Wa Wa WEEEE WAHA! Another busy week. Are you getting as tired of hearing that as I am of saying it? You should be! I worked a half day today (sunday) deciding on such a plan after adding up the hours I have worked this month and how many days in a row. I have had 2 full days off in the month of May. Aided in the decision was having the house to ourselves to work and a small clandestined delivery of a herbal nature that when burnt and inhaled produces feelings of euphoria and what can only be described as "thuggy-ness"...



...and the desire to harass the Farm cat with a camera lenz despite his already quite surly dispostion.



That's Freccia - but he prefers to be called Frank!

But I am really digging getting the job done, and staying in it to win it, making my work ethic known and felt around the farm, and still having time to help with the stuff that just always seems to come up...like moving the branches from the shade trees that got butchered this week, leaving little for shade this summer, and a massive mess in the yard.





Saturday was a big drive... 4 hours each way. Nothing makes sitting in traffic more tolerable than a waste of high performance auto engineering beauty idling just in front of you...



The mission was a delivery of one bike in Asti, then just north near Cessole where we had a view of the Dolomiti...



can you see the faint monster mountain peak in the distance...



Asti is home to the tradition of sparkling dry white wine called Spumante...





The mission was to deliver 9 bikes and install 3 racks on vehicles we were not 100% sure of (which means you travel with like 6 rack options!) It was a full day for sure, but I met some amazing people. Not the Tourists, but the owners of the Villa where they were staying.

For the first time in a delivery I was brought a beer without asking, and offered the pool to swim before the clients got there. When I replied that I did not have a cosumi di bagno (swim suit), Olga, the matriarch of the house suggested I go "as I was in nature" when they went back to their house, assuring me no one would see. I was about to blast past rob in my birthday suit and splash down when I could hear the clients at the driveway. Belissimo!







After the 2 hour bike fitting and rack install Olga and Max invited us up to the house, made a pot of coffee for the big drive back and said next time we just stay with them and relax in the mountains for the weekend. They sent us off with a bottle of local wine, and got all contact info to stay in touch. Maybe some freaky swingers, but probably just another pair of amazingly friendly hospitable giving Italians who are comfortable and love meeting new people. Its hard not to love it here!

I spent the second half of today in a smile infused haze, rode to town and had a beer in the park while laying in the shade and writing poetry. No Seriously... Sometimes even just half a day off is all you need!

Ciao

southern Italy and another successful weekend

Traveling in style for the weekend



So the Big Tour, the 150 Celebration of the Italian Unification Tour, traveling for over a month from the south to the north along Garibaldi's route was in need of some mechanics, and some fresh duds, so Me and the Sleepy Italian...



Loaded up a van full of spares and tools and parts and headed to Napoli, to meet the tour, grab some bikes and head off to our secluded hideaway for a day of bike cleaning and fixing.





Sara who was joining the tour as a fresh tour leader was also on board...Sara A Bordo!



Buckle up its a long ride of miss spellings...



Napoli looks a little like mexico and I really dug what little I saw.



Once at the retreat near Trentinara, we were able to set up an efficient little work area outside with killer views,







a safe place for bikes, and a little wine cellar.









old tractor for a work bench...



disturbed only by green lizards and bright roses...



... and of course Igor's phone and a mild allergy attack in the afternoon which I managed by catching the drippy nose in a bandanna - Che Scifosso!!! The amazing Lisa, pictured here with a look of utter disgust at my snot...



slayed some amazing regional lunch for us on a whim and a budget!



and stocked the fridge with beers for the afternoon. Shes what you might call a "keeper"





literally translated Nasto Azzurro means "Blue Ribbon" Its Italian Pabst but way better!



finished and loaded on vans to return to the anxious riders the next day





Papa as Garibaldi, and the Garibaldini Cyclists



Below is the ancient church that was our meeting point.



Once they were off, so were Igor and I! With about 20 minutes and an iPhone, we planned a fantastic little clandestined weekend retreat on our loaded bikes.



nothing says roadside capitalism meets christianity like these two opposing road attractions...





We rode to Capua, had a much needed salad,



caught the train to Caserta, home of the second largest palace garden in the world,









and trained on to Salerno where we hit the Costa Di Amalfi and started riding north...















Without a real plan and only a village recommendation we started to scout places to camp as it got darker and darker. We finally rolled up on Agriturismo Serafina just after dark and were greeted by an anxious and friendly host and his family, who hooked us up with a room, an amazing authentic dinner, a small tour and late nite chat over another lemoncello and half liter of his amazing wine.









every farm has top have some animals...











Seriously the man is one of those guys who can do it ALL. And he is farming a most incredibly steep piece of land along an arid coast to turn out amazing wine, olive oil, friuts and meats. A truly amazing experience, despite another romantic night's sleep in what the italians call a "matrimonio"...





In the morning we ate well (again) and headed back down the coast thinking that with the pending train strike we might have better luck riding a route we knew, to a train station we knew could get us back to the van with enough time to get back to the Farm before too late. We still had a big ride and a long drive. But enough time for some more photos, and a few laughs.




coastal fish markets



the village of Amalfi.





a perfect spot for another round of pastries, and a refill on water...









We killed some hills, overtook some other fancy riders in stretchy-pants and pegged 60kmph on the way down the coast back to Salerno to catch a train back to the van...



But not before running into a bike parade! How can I not love the coincidences here!?



Trained back to the more ghetto town of Caserta, where we hauled ass back towards the van, got pretty hungry and decided to try for another salad at the same spot as before, this time with a story and familiar faces (and clothes) they hooked us UP!







We joked along the way about how we actually saw some of the comapnies signature arrows during the trip, to be so far from home, and not on a tour but to see the eivdence of all the work these guys put into making a tour happen was pretty cool, made me feel part of something much bigger than I feel when Im in the bike shop for several days in a row. All in all it was a RAD weekend! The drive back was easy, good tunes, a little rest, and more laughs.





Heres a quick inventory I did while unloading the van...

32 bike tune ups in 14 hours
18 rags
6 big beers (4 nastro, 4 Moretti) 0.66cl
6 pairs of nirile gloves
1\2 liter concentrated solvent
7 tubes
10 pairs of brake pads
1 wheelset
130.41KM of coastal riding
1 mild allergy episode, and 2 really nasty handkerchiefs
2 pizzas
2 melafurca shots
2 liters of vino
a sprinkling of Jesus statues, and a couple of hookers spottings
a helping of really kind generous strangers, who shared their homes, beers, and battery chargers
loads of laughs
the realization that this is so much bigger than I thought.

S