Filling in the final 60 minutes aka watch out Sicily here I come!

I'm glad I'm travelling from winter to summer, I mean how else could I justify fronting up at the luggage weighing/ticket person's desk wearing 5 layers if I was travelling in February?  At least travelling in May I can have a hope of justifying waddling up to the counter sweating profusely from wearing far too many clothes?  We all know why I'm doing it, but at least its not 40 degrees C outside.   I'm exaggerating a bit, but I'm never one to let the truth get in the way of a good story/visual image.

FYI  my bike box weighs in at just over 15kg, my checked in baggage is just under 6kg, carry on backpack 7kg exactly, I also have musette with a "reasonable amount of reading matter" and lap top, and finally a bum bag stuffed with precious goodies..garmin, phones, money, passport, ticket.  I don't expect to have to pay for the 1kg over on the long haul but might get stung from Rome to Palermo.

So here's the itinerary for the more sedate first few days of my holiday..

May 8th fly to Palermo via Singapore and Rome

May 9th meet up with my sister, she's coming from London.  Stay at Cinisi near the airport,

May 10th hire car drive post haste to Nicolosi stay  that night and the 11th ( visit Mount Etna and Taormina), 

May 12th drive to Siracusa 

May 13th drive to Agrigento via Ragusa

May 14th drive to Palermo via Trapani (farewell sister..she flies home to UK from Trapani), return the car and meet up with cycling group.
May 15th let the sufferfest begin.

Sicily

Day 1- Palermo to Santo Stefan Quisquina.....103km, 1533m of climbing Day 2- SSQ to Agrigento....75km 1200m climbing Day 3- Agrigento to Geracei...107km 1600m climbing Day 4- Geracei to Nicolosi...115km 2542m climbing Day 5- Nicolosi to Taormina...82km 1543m climbing Day 6- rest (and be thankful!) Taormina Day 7- Taormina to the ferry at Messina and then to Palmi...85km 1126m climbing

well I had to have a day off on day 5 as day 4 shattered me totally..my gearing is too unfriendly.  I'm borrowing one of the staff's compact cranks until i can find a bike shop that has one to sell me.  the steepness is less of an issue than the length of the hills/mountains.

First day wet wet wet then sunny.

I'm writing this in an internet shop while my computer is being fixed...so no pix and can't access my facebook page as I can't answer their security questions!  I must have put down a false birth date to prevent identity theft and can't recall what I put!

Am having fun!

The training begins

The tour de rural industries

OK...so today's epic was 104.3 km, 4 hours 30 mins 55 seconds all up..prob 2 minutes of that standing still at lights (3 times only and all in the last hour) and once crossing a busy road..also in the last hour.  The ride was s'posed to be 110km but I made a small navigational error and so went north of the dam instead of south.  Only 2 road kill, no hoons, plenty of short hills and a squillion rows of who'd know what crop.

Damage to my body? nothing a rest wont fix..Towards the end I was getting a bit of cramp, was doing a lot of standing up(!) and had some neck ache, but that's all..my knee was fine..it coped well with the undulations.  The only problem is that I don't know which of the 4..yes 4 count them 1..2..3..4 things I did to try and fix my knee was/were the one(s) that fixed it.  We all know the  golden rule which is to change one thing at a time..but well, I didn't... I did the following:

1. checked out my road bike and noticed the seat had dropped down a bit, so I lifted it to its correct height (probably about 2mm higher).
2. decided that since  my riding in Italy wasn't a short TT, I'd better move from black to grey cleats (grey ones have some rotational play in them..black ones don't)
3. decided to have 3 days off the bike
4. took some Voltaren

gotta get horizontal for a while....

48 days and counting

With a hook like this one below, is there any doubt I would be tempted (direct from La Bella Italia website):

Highlights of La Bella Italia Cycling Challenge:

• Visiting Mount Etna Pompeii, Rome, Florence and Venice. 
• Cycling through the majestic Dolomites and visiting the serene mountain towns amongst the peaks. The spectacular panoramic views are a just reward for the burn in the legs!
• Climbing the fabulous Passo dello Stelvio (2,758m) with its 48 hairpins. This is a very challenging climb on the highest asphalt mountain pass in Italy and you feel a great sense of achievement at the top.
• Cycling along the Amalfi Coast, which is one of the most enchanting coastlines in Europe and renowned for its rugged terrain, scenic beauty and picturesque towns.
• Absorbing the culture and lifestyle Italy has to offer. Cycling around 100km per day means plenty of hungry riders and we make the most of the beautiful Italian food and wine. 

Already done:

• Deposit has been paid, flights booked and paid for
• Medical done   
• Shopping done for hard to find emergency bike spares eg spokes for the Kysriums, derailleur hanger for my custom made Teschner bike and I've even bought a puncture repair kit, something I've not bothered with for ages, since I've never been that far from help in the unlikely event of a double puncture. 

Still to do:

• pay the rest of the $$
• provide a mug shot and medical certificate
• get my body ready for the task ie used to riding approx 100km for days on end- drop kilos and get my sore right knee under control (a patello-femoral crunching annoyance which is a  legacy of my hour attempt)
• get my bike  ready for the task..already got a more friendly gearing than usual, but probably not really friendly enough

But before I get on the bike for this challenge, I have a four day tour of Sicily with my sister in order get rid of jet lag, get used to the place and the weather and  to see the countryside while not under pressure, biting my handlebars, drooling and breathing heavily! 

B'nB's are booked, the car has been hired, advice on dealing with Italian roads and drivers been learned and we're ready to go!  
So:
May 9th arrive and sleep the comatose sleep of the recent long haul cattle class  passenger, 
May 10th and 11th   Nicolosi for the  Mt Etna and Taormina experience
May 12th Siracusa (UNESCO Heritage listed town, birthplace of Archimedes, mentioned in the bible)
May 13th Agrigento (history, valley of the temples)
May 14th back to Cinisi via Trepani (my sister flies into and out of this airport) and meet up with cycling group for start of adventure no 1 for 2010.

and now its light enough outside so I'd better get out on the bike and attend to getting the body  sorted.