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Posted by on Jun 7, 2013 in cycling and bike pics | 0 comments

A photo op with the Carabinieri

A photo op with the Carabinieri

I did a short bike ride today and was on my way back home when I saw a couple of Carabinieri near the town of Trappeto. One of them had just stopped a car and was talking to the driver, while the other was just standing next to their car, looking like a real bad-ass with his black leather boots and impressive uniform (something like this). The car the carabinieri use is black with red stripes and has a white logo, just like my Ridley Helium SL. I slowed down and approached the carabiniere standing next to the car: “Good afternoon sir, maybe a strange question, but is it okay if I take a picture of my bike and your car?” -“No, I’m sorry, that’s not allowed.” “No problem, it’s just that the color schemes are similar, which would make for a nice photo. Anyway, sorry to bother you, have a nice day!” -“Hang on! Please wait until we send that lady over there on her way.” I waited...

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Posted by on May 31, 2013 in cycling and bike pics, miscellaneous | 0 comments

Garibaldi and his “mille”, a ride to the Pianto Romano near Calatafimi

Garibaldi and his “mille”, a ride to the Pianto Romano near Calatafimi

I love riding my bike in the area near Segesta, but even though I’ve been there countless times, there are still some roads left to discover. So yesterday I decided to go in the direction of Segesta and explore a new route. I took the SS113 in the direction of Trapani and crossed the railroad close to the train station of Calatafimi – Segesta : and followed the road in the direction of Calatafimi. I passed Calatafimi and turned left on the SS188. This road (5.6% average with max. 10/11% gradients) leads through the hilly countryside with many vineyards to the small village of Vita. When in Vita, there are several options to go back in the direction of Calatafimi. I chose the SP61, which is a smaller country road (asphalted though). On the descent you can see the town of Calatafimi in the distance: The SP61 leads to the Pianto Romano, a hill where on May 15th 1860 a great battle between Garibaldi and his “mille” (Resistance Army)...

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Posted by on May 29, 2013 in training | 4 comments

King of the mountain

King of the mountain

Now that I work with a coach, I regularly do some low HR zone rides. I never did a lot of those easy rides and when I did, there was always another cyclist in the distance that I decided to start chasing down… Now I really try to stick to the HR zones mentioned in my workouts. Staying below a certain heart rate has became a nice game, especially when climbing in the warm Sicilian weather. A few days ago coach Rob had a low HR zone ride planned for me, so I went out and slowly made my way from the beach of the coastal town of Balestrate through the lovely town of Castellammare del Golfo in the direction of Segesta. I usually stop a lot on these low HR zone rides to take some pics I can post on Twitter or this blog and this day was no exception: I wanted to update a photo I once took near the temple of Segesta when I did a...

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Posted by on May 15, 2013 in cycling and bike pics | 0 comments

Bike ride near Terrasini (PA) in March 2013

Bike ride near Terrasini (PA) in March 2013

I decided to go and do the L5 ride on again a lovely sunny day in March this year. Not the best day to set a personal record: there are two railroad crossings, one in Trappeto and one near Terrasini (see photo) and I had to wait at both for the train to pass. The spectators clearly weren’t impressed with my efforts on the bike, so they went on with their...

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