E' da lungo tempo

It's been a bit between posts, so what the hell...

First off, the Giro D'Italia is in full swing. I love this race so much more than Le Tour & La Vuelta. Why? It's simple...it's Italian! Growing up in central Jersey gave me such an appreciation for Italy, Italians, and Italian food. I was immersed in it as a child and teenager, and, my fondness for it only grew as I got older. A few people and places jump to mind:

Follow me down memory lane...won't you?
Brother's Pizza - This was a small pizza place about 1 mile or so from my house. In New Jersey, each neighborhood pretty much had it's own pizza place that the kids would go to whenever they got done with a soccer game, or, were just out riding their bikes. *(NOTE...NOTHING BEATS NJ PIZZA...closest thing here in Denver is Famous Pizza) Mine was Brother's Pizza. Just as the name implies, it was owned by 3 brothers, and their cousin. I don't remember their names, but I distinctly remember their very Italian looks. Slicked/greased jet black hair,white t-shirts with the sleeves rolled up, the pen in the ear to take orders, tomaoto sauce splatters all over their aprons, and their distinct way of answering the phone when a patron called to pick up a pie (note this is phonetic...no pun intended)..."Dissabruddas". The next 2 lines went as follows (again, phonetic)..."Whasize?"..."Ok...fiteen minutes". These guys were my guys. Brother's was my place. I'd ride my bike there all the time, or, we'd hit it after every soccer or baseball game. It was always 3 or 4 of us...Myself, my childhood friends Seth or Andrew, and one of our parents, or, if we rode our bikes, just the kids. The shop was small with the traditional pasta shape posters, and, images of Giuseppe Meazza and Salvatore Schillaci playing in world cups & UEFA matches, as well as an un-labeled region in Italy. The pizza was a work of art. Thin crust, but not crunchy...doughy. The sauce was sweet and thin, not too lumpy, and the cheese was just outstanding. It was a high fat mozzarellla so it really was stringy when it was melted. The edges of the crust would get browned nicely, and various dough bubbles would form along the borders of the sauce/cheese and the edges of the dough. It was pure heaven. Many years were spent in Brothers. They watch us grow up and, if they knew one of us scored a goal, they'd give us a free slice. When I was a junior in High-school my folks went away for a few days, and, they gave me money to buy food for myself. Of course every dinner was eaten at Brothers. They asked me "Wha...yo mamma no cook fo you no mo?". It was classic. As I sat and ate the baked ziti I ordered, you could tell they were proud of their work, simply by the way the stood behind the counter watching soccer matches on TV in Italian, every so often glancing over in my direction to make sure I was enjoying my meal, as if I was their child.

Joe Labombarda - Joe was my best friend in high school, whom I met halfway through my junior year. He was 100% pure bred Italian, with his parents barely speaking any English. His house always smelled good, no matter what day or time it was, and, he was constantly speaking Italian to his family members. His dad had this big blue cadillac which he never drove, but, we joked that when he DID drive it, we'd see some headlines the next day. All in good fun. Either way, I ate well when I visited Joe's house, but the smells and, again, appreciation for food and family were just a thing of beauty. Unfortunately we lost touch, but the wonders of the internet caught us back up recently.

So what the HELL does this have to do with the Giro? Well, it set me up to appreciate the Giro so much more than Le Tour. Face it, the French are jerks and do not stop to smell the roses on any given day. The Italians though, they stop, look at the rose, talk to it and tell it how beautiful it is, pick it, cook it up, tell it how good it's going to taste, eat it, then, lament on how good it was. Just their sheer appreication for everything is pretty sweet. The Giro is always so much more fun to watch than the Tour also. The helicopter television shots are filled with ancient villages set on top of lush, delicate hills, the road is painted by the tifosi, and people basically stop everything they do to watch it. I love it.

I've been fortunate enough to catch the live stream on the internet, and listen to the Italian audio broadcast. It's no secret that Amy & I are going to Italy for our honeymoon to go cycling, and, I'm trying to learn Italian before we go there. Now, many people have told me that most Italians speak English, but, I am enjoying learning it, and, hope to put it to use when we hit the smaller villages in the Dolomiti.

My favorite for the race is Gilberto Simoni. He's won this bad boy a few times already, and is definitley getting older. He can rip up the hills like it's nobody's business, and, as the Giro enters it's second week via the hills Pantani's hometown of Cesena. The race has been somewhat tame the first week, but, there have been some attacks and surprises here & there. Starting the next few days, the favorites will begin to strut their stuff. While I most likely see an Astana ride in the final Maglia Rosa, I really hope I don't. Having an Italian in the Maglia Rosa is such a great thing, but, it all depends on their ability to put in a good race and be smart.

Ok...now onto my back issues.

This past Monday, I went back to Denver Spine to begin my course of PT post-injection pain. The therapist there did a thorough eval, and was very informative. Part of my new problems is a condition called spondylolisthesis, which, is when a vertebrae moves anteriorly to the one above it. This causes everything out of whack, and, obvious discomfort and lack of function. I was given some basic exercises to do, in order to strength my postural muscles (transverse abdominus and multifidies). While the exercises seem like not much, they are defintley working. I notice a difference in my ankle pain. It's going away for sure. That' the one thing that I want to eliminate...the ankle. It hurts to do anything...walk, run, even stand. However, things have improved.

I'm not riding for another week. I just have to let it take it's course. In this time, I'm attempting to drop a bunch of weight prior to riding again. granted, it may be only 3-5 lbs, but that means a lot. I have no clue what's left for me this year as far as racing goes, but I'm hoping Fed Center & Bannock will be doable.

Regardless, I just want to be able to ride in Italy on 9/21!