I never really seem to sleep well the night before a trip. Thoughts in my head keep me busy all hours of the night, especially when I am going somewhere for a long time.  There is a long process of not only making sure I packed everything, but also shutting down the apartment for the winter, and making sure ill have a few essentials(water to drink) when I return.

The alarm sounded way to quick this morning and the race was on to make it out of Spain and to Bologna, Italy from my last block of racing this year.  Being Friday morning didn’t seem to help things move quickly either. We all but came to a stand still as soon as we reached Barcelona. Bumper to bumper traffic turned the usual one hour drive into close to two hours and gave me little hope of making my flight. The only hope I was holding onto was that the Spanish would once again live up to their lifestyle and be at least fifteen minutes late for everything.  Fortunately for me, they did and my tickets were printed the second they closed the flight. Doesn’t get any closer than that.

Since I was traveling with a bike my check-in process didn’t end there. Next up was the trip halfway across the airport to the ticket counter to pay for the bike, then run back and grab my tickets that they were holding until I paid and finally through security.  But not until after I drop the bike off at another area far apart from it all….

You know its never going to be a smooth process of boarding the plane when the lady at the ticket counter sends you off with a “good luck.”  Though, in the end it usually works out, and this time was no different.

Flying into Bologna you descend over hundreds of peaks that are part of the Apennines chain that runs through all of Italy, but within a blink on an eye you are over these plains that stretch as far as you can see. Once we touched down we were driving through the farms that make up the “heartland” of Italy in the region of Emilia-Romagna. Cows and pigs are kings here, producing the cheese(Parmigiano-Reggiano) and ham(Prosciutto di Parma) that are known across the world. The river Po, Italy’s largest, also helps them grow the grains that makeup some of the best breads and pastas you’ll ever have.  It really is a self-sustaining region, pretty rare for Italy.

For a cyclist, Bologna is known and feared for one thing, San Luca. A climb just outside of the city that ramps up to over 20% for two kilometers. It is something cool to experience, racing up this road along side the massive wall that surrounds the San Luca church at the top.  Its one of those climbs that when the field approches it each time(we will do five laps up it) just as many riders many riders turn towards the bus as attempt another ascent. Tomorrow’s forecast for rain could make things extra special.