Tag Archives: bike

60 kilometers of joy and a PS for my husband

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percorso-171013

(Verione in italiano qui)

The other night I went to sleep with a unstoppable desire to go cycling. When that happens, the next morning, usually, with the same intensity, I find any possible excuse to do something else. Instead, yesterday morning, at 10 to 7am, I woke up full of energy ,despite my little girl, as usual, had kept us awake all night long.
I got my big girl ready for school and we left home for school. She walked next to me while I was rode my Pinarello Dogma 2 with her Winx school backpack on my shoulders.
Once we got to the school , my daughter wanted me to stand at the doorway waiting for her and her class mates to go to class. So I waiting for the school bell to ring,  with my bike at the main school entrance door,  wearing my very tight cycling outfit, my helmet and sunglassed… I felt “slightly” uncomfortable , among other parents, who were, of course, dressed with appropriate clothes, but then I thought “who cares?” I waited for my daughter to go upstairs, I sent her a kiss and then I left  for a solo ride and it was beautiful .

watermill
I realize that I seem repetitive. In the sense that whenever I write about my bike rides , I say that it was beautiful. But it really  is! There have been non super interesting cycling rides, like the one on the Lake Iseo , but generally speaking, I could cycle on the same path 100 times and every single time I would find and appreciate something new , not necessarily around me, maybe even inside myself.

fiume

And while I am pedaling, I often smile . Then if I realize that I’m smiling …I laugh. Yes, I admit, I sound crazy, but if you don’t cycle maybe you can’t understand…

 As I ride on the Gavardina cycling path, I greet the trees , the river , and so on and, as I have already had occasion to write, I get the impression they greet me back.

gavardina

I always meet different kinds of morning cyclists … elderly who, despite their age, are still riding their road bikes and who, as a rule, get furious if you overtake them and do everything possible on earth, even risking a heart attack, to overtake you back to prove themselves they can still make it… grandparents who stroll their grandchildren in a pushchair and who stop every three steps to check if the child is well … middle-aged ladies who are there for the morning jogging who can’t stop chatting… foreign couples who are cycling as tourists on their super equipped, and super heavy bike, with the luggage tied to the bike, who despite that, look always super happy and satisfied … and everyone greets the others…with a nod , a formal ” good morning ” or , more often, with a basic “hello “. It ‘ a greeting that does not cost anything, and that makes you happy . Or at least I am very pleased . Whenever that happens to me, I get the feeling of being in a parallel world, where everyone is kind , where, even if for a nanosecond only, all are friends.
As I wrote on my Facebook page , the bike is good for the heart and the soul.

 PS for my husband only: check my average speed on the way back. I went very fast! Maybe in five year time…but ONE DAY, I AM GOING TO RIDE AS FAST AS YOU DO!laps

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Bike Anatomy

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( Italian version: here)

The other night in bed I read  ” Bicycle” magazine , and this sounds unbelieveble for two main reasons: the first one is because it is usually impossible for me to be able to find the time to read at night as, in general, while I’m trying  to make my daughters sleep, I fall asleep before them. And then because I have so many books next to my bed waiting to be read. But that night I chose and I repeat , I  CHOSE to read a bike magazine .

Every three words , however, I found myself asking my husband, who was reading a history book, that I wouldn’t read even if I was obliged under torture, to explain the meaning of what I was reading.
“Sorry … what’s the sprocket ?”
” What do they  mean  with Gran Fondo ? “
” So if our bikes are not suitable for Grand Fund and not even for racing , what are they for? “

And so on …

Usually  my husband , the second time I interrupt his reading gets quiet annoyed and starts pretending not to hear me.  ( in his defense I must admit that all the possible questions I want to ask him come to my mind always and only when we go to sleep and he is reading … )

But this time it’s different.  Since we aren’t  dealing with family matters , but with his first and true  (and probably only) love, and by that I mean, of course,  the cycling world,  I notice that he is listening to me and I keep on asking him many questions. And he gives me very accurate and, apparently,  very clear  answers.
I pretend to understand nodding.

I do not know whether he believes be or not, but this allows him to go ahead reading  , which is great.

But since that night I decided that I would study. And I have . Oh … yes I have ! I looked at a dozen of Italian and foreign websites and then, with my own hands, I created this image using a new Pinarello bike , that would be my dream, but it would be super surely too professional for me.And here’s the result. I hope it will be useful for  those who, like me, have only recently started bike riding and the ones who have fallen in love with it.

 bike-components

PS : I then removed the names of the bike compoments and add numbers instead.  I made a list from 1 to 35 and checked ho many of them I could remember: the result was that I remembered as many as did before making the picture. ( ie : handlebar brakes, pedals , wheels and little else )
I feel like when I took the General Linguistics . I studied a lot. I got a good grade.  I walked out of the classroom exam and I had already forgotten everything .

Basically, it really is a mission impossible to me!

Hope you’ll have a better result!  You can have a try! Good luck!

Here the bike with the numbers, followed by the list of numers and then, below the solution. Don’t cheat!!! 🙂

Bicycle parts

1 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _
2 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _
3 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _
4 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _
5 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _
6 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _
7 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _
8 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _
9 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _
10 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _
11 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _
12 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _
13 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _
14 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _
15 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _
16 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _
17 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _
18 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _
19 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _
20 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _
21 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _
22 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _
23 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _
24 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _
25 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _
26 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _
27 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _
28 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _
29 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _
30 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _
31 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _
32 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _
33 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _
34 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _
35 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _

 The solution is below….

I said below….

don’t cheat!

ok, it’s coming…

here it is!

bike-components-with-number

Below you will find the solution

I said below

Don’t cheat!

Here it comes

My husband’s version

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THE BIKE WITH MY HUSBAND
(from MY HUSBAND’s angle)

The 5 Pillars of Wisdom :

1 ) If there is a beautiful girl on bike, be sure she’s pedaling in the opposite direction .
( ” Beautiful” is not exactly the adjective he used)

2 ) A cyclist is waterproof.
( it goes without saying that this means that you go and ride even when it rains )

3 ) The difference is in the handle
( this, I have not yet understood )

4 ) If you are struggling and another cyclilst passes and greets you, take a deep  breath and greet him/her, pretending to be riding on flat ground, or even downhill.
(as far as I’m concerned , I  never greet back, as I am usually about to die )

5) Do not worry, after the curve, it’s going to flatten
( I prefer not to comment this … )

The 5 recommendations to me:
1) Stay in the slipstream!
2) Stay in the slipstream!
3 ) Stay in the slipstream!
4 ) Stay in the slipstream!
5 ) Stay in the slipstream!

( and I DON’T )

My husband’s 5 bans ( to me , of course) :

1) Never ask ” do you think it is going to rain ? ”
2 ) Never talk.
3) Do not answer your cell phone
4) Do not stop and talk to strangers who ask for directions
5 ) Never ask for directions

The 5 evergreen sentences, that he uses every single time we go and have a ride together:

1 ) you’re using too long of a chain: shorten it!
( answer: “this way?” And I always make a mess with the gear shifting )

2 ) admiring a breathtaking landscape “See what a beautiful place I brought you ? ”
( it does not matter if I have chosen the route )

3 ) He turns , looks at me and asks me: ” Is everything all right, love? ”
( then turns back without waiting for an answer )

4) After the curve it is going to flatten.
(I know, I’ve already written this, but this phrase is my nightmare)

5 ) Back home after riding our bikes for more than 100km ” Beautiful short ride today! ”
(Short ride ? ? I am DEAD!)

My husband cycling on the wonderful Vello-Toline

My husband cycling on the wonderful Vello-Toline cycling path.