October 2nd and 3rd
Dear, Diary.
I left Luxembourg around 22:30 and headed for Italy via France and Switzerland.
It was already cloudy in Luxembourg and when I entered France already some 5 minutes after the departure, it was damp and it felt rain was imminent. I kept the soft top up.
It rained lightly sporadically in France so my decision to keep the root up was right. The traffic was light in France and I took a break somewhere near Mulhouse, France. I slept in the seat about 2 hours in the parking along the French highway (for which I think I paid about €12 or €14 in total).
I started driving again around 05:00 and arrived at Basel (French-Swiss border) around 06:00. I expected some traffic (French people commuting to Basel) and I was right. A lot of cars on the highway before Basel and around Basel (when German commuters join at the border point). There seemed to be a minor accident on the highway (I saw two cars stopping and creating a bottle neck).
At the border I expected to be stopped by the custom officials and then they would offer me the vignette (Swiss highway yearly subscription toll system ticket) but there were no officers standing at the control.
I stopped at the border control point (there is a small parking, of course) in disbelief and walked to the office. There were numerous signs and there were two kinds; one saying that there is no toilettes here but there will be in 15 km (next parking, I guess) and the other telling that Vignettes are available in the office.
So they changed the system. One has to park and go into the office to get one. I got mine and stuck it on the front windshield and drove on. It started to rain and later pour.
I stopped at a parking and had another rest in the car. I don't know exactly when and until what time but slept rather comfortably in the seat of Mazda MX-5. I guess it was somewhere near Luzern.
When I woke up and started to drive again, the sun was up but it continued to pour. The rain did not clear up until I was close to the Swiss-Italian border. When the rain was gone, I stopped at a parking along the highway and open the roof.
I arrived at Varese around noon. I looked for the parking and parked in an undergournd parking in the center of Varese. It was just three or four hundred meters to the finish of the race.
Tre Valli Varesine was won by Alexandre Geniez. I could feel the dismay of the audience who had hoped that Vincenzo Nibali would win or Fabio Aru.
After the race I headed for the place for the night.
So I am in Italy. I noticed some changes beside the FM radio talking Italian that are really noticeable. One thing that bothers me a bit is my GPS navigation pal (Garmin n¨vi 2340 also) began talking differently.
No she (because my choice of voice is always female) does not suddenly started talking Italian (although I can switch to local Italian if I want) but she started saying "roundabout this" and "roundabout that."
There are so many roundabouts around here. I have to roundabout this and that constantly. Seriously!
Sometimes the instruction she gives me is, "Enter roundabout and take the second exit. (a moment later) Take the second exit to enter roundabout." Seriously! A plethora of them!
During the drive from Varese (the race finish) to a small inn outside Come about 25 km, I think I heard her say "roundabout" at least 30 or 40 times.
The inn was OK but the Wifi did not work. The password was either incorrect or the router was not functioning.
Sidenotes:
I took my bike out during Tre Valli Varesine and noticed some time later that I had lost the one of the caps on my Limits power meter. What happened to them? I mean Limits technology. Is it still alive or already dead?
Don't some kind people who live near the company in Scotland visit the company to see if they can find warm bodies or dead bodies there?
October 4h.
Dear Diary.
Next day, Wednesday, October 4th I woke up around 07:00 and started packing after taking a shower. I had some things to do.
Visiting Maglio, a small village at the foot of Sormano climb featured in Il Lombardia and then Madonna di Ghisallo was on my list.
There were a lot of cyclists on the road despite the fact that it was Wednesday. I did not drove all the way up Sormano as there was no point doing so by car.
I visited this small place called Madonna di Ghisallo. I did not go in the museum next to it. The entrance fee was something like €6 as there was no point doing so. I could have rode my bike there but the previous night I noticed something. I forgot to pack my bibshorts. I had the jersey but not bottom. I also packed the spring autumn long sleeve jersey and long bibshorts but the weather was definitely for shorts.
I then drove to Bergamo via Como. There were so many, wait for it, roundabouts on the way.
I checked in the Bed & breakfast inn there. This place was also nice. I asked the host woman if there was a sporting equipment store nearby. I knew there was a Decathlon 3 km away. She told me to seek a shop in the center of old town (of Bergamo). I walked to there and bought a discounted sale bibshorts. These will do.
I have not yet decided if I should take a bike with me for Milano-Torino. Probably I won't. I will walk up the hill where Milano-Torino finishes.
In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ
日記として忘れる前にメモを残してます。英語で簡単に書いておけば、後で日本語で書くのも簡単です。なので、今は英語だけです。寝ます。明日（今は10月4日の夜で、ミラノ・トリノのレースの前の晩です）は早起きです。ミラノの朝の渋滞が心配なので、早く出発です。
テーマ:自転車ロードレース - ジャンル:スポーツ
- 2017/10/04(水) 20:33:14|
- Bike Races in Italy
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