Giro di Lombaria

It's been just over 4 weeks since I've been back from Italy and a report is well overdue.
I've been busy with work and a tiny bit of social life, but without further delay:

Italy is incredible.
Sure, anyone will tell you that if they don't live there but in all seriousness; it's great.
First of all: There are NO PAPER CUPS! I know this may seem like a strange highlight, but imagine not being able to get take out! No Starbucks, No Dairy Queen, No BK, nothing. If you want a coffee in Italy, well guess what? Sit your ass down because it's coming in a glass. It may seem strange but there doesn't seem to be the same sort of urgency that we have here.

This brings me to another point: Lunch is from 1-3pm.
Everything is closed for 2 hours. People leave their jobs, go home, make food, socialize, and return. Coming from a place where 30minutes is the norm if you are lucky, this seems incredible.

Cycling:
Italians are Cyclists.
I capitalize that word, because when speaking of a Cyclist, it's not the same as when people say that they "ride their bike." In Como people ride, much in the way I would think folks in Seattle ride. It's everywhere. Bikes are around every corner, and every bike I see is sparkling with Campagnolo or some carbon rarity. 50 year old men dismount off of their bikes and if you were to only notice them from the waist down they would seem like a 20 something Cat 2 racer.
Giro di Lombardia
The event is crazy. Initially it may not be as big as you would think, but as the time drew closer to the finish the whole city of Como began to change. Old men carrying Flemish flags, groups with fan club banners, and packs of photographers all began to come out of the cracks. This year Damiano Cunego would win his 3rd Giro di Lombardia. I was lucky enough to be 5 meters from the line and as I saw him cross the man in is late 70's began to cry out "Bravo Damiano!" That's priceless.




Grand Fondo This would be the amateur race held on Sunday. It's a bit shocking, but in Italy 40 Euro buys you a full dinner, a police escort of 15 and a helicopter. There were 2000 people at registration and it took me 15 minutes to get my number and pay and keep in mind I DON'T SPEAK ITALIAN. A bit of a far cry from Ironman here in the US where it take 4 hours to even hit the bathroom at an event that size. Somewhere along the line, it may have been lost in translation but this was a RACE! Here in the states, we have the MS ride, the tour of blah blah. In Italy, a Tour means it's a race. This one happened to be 143k with a 2000 person field, All categories. It didn't really hit me until the start line when I started to see some of these teams lining up in the front of the field. These were full squads. All pro/semi pro racers. And quickly reality caught up. The gun when off and the pace was blistering. The lead group finished the 143k averaging 37k and hour, which included 3 climbs crowned by the Madonna del Ghisallo.

I would recommend this trip to anyone.

There area, the food, the culture, it's all incredible. However be warned before you line up with the locals: You may be there to play, but they are there for business.