Long days in the high mountains of northern Italy are all that are on the program for this week.  Brendan Quirk has joined me from the United States to tour around the country and check some of the climbs of the 2010 Giro d’Italia.  I know he was nothing but excited to see this part of the world and be able to climb these hills with so much cycling history, but after our first hard day today he might be dreaded the next three.  And unfortunately for Brendan, today was the “easy” day!  He will be just fine though.  With the climbs of the Mortirolo, Gavia and the Tonale all tagged in paint with the names of Pantani, Gotti and many more recent champions the inspiration to keep climbing is always there.

Our ride today took us to the unexpected.  Snow covered roads diverted us from our original plan to climb the Mortirolo.  Instead we ended climbing up the Santa Cristina.  Brendan thought it would never end, and I had to agree.  I even said “I am glad we are not racing up this in the Giro.”  Once we returned home, after almost six hours on the bike, I checked to map to see where we had gone.  I realized that we would be in fact racing up the Santa Cristina this year!

Tomorrow we will once again try the Mortirolo, hoping that a new route will bring us to the bottom of the climb.  And if the snow stops us again there are plenty more mountains just waiting for us to tackle.  Being in such a beautiful area makes the training so easy.  Even though the computer read six hours, to me it felt like thirty minutes.  For now though it is time for dinner.  Brendan is in desperate need of more pasta!