The Hurt Locker

Today’s ride was from Acqui Terme to Alba.  The area is known for its hazelnuts and is the home of Nutella.  The group met up in the town of Monastero Bormida, a medieval town where the original bridge still in operational use.

Before lunch was a brutal 5 km climb to the town of Castino.  The area is a popular spot for both cyclists and motorcyclists.  While climbing we encountered numerous motorcyclists racing their bikes down the climb.  As every place in Italy is closed on Sunday, Dylan prepared a magnificent picnic for lunch which included: salami, prosciutto, Nutella, cheeses, hazelnut cake and ice tea.  A steady 6 km climb out of Castino followed lunch.  It was nothing short of hellacious, but the views made the effort worthwhile.  We took a quick reprieve at the top of the climb for some espresso and some Italian Soda, the exact name of which I can’t remember.

The remainder of the ride was composed mostly of switchback descents into Alba.  After the ride and shower, I managed to take the most incredible nap of my life.

The group met back up for wine and an Italian lesson from Enrinco in which we learned important phrases and Italian sign language for: go away, I’m hungry, pasta, it’s getting late, and the horns (which mean a lot of different things depending on the context and the manner in which it is used).  We then headed further into town for what has been the best dinner so far.  The dinner was several courses, which has been par for the course, and included raw veal, asparagus wrapped in prosciutto, pasta, and no-flour chocolate cake.  At dinner I was awarded the capolleni for my exploding water bottle incident earlier in the day. Earlier in the day, at one of the rest stops, I mistakenly filled my water bottle with frizzeata (carbonated water) instead of regular water.  After several miles of bumpy riding the pressure inside my water bottle escalated.  While riding I opened the top of the bottle with my mouth only to encounter an explosion of water.  I managed to lose about half on the ground and choke on the remained.  While I was busy coughing out the carbonation that I had aspirated into my lung, Kira had to stop biking because she was laughing so hard.  I felt slightly vindicated when a few miles later Kira’s husband Charlie encountered the same phenomenon.

After an exhausting day on the bike, I’m signing off!  Ciao.