The Crema 'training' ride

One day I am training solo in 6 layers with gloves and booties and the next day its 120 guys in the bunch, I am in shorts, jersey and its 35c! That is what you get when you travel exactly half way round the world I guess.

Slim (Andrew) and I ride through a maze of flat roads to meet up with the race – I mean training ride. It is typical Italian affair, everyone is super relaxed, lots of talking, lots of shiny bikes, lots of guys looking a million dollars. The leaders of the ‘training ride’ know Andrew, having the two of us their raises a few eyebrows. We get going, zigzagging through the countryside, I quickly lose all sense of direction, it’s hot, it is fast there is no wind and there are no landmarks like hills to key off so getting lost is very easy. I feel okay considering I have just spent 35hours travelling.

Everyone is on sparkling bikes wearing the coolest kit, blinged to the max. What is unusual is the amount of American bikes being ridden, Cannondale and Specialised are the most common bikes here, I guess they sponsor a couple of Italian pro teams and the punters want to ride what Bettini rides.

Andrew and I have a few goes at getting up the road but nothing was going anywhere and when I did get up the road solo, I had no idea where to go so staying in the bunch was the smartest option. We picked up more and more guys and the last 20km was like a race-sized peleton with 120 or more guys there. Moving up in the bunch constantly bought me back to racing the European way. Most of the skill of racing in Europe is positioning yourself in the peleton, at home a big field is 60! I vividly remember my first race in France with 200 starters.

I attacked near the end of the ride on the only ‘hill’ got caught a few kilometres later, Slim came past and yelled ‘2km’ which seemed to be about right as it was pretty quick and guys where attacking and then blowing up everywhere. That was enough heroics for me I sat in the first 10 until the finish, Sim meanwhile was lining himself up for the sprint, I think he snagged a 3rd. The sprint signalled the end of the ride but not the speed, the warm down was run off at 45kmph! It must be hot because even the locals looked cooked, a few litres of water later I felt fine.

Crema, Italy

Woke up at 7.00am to a huge thunderstorm, cooler than the 35c+ heat of last night, so promptly rolled over and went back to sleep in what would have to be the smallest hotel bed I have ever slept in. I felt kinda like a Goldie Locks and the 3 bears, but it was comfortable enough.

9.45am and the room cleaner wakes me up by letting herself into the room, I guess seeing a sleeping near naked pale white man sent her away pretty quickly. Down to a late breakfast which the hotel rustled up for me, I had forgotten that an Italian breakfast consists of coffee and cakes, which sounds like the most perfect breakfast - as long as you are not a diabetic like I am. I did find some of the strange euro packaged hard toast bread slices, they weren’t too sweet but taste like cardboard.

It’s weird that of all meals breakfast is so different from one culture to the next, the Dutch eat cheese and meat, the Brits do bacon and eggs, New Zealander’s do Weetbix, the Italians cake, why the difference? I did notice the ubiquitous Corn Flakes on the menu – even in Italy.

I set about unpacking the bike. After doing the bike mechanic thing I walked through the old part of Crema, to meet Andrew’s wife Nicki at a café. I found a money machine nestled amongst 16th century architecture. Here I am using the same cash card that I use in New Zealand and instantly getting Euros from the money machine – small stuff like that is amazing, no traveller’s cheques nothing, card in - money out, anywhere or almost in the world. In theory it means you could travel the world with just a cash card – think about it, that’s cool!

Coffee and Panini with Nicki, it’s too hot to sit outside and do the Italian outdoor eating thing so inside with the air con whirring away. Nicki offers to take me on a ride into the country on their terribly cool ‘town bikes’ complete with Brooks saddle and cane baskets.

I spot a Martini Rossi livered Lancia Integrale, a car that I have always lusted after, I have to stop and take a photo of it – my sad 80’s car buff is alive and well. 

I have the digital camera with me and am determined to take tonnes of photos, I have been a crap tourist in the past, the places I have been to and have no record of is tragic, maybe it is an age thing I regret not having any visible record of those experiences.

The countryside around Crema is flat as a pancake with lush green cornfields and tiny villages dotted about the place. We get back in time to relax and prepare for the Crema evening ‘training’ ride, it is also 30c+!