Friday 6 April 2012

A long drive home ....

Finally got home on Friday after a long day in the car. We stopped off at Cicli Mattio in the little town of Piasco to see if we could get some help with the cable retention plate on my MOst handle bars. You can see a picture of the plate in question here:


I wasn't expecting to be able to get the piece there and then, but Giovanni the owner called Pinarello and told them he was going to give me two new plates from bars he had in stock if they could agree to send him the replacement pieces. What a guy, he fitted them and tightened my brakes and took a look over the bike. I stocked up on new tubular tires for my Boras and an assortment of gear that you just can't get off the street in Geneva. He then gave us the address of a trattoria which he said served the best Gnochi and wild boar in the region. How could we not go? The supprot crew really enjoed the treatment, especially Jessie as all the staff at the trattoria loved my little mechanic.

Jessie making a last minute check of the appropriately name Dogma.
Speaking of which I owe reader some stats and photos from the GF. Here's the Garmin stats to the days pain:





And here's some shots from the day:

Pre-race prep ... "Maybe we can just go to lunch?"
The Aussie is the one who forgot to shave his legs.
My new lucky number?


Spot the outsider? Two Italian legends and yours truly after the race.
 
Support crew: Mrs IBCyclist and chief mechanic Jessie.



Thursday

So markets are sliding as I finish packing my bags for the leisurely drive back to Geneva. the AUD hit a low of 1.0254 after an announcement that the country had run a trade deficit last month. I'm not sure this should have surprised anyone as I've pointed out on more than one occasion that the Chinese are fighting a losing battle for growth. The AUD is still fairly buoyant but a string of trade deficits over the northern summer should see it back below parity.
I'm taking a slight detour today to visit a large bike shop near Milan in an effort to get a replacement for my handlebar cable retention plate. I have no idea if they'll have it and trying to explain what I want in Italian over the phone would be a nightmare. I hope the support crew can be patient with me as I try and extract the part. That reminds me I need to pick up some dry lube and check out the wheels they have in stock.
Not sure which way we'll enter Switzerland. Monte Bianco is fast, but San Bernardino is pretty. I guess Easter traffic will be my guide.

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