Please feel free to weigh in on this one...it is quite fantastic!
http://www.youtube.com/user/
And for those of you watching at work...your fired!
S.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
...had to share it
still not sure what to make of it, but it will do for now...
Please feel free to weigh in on this one...it is quite fantastic!
http://www.youtube.com/user/flexmini?feature=pyv&ad=9178284461&kw=#p/u/0/DbQfTWV5Xx8
And for those of you watching at work...your fired!
S.
Please feel free to weigh in on this one...it is quite fantastic!
http://www.youtube.com/user/
And for those of you watching at work...your fired!
S.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Big bike rides, and even BIGGER bonfires!
Its officially SPRING here at the Farm...and that can only mean 2 things...bike rides and FIRE!
Saturday morning was a day to ride!
I had planned on getting a group of Tour-Leaders-gone-soft-with-winters-pasta together for a little welcome back Randonnee, or Brevet, but the two interested in my ridiculous 100K idea flaked out at the last minute. The always-down-for-a-ride Lisa Merighi - hitherto referred to in the pages of this blog as Vivian (a suitable name to go with the glasses)...
was the only one who rallied. Not only did she rally, she played tour guide in some local caves,
...and she suggested an alternate route that added on some serious climbing. Nothing like a little pizza in the pines...
and the enjoyment of gellatto as only it can be experienced after climbing a mountain pass in the spring.
Lunch in the piazza of Casola Valsenio...
An amazing descent and some getting turned around in the farm land, and the worst cramp ever in my guts and I made it back just a bit shy of the 100K goal. Beat but not to beat to see the Festa Del FALO!
So there is a tradition here in Italy that dates back to prehistory, tradition and ritual during the changing seasons that date back further than written documents. They have their roots steeped in pagan ritual and earthen elements. Spring is a time of renewal, of trimming back the winters dead growth, and of conditioning the soil for the upcoming growing season. Add that up and you get one hell of an excuse to throw a big fat bonfire party, complete with Heineken Girls and regional cuisine. When we walked up Rob exclaimed "Dude, It smells like funnel cake, that shit is all over the world!"
Now Im not talking about no stack of palletes on the beach, waiting for drunk kids to try to jump over or a county faire with free balloons for the kiddos. I mean massive piles of dead trimmed sticks, kindling we call it, surrounded with a puffy coat of dry hay...
The town is divided in two by the river so each neighborhood, or BORGO has their preferred shape and construction method, one more dome shaped, one more conical. Each intended to burn long, hot, high and intense.
look at those dudes RUN!
The night was a 4-alarm, OSHA safety laws and the right to sue everybody don't live here anymore kind of blaze. And a HUGE dance party in the piazza to boot. All prefaced with the simple posted warning that "Hey, this fucker is gonna burn, don't get too close, cause that would be pretty dumb."
The kind-hearted pyromaniacs in Rocca San Cascianno take their fire rituals very seriously. And with more than a couple pin-hole burns in my hat and jacket from flying embers - I do to now.
watch the video here. and if fires not enough, try fire WITH fireworks!
Yup, thats a 6 story blaze, no more than 100 feet from where Rob and I saught shelter by ducking down behind a waist high embankment in the castle walls.
With the shifting winds, the billowing smoke gave you about 2 seconds warning that the flame was coming next. Fire licked the walls where we stood and its amazing no one gets hurt.
Embers flying high above the city dance party...
Sunday found me waking without an alarm and craving some 'merican breaky. I made a mountain of potatoes and cooked 3 eggs, ate it up and fell back asleep for another hour to the sound of birds singing in the peach orchard outside my open windows. quite pleasing for sure! But I wanted another ride, and so I set out again for an "easy" jaunt through the flat farm lands to the east of us.
I found all kinds of roads, from paved to bumpy dirt, grasslands and singletracks, mostly on the banks along the river headed east, all fairly empty.
Cut through a couple sleepy sunday hamlets
...and worked my way back to Faenza where I hit a vending machine (yup, that's a can o' beer and a bag of "Fonzies") and stopped and get a real photo of my homies slapping high fives at the record store.
All said and done. maybe a little more than originally planned...
Home to eat and now here I sit with a grin on my face, a full but not too full belly, a bit of a sunkissed tan and a tinge of burn still in the legs. A killer weekend in all, and a perfect way to welcome in the spring!
Scotty
Saturday morning was a day to ride!
I had planned on getting a group of Tour-Leaders-gone-soft-with-winters-pasta together for a little welcome back Randonnee, or Brevet, but the two interested in my ridiculous 100K idea flaked out at the last minute. The always-down-for-a-ride Lisa Merighi - hitherto referred to in the pages of this blog as Vivian (a suitable name to go with the glasses)...
was the only one who rallied. Not only did she rally, she played tour guide in some local caves,
...and she suggested an alternate route that added on some serious climbing. Nothing like a little pizza in the pines...
and the enjoyment of gellatto as only it can be experienced after climbing a mountain pass in the spring.
Lunch in the piazza of Casola Valsenio...
An amazing descent and some getting turned around in the farm land, and the worst cramp ever in my guts and I made it back just a bit shy of the 100K goal. Beat but not to beat to see the Festa Del FALO!
So there is a tradition here in Italy that dates back to prehistory, tradition and ritual during the changing seasons that date back further than written documents. They have their roots steeped in pagan ritual and earthen elements. Spring is a time of renewal, of trimming back the winters dead growth, and of conditioning the soil for the upcoming growing season. Add that up and you get one hell of an excuse to throw a big fat bonfire party, complete with Heineken Girls and regional cuisine. When we walked up Rob exclaimed "Dude, It smells like funnel cake, that shit is all over the world!"
Now Im not talking about no stack of palletes on the beach, waiting for drunk kids to try to jump over or a county faire with free balloons for the kiddos. I mean massive piles of dead trimmed sticks, kindling we call it, surrounded with a puffy coat of dry hay...
The town is divided in two by the river so each neighborhood, or BORGO has their preferred shape and construction method, one more dome shaped, one more conical. Each intended to burn long, hot, high and intense.
look at those dudes RUN!
The night was a 4-alarm, OSHA safety laws and the right to sue everybody don't live here anymore kind of blaze. And a HUGE dance party in the piazza to boot. All prefaced with the simple posted warning that "Hey, this fucker is gonna burn, don't get too close, cause that would be pretty dumb."
The kind-hearted pyromaniacs in Rocca San Cascianno take their fire rituals very seriously. And with more than a couple pin-hole burns in my hat and jacket from flying embers - I do to now.
watch the video here. and if fires not enough, try fire WITH fireworks!
Yup, thats a 6 story blaze, no more than 100 feet from where Rob and I saught shelter by ducking down behind a waist high embankment in the castle walls.
With the shifting winds, the billowing smoke gave you about 2 seconds warning that the flame was coming next. Fire licked the walls where we stood and its amazing no one gets hurt.
Embers flying high above the city dance party...
Sunday found me waking without an alarm and craving some 'merican breaky. I made a mountain of potatoes and cooked 3 eggs, ate it up and fell back asleep for another hour to the sound of birds singing in the peach orchard outside my open windows. quite pleasing for sure! But I wanted another ride, and so I set out again for an "easy" jaunt through the flat farm lands to the east of us.
I found all kinds of roads, from paved to bumpy dirt, grasslands and singletracks, mostly on the banks along the river headed east, all fairly empty.
Cut through a couple sleepy sunday hamlets
...and worked my way back to Faenza where I hit a vending machine (yup, that's a can o' beer and a bag of "Fonzies") and stopped and get a real photo of my homies slapping high fives at the record store.
All said and done. maybe a little more than originally planned...
Home to eat and now here I sit with a grin on my face, a full but not too full belly, a bit of a sunkissed tan and a tinge of burn still in the legs. A killer weekend in all, and a perfect way to welcome in the spring!
Scotty
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
gonna try to keep this as short as possible...
Last Wednesday, Me and this chick
went for a birthday bike ride (her birthday mind you) After quite a bit of rain
through the fog of the country side...
to a cool pass nearby where on the way down a little competitive nature and mal-adjusted brakes put her in the ditch. No one was injured, laughs were had...
Thursday was a national holiday so Rob and I drove to the beach (his second trip to a seaside EVER!!!)
Checked out boats
and hoes
then got a whirlwind tour of Ravenna with our new Italian Teacher Maestro Enrico
galleries in old churches...
vending machines selling dirty videos and magazines...
The OTHER crooked tower in Italy
Dante's Tomb
where I spied some cool line art graffiti...
then to an old church covered in mosaics
then met up with the boss for a really BIG beer...(actual size shown) and an amazing pizza.
Then Saturday despite massive shoulder and neck pain, I rode to the beach at Cervia by bike, a trip that was supposed to be relaxing to ease my shoulder pain away...
It was windy as all get up, pretty damn far, and all I could think about was wishing I had a tennis ball back at the Farm to roll on to work out the pain from an old injury...then in the middle of the busy highway what do I spy...CHARMED FOR SURE!
Got back to the Farm and ate, met with friends in town. Went for a cool late night full moon walk,
grabbed a bite with these two amazing kids...
while these two watched on...
and saw a bit of show before retiring. Can you see the large kitchen dagger in the bottom of the guitar?
Sunday rode to a town called Forlimpopoli where I could find these two friends (Serena and Jonny) selling their amazing handmade jewelry at a market in the square...
as well as everything I have EVER wanted to find at a flea market...old bikes
vintage race motorcycles...
and Smurfs!
On the way home spied a very large velodrome - for those of you who think cycling is getting popular in the states, consider the enormous size of this track, around the outer edge of an Olympic sized soccer field, constructed in a city park in the 60's - its massive and steep!
got stuck in a parade and covered in confetti for carnival in Forli...
where i ran into Bea from work (small world indeed) and the van that all my stupid little black books will probably become when I lose my mind for good...
before returning home with a smile on my face once again for bikes, and sunshine, friends, and festivals...
and Smurfs.
Have a smurfy day
Scotty
went for a birthday bike ride (her birthday mind you) After quite a bit of rain
through the fog of the country side...
to a cool pass nearby where on the way down a little competitive nature and mal-adjusted brakes put her in the ditch. No one was injured, laughs were had...
Thursday was a national holiday so Rob and I drove to the beach (his second trip to a seaside EVER!!!)
Checked out boats
and hoes
then got a whirlwind tour of Ravenna with our new Italian Teacher Maestro Enrico
galleries in old churches...
vending machines selling dirty videos and magazines...
The OTHER crooked tower in Italy
Dante's Tomb
where I spied some cool line art graffiti...
then to an old church covered in mosaics
then met up with the boss for a really BIG beer...(actual size shown) and an amazing pizza.
Then Saturday despite massive shoulder and neck pain, I rode to the beach at Cervia by bike, a trip that was supposed to be relaxing to ease my shoulder pain away...
It was windy as all get up, pretty damn far, and all I could think about was wishing I had a tennis ball back at the Farm to roll on to work out the pain from an old injury...then in the middle of the busy highway what do I spy...CHARMED FOR SURE!
Got back to the Farm and ate, met with friends in town. Went for a cool late night full moon walk,
grabbed a bite with these two amazing kids...
while these two watched on...
and saw a bit of show before retiring. Can you see the large kitchen dagger in the bottom of the guitar?
Sunday rode to a town called Forlimpopoli where I could find these two friends (Serena and Jonny) selling their amazing handmade jewelry at a market in the square...
as well as everything I have EVER wanted to find at a flea market...old bikes
vintage race motorcycles...
and Smurfs!
On the way home spied a very large velodrome - for those of you who think cycling is getting popular in the states, consider the enormous size of this track, around the outer edge of an Olympic sized soccer field, constructed in a city park in the 60's - its massive and steep!
got stuck in a parade and covered in confetti for carnival in Forli...
where i ran into Bea from work (small world indeed) and the van that all my stupid little black books will probably become when I lose my mind for good...
before returning home with a smile on my face once again for bikes, and sunshine, friends, and festivals...
and Smurfs.
Have a smurfy day
Scotty