The Flying Jellyfish

7/15/11
Today’s last ride was bittersweet; it is hard to see such an amazing vacation come to a close, but at the same time I’m not sure my legs or rear can take much more cycling.  The ride today was much more relaxed from a climbing perspective than the previous days and allowed me to take time to more fully appreciate the surroundings.  We stopped at a local beekeeper’s shop during the morning.  The Italians appear to have the same issues with dying bees that is plaguing US honey producers.  The local beekeeper described the boxes that held the bees and the process involved in cultivating a queen bee.  Most of the bees were not present as the husband drove them up to Switzerland to pollinate flowers found in that area.  We went inside and were able to sample fresh honey.
After a brief jaunt back on the bike Erica, Scott, Charlie, Kira, Dylan and I stopped at a local tattoria (sp?) for lunch.  I’ve learned that when stopping in these local restaurants, menus are not offered and it is best to ask what was made fresh for the day.  We had agnolatti (sp?) which was amazing, a strawberry dessert and limonata.  It was a refreshing break.  Kira, Charlie, and Dylan shared their stories about living and visiting China and it was enough to make me never want to vacation there.  It was an enjoyable lunch before heading on the final stretch of riding for the trip.  We were fortunate to have sunny weather which has been a welcomed constant throughout the bike trip.
Partway through the trip back to the hotel Erica managed to get stung three times by a bee.  Having never had this experience before, she described it like “a flying jellyfish.” Despite the large sting marks and slightly concerning red erythema that surrounded the stings, she “manned up” and forged ahead (thankfully no allergy ensued).  I enjoyed riding with the group and hearing about Charlie’s days at Yale (I have an idealistic vision of Yale as a bunch of academic-loving sophisticated students with really cool secret clubs that play really cool sports like crew- Charlie has yet to destroy this vision).
Dinner was a tad lackluster as compared to our previous meals, but Enrico’s riviting karoke made up for it!  I did a brief karoke version of Cher only with the agreement that in exchange Erica would have her picture taken with the extremely cheesy dj that had been oogling over since we walked in the restaurant.  I’m not sure the exchange was worth it, but I love the picture.  My horrendous singing was followed by Charlie’s bringdownthehouse version of “New York, New York.”
Cassidy got the capalleni today for her crazy biking.. and running.  After riding the longest day of the trip, I was pedaling very slowly up the final hill only to be passed by Cassidy going in the other direction… by foot… fast… as in running.  Crazy props to Cassidy!

Tomorrow we will all be heading back our separate ways and it will be a sad moment for me.  The trip has been more than I had hoped for.  Riding through Italy has been an experience I will never forget and I hope the people I have met here will be friends for a long time.