some promo for the Nocturne races at the end of the month, fancy catching up?”

For sure mate. And so I pottered along to the press launch of the Nocturne event today, which centered around an exhibition of roller racing, with the wonderful backdrop of Edinburgh Castle.

Scottish 10 Mile Time Trial Championship 2009 (0)

Scottish time trialling came within ten seconds of a major upset on the wind swept tarmac of the A77 near Newton Mearns on Saturday morning as 45 year-old Peter Ettles (Forres) thrashed his 104″ fixed gear to within that many seconds of defending 10 mile champion and current short distance king, Arthur Doyle (Dooleys).

James Cambridge – One of Cycling’s Unsung Heroes (0)

“Do you remember the James Cambridge boy we were talking to at that kermesse in Sersekamp, four or five years ago?” says Viktor.

“Red Specialized, great tan, pro’s legs and a cool Craft under vest?” I reply.

“That’s him; he was top ten in the Rutland race, last weekend-he’d be a good boy to talk to.”

“A Dog in a Hat” by Joe Parkin (0)

A Dog in a Hat is the remarkable story of Joe Parkin. In 1987, Parkin left the comforts of home to become a bike racer in Belgium, the hardest place in the world to be a bike racer.

As one of the first American pros in Europe, Parkin was what the Belgians call “a dog with a hat on” “” something familiar, yet decidedly out of place.

Parkin’s memoir reads like a novel. In plainspoken and fast-paced prose, Parkin describes the true life of the professional bike racer, putting the reader into the whirlwind of this hardest of athletic educations.