Ride Italy: Check

Not the ride portion of the blog yet. Just showing some images of Vernazza as we got ready to travel to Gubbio.

Vernazza at twilight

 

In the morning

The beach area

We arrived in Gubbio that afternoon. It's been a whirlwind, so I'll keep this post on topic. Audrio and Jean-Luca helped us arrange a guided tour of the hills above Gubbio with the guys at Dieffe bikes on Via Leonardo De Vinci. The owner and guide, Daniele believed this Carbon hard tail was the best fit for me to ride. I ask for options but it seem that this was the best available ride for me. Just as a precaution I ask what would happen if I snapped the frame (Translated through Nic and Jean-Luca of course) 

Italian made Bottechea, may she rest in peace

 Friday morning we walked into town from Aunt Maria's place and met at the store to start our ride. For 15 minutes we played follow the leader as Daniele led us to the other side of town to start the climb.

 We had perfect weather. Warm sun with a cool breeze and some really nice views.

 One thing about the hard tail I was riding, it could climb like the dickens. We arrived at a Bar and Daniele bought us a couple of ice teas. Some more climbing after and we started down.

I wasn't able to get images of the single track but you can imaging something on Burke or a hidden trail on Seymour, soft, loamy and steep in places. I had to get off the bike now and again. The XL frame with the 5 inch stem made it challenging to get my weight back.

Almost done our first lap, I stopped for moment to adjust my saddle and was accidentally dropped by my guide and Nic. I quest the exit line and ended up in a bit of mud. I was moving through it but had to climb over a short hill. I went to power down on the crank and heard something crack. Not sure at first but there was something wrong with the bike. Looking again I saw that I had snapped the carbon chainstay.

Daniele found me and I showed him what I had done. He went to gather my wife and then we traded bikes for the ride back to the shop.

Not only were they not worried about the carbon frame I had snapped, but Audrio had returned to the shop the day before and payed for our guided tour. He and Rita have been class since we got here. More later on them.

Feeling bad about the frame, Nic and I walked over to the Market and found a case of beer. We lugged it back to the shop to say thanks. I asked Nic to explain about how beers and bikes shops work in Canadian traditions. Daniele had a big smile.

The best part is Nic and I got our passports stamped in Italy and lived to tell the tale.