Tuesday/Wednesday

Day Two back in the real world has been better. Looking forward to a return to True Normalcy tomorrow.

Continuing from my previous posting...

My second trip up to the First Class restrooms on the flight home was truly surreal. Fortunately, little Bobby Costas was laid full out asleep in one of those stretch seat/beds in the front row. This time, I found myself standing in line behind a very nice package with blond locks. Doing the right thing, I said nothing. I was carrying along the Thinking Outside the Box NYT crossword book that 3 had sent me for the trip, and was working a puzzle where I had determined that the word "tent" was in several single boxes for the solution. My concentration was interrupted when the blond package spoke:

BP: I have a book of Tuesday puzzles that I like to do because I can usually get them all the way done. That book looks a little hard.

LtPC: Yeah, well, I usually get 80% or so of these, but there's always a few clues on the fine arts or foreign history or geography that are beyond my talents. But I like the mental gymnastics.

BP: My dad and his mother are really good at puzzles, although Grandma cheats. I only do them when I don't have access to the Internet or I'm just too tired to keep the plot of a book straight in my mind.

LtPC: You travel a lot?

BP: Yeah. I'm in TV and they pulled me off an assignment in South Bend to do this gig with Costas in Copenhagen on the Chicago bid for the 2016 Olympics.

LtPC: South Bend?

BP: Yeah. They wanted another profile on Weis and Jimmy Claussen. Like it hasn't been done before. Whatever.

LtPC: OK. This is a little weird. I have some history in South Bend. And you look a little familiar. Just who are you? And why are you even talking to me?

BP: Ah, com'on. I get hit on by you old guys all the time. Can you say, "College World Series?"

LtPC: Oooh! I'm a big fan of yours. It's either the lighting, or the fact that I haven't slept for a day and a half. Sorry.

BP (EA): That's OK. I like the anonymity. I'm going to work on this look to see if I can similarly slip by other "fans". So what are you doing up in First Class?

LtPC: Like I told Costas, the lines in Economy are a little long, and Inga gave me a hall pass. My daughter and I are headed home after 10 days in Italy.

EA: You like it over there?

LtPC: It was fun. We stayed four days in Verona, and then five in Turin. We spent a couple days in the French Alps from our base in Turin.

EA: I hear the driving in Italy is a little exciting.

LtPC: Really, once you get used to the speed, the chaos at round-abouts, the lack of numbered road signs, and the incredibly narrow city streets, it's no different than the USA.

EA: Sounds like you adapted OK.

LtPC: Well, it was either that or get out of the way. The two most memorable points were, 1) getting lost on a one-lane road above Verona while we were searching for a vineyard, and having to back up twice to let on-coming traffic get through (never found the vineyard), and 2) paying 33 Euro ($50) toll for a 12-15 mile tunnel coming back from a scouting trip in the Alps one day. Ouch! Oh, and our parking garage at the hotel in Verona was like a sardine in a tin can. The side mirrors had to be folded in to make it through the doors!

EA: I heard the road signs are a little hard to follow.

LtPC: The Autostade and the main roads were OK. But once you were off the beaten track, most of the country roads weren't named or numbered. So you just looked for town names at the round-abouts and tried to follow the arrows. Then when you got to a town or another round-about, you did the same thing again. In the bigger cities, the streets were named, but most of the signs were just on small-ish plaques on the corners of the buildings at the street corners. For a guy with lousy eyes, it was a lost cause. If it weren't for my daughter, I'd probably still be out there on some round-about in Milan.

EA: So did you see a lot of those famous Italian sports cars?

LtPC: Actually, no. Sure there were a few (a bunch of Beemers and Audi's on the Autostade for sure), but most of the cars were dinky little Mini-Cooper sized models. For the narrow roads and limited parking areas, big cars just don't make much sense over there.

EA: So did you catch any races or soccer matches while you were there?

LtPC: Not really. They were having some kind of a bike race in our favorite plaza in Verona the morning that we left for Turin, but it hadn't started. I couldn't read the brochure anyway. And I fall asleep watching soccer on TV, let alone at a match.

EA: What's your history in South Bend? I know a lot of guys from there. Mike Golic from the Mike and Mike in The Morning show, for one. His boys are on the football team now. And I worked with Joe Theismann a few years ago before the company sent him on his way. Theismann was four or five years ahead of my dad at that prep school in Pennsylvania, way back when.

LtPC: Yeah, well, Joe and I graduated in the same class. Before way back when. Thanks for reminding me of my place in time.

EA: You Domer's are all the same. Get over it. And here comes Costas. I think your Economy section is calling. Inga or not.

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End of conversation.

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BCOT

Monday

First day back in the real world. Still a little off.

I understand that 2 has shared some of our pics. There are some good ones. We used both the regular camera and the mini. The mini is really handy.

Unbeknownst to 2, I had a pretty interesting conversation on the plane home with a couple of well-known mesia personalities. I had snuck forward to First Class for a shorter line to a rest room and literally ran into Bob Costas! He had been in Copenhagen for some Olympics thing and had to get back to Chicago for a pow-wow with Daley on the bid for the 2016 Games. Our flight was the first that he could catch.

BC: Hey, bud! Aren't you in the wrong line? Economy has it's own heads.

LtPC: Well, there was a line and you guys have more openings. Say, you're Bob Costas!

BC: You're a scholar. But you're still in the wrong line.

LtPC: Whatever. The head stewardess gave me a hall pass.

BC: Inga?

LtPC: Yeah. We connected.

BC: Well, if you got past Inga, you have some skills. What's your story?

LtPC: Headed home after 10 days of sampling Italian wines and the French Alps. Man, am I looking forward to US traffic and my own bed!

BC: The Alps?

LtPC: Yeah. I had this silly idea that I wanted to ride up the Galibier, like the boys on the Tour de France. It wasn't pretty.

BC: How'd it go?

LtPC: Slow. But I made it. Not real interested in finding another hill like that.

BC: As I recall, Lance said that the Galibier is where his Postal and Discovery teams buried their would-be challengers. Couldn't you find some flat roads and just tell your friends that you did the Alps?

LtPC: I did take the shorter Southern route up, if that means anything. I had scouted the Northern approach and had concluded that the preliminary mountain (le Col de Telegraph) would have taken me all day to summit before I even began the final climb. I may be dense, but I can do the math.

BC: Lots of riders up there?

LtPC: Not a lot. I saw may 25-30 either passing me going up or flying the other way on their descents. A few tourists. More motorcyclists than anything. The last 8 clicks (kilometers for those used to American-speak) were up a trail that wasn't much past a goat path.

BC: Isn't that hill close to Briancon, France? As I recall, that town is a Vail-like ski place. I did a show there a few years back when the Winter Games were in Turin.

LtPC: Yeah. The area actually caught my eye a couple years back when the Tour de France and the Giro de Italia both had overnights there. I was surprised at the very modern commercial development, and it was easy to see how they could host the travelling circus that is the Tour. They also have a relatively small, mountain fortress area that dates back hundreds of years, and that section of town is a big tourist attraction.

BC: Well, LtPC, I'd like to hear more about your trip (not really), but it's my turn for use of the facilities. Why don't you go back to Economy where you belong?

LtPC: You're a prince, Bob.

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End of discussion.

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Check back later for more.

BCOT

Sunday

I thought it appropriate to update the Home Page picture for 4000 Days to recognize our recent journey. This photo was taken by another tourist during our brief time atop the Galibier on the afternoon of September 24, 2009. I crossed the summit at approximately 1000 CST (in the USA).

The picture with this entry is of a sidewalk cafe in Verona. Very cool.

I'm still decompressing from the trip. The jet lag coming from Europe seems less than what we encountered on our arrival in Italy. There's something about the circadian rhythms and getting home as evening ends rather than mid-day as was the situation on our outbound trip.

This entry will be added to throughout the day today. I have some thoughts on how to relate some of the aspects of the trip that make it more than just a boring journal.

In the meantime...

BCOT

Thursday

The Galibier took no prisoners. Beat me like a drum. But I crawled up it's face just for spite!

Susan was totally a champ today. A dynamite one person support team.

I don't have much time now. Thanks to all of you who had me in their good wishes.

Dinner in a few to celebrate. Transition day tomorrow to Milan. We'll be back at ORD in about 50 hours. What a trip!

Ciao. Big Time!

BCOT

Wednesday

We made it to Briancon, France today and enjoyed a long day in the Alps. They are really big. I don't think that the elevation is much, if any, more than Mt. Rose, but the roads are considerably more narrow and scary. I don't think that they have roads there except to service the cycling community.

Briancon is an Aspen or Vail type of ski resort area. Lots of condos and apres ski looking places. There's a historical mountain fortress area that they have used for the nerdy tourists as well.

I've decided to take the shorter route up the Galibier as the side that I had first considered has a Mt. Rose style hill before you even begin the main climb. I'll leave that side to my more anal cycling friends. I figure that it's about 1.5 hours in the foothills, and 2-3 to complete the 10-12 miles to the top. We'll see.

2 was a trooper today. Lots of very narrow and twisting, unfamiliar roads. At least tomorrow we will have seen them before.

Then I got lost coming back into town tonight within one missed turn of our hotel. It took another 30 minutes to struggle back in.

So we rewarded ourselves with a delivery pizza for dinner! How authentically Italian can you get?

An we are drinking French wine. Very international of us!

By the time everyone gets to work (or play...Tahoe Phil) tomorrow, I should have been to the mountain top. Say a prayer for me and my driver.

Thanks for reading. And the feedback.

Ciao!

BCOT

Tuesday

Well, we are still alive and kicking in Turin. Finally starting to figure out the lay of the land. Does sense of direction require a European "reset" button when you're across the pond?

I did get on a bike today, although by an extemely circuitous route that I will not bore you with now. It's an older bike and a little heavier than what I wanted, but as the saying goes, beggars can't be choosers. My first ride was an urban one though the major parts of downtown Turin. They have a bike path along the Po River, similar to our's along the Mississippi. But it has fallen in a bit of disrepair and it is not a smooth ride. I also managed to "groove" my front tire in trolley car tracks. Twice! No serious injury except pride. Silly Americans!

We're headed to the mountains tomorrow to scout the route of the big ride on Thursday. Briancon, France, here we come.

2 gets credit for getting these pics up. I'm clueless.

BTW, 2 and I are still on speaking terms. Most of the time.

Ciao!

BCOT

Monday

Monday morning in Turin. Rainy day here.

Very nice breakfast at the hotel. Not the best coffee, but a wide selection of breads, fruits, cereal, and even some hot dishes of eggs and bacon. Supposedly, it's included in the room charge. We'll see at check out time.

We took a bus from the street by the hotel to the main downtown area, but we still don't have our sense of direction. The first destimation, the visitor's center, was seriously closed once we found it. We then headed back to the main area and stumbled across what is now the visitor's center (just a corner office in a business building). They were helpful.

I call some of what I see here "Olympics Hangover". I'm sure that they built up a lot of stuff for the Games and, like most Olympic host cities, have struggled to make use of the resources mustered for those two weeks. Looks like a fair amount of "fringe" type characters wandering the streets. Many solicitations from random people this AM.

Turin has old buildings, but it has less of the Roman city influence. The streets seem more right-angled, although there are plenty of odd-angled ones here in city-center. The guidebooks refer to this as an industrial region. You can see the Alps in the distance (when it's not raining).

We'll try to find a bike today as I plan to ride the next three days.

The hotel caters to the business set. They had multiple copies of several newspapers for reading at breakfast, including The Daily Telegraph (the international version of The Grey Lady). It was good to read paper, even if it was the NYT.

All for mow. For those of you reading this as you get to work Monday, consider that I got up about the time you may have gone to bed!

Have a great week.

BCOT

Sunday

Just a few lines before hitting the sack here in Turin. The hotel has an Internet room where they charge 4 euros a half hour. Very rich for a poor boy from the Midwest.

Really a nice evening last night in Verona, and again this AM before leaving. Ate at a place off the beaten path that asked if we had reservations (right!), had a very good bottle of wine, and then got into see the arena in the piazza that we liked before we left today. Very cool.

Not a bad trip from Verona, a distance of about 150 miles or so. Freeway all the way. (Actually, tollroad all the way!) If you weren't doing 140kph, you were just getting run over. I swear, one guy passed me doing 125 miles per hour! It was nothing but a wooosh!

A mess trying to find the hotel again. But it is a nice place. Unfortunately, we are at least a mile and a half from city center, and not the best neighborhoods to walk through. But on Sunday's, everything is closed so we'll know more tomorrow about the lay of the land.

There were several major gatherings wrapping up late this afternoon on the main piazzas, with lots of people still hanging around. No clue on the occassion. But because most of the cafe's were closed, we didn't get much for dinner. Had to open another bottle of wine. Darn.

Tired tonight. Scoping out the city tomorrow.

Ciao!

BCOT

Saturday

Back in the city after a busy morning. Rode on the East side of Lake Garda again today. Didn't try to do any big hills, but had a good 2.5 hour workout. Great weather.

Following lunch at a lakeside cafe, we tried hard to chaeck out the vineyards, but were only successful at one tasting. We saw a lot of vineyards, and some one lane roads that weren't pretty, but the second shop was closed and the third we never found. 2 is back in the room to come down from the excitement of the tour!

I would guess that during my ride that I saw 200-300 riders, maybe more. Several clubs out in force with 15+ riders or more. One group of five American couples from Denver on a guided tour. Cycling is definetly a way of life here.

Saturday here is like Saturday in the States, traffic in the downtown area very light, many shops off the beaten path closed, and the touristy spots very busy.

Lake Garda has many similarities to Tahoe, including the over-commercialization of different areas. Pretty clear water that I could see. A couple of topless sunbathers close enough to the road that a less-focussed rider could have been distracted. (Glad I wasn't tail-gating bcbison!) But no sand on the small beaches that I saw. Just gravel of some sort.

I'm a little lost without my daily papers and cell phone. And I miss the familiarity of my regular SB's. If I had an international/Internet set-up, I would Twitter some updates. I don't think we'll get a phone at this point.

Hope the weekend in IC is good for 3 and 4. Sorry I don't get to see you this trip. Go Hawks!

We wrap up our stay in Verona tonight, leaving in the late morning for Turin. I'm guessing that it will be a four hour drive. I may check in here before departure.

Thanks for reading. It's all good in Italia!

BCOT

Friday

To 3, I realize that 2 and I are in the Old World. I was giving you instructions for your location!

Did get on a bike today ver in a small town west of Verona, near Lake Garda. Decent bike, but with only a double front set up. If I don"t have a triple in the Alps, there is no way I"m getting up the Galibier. We"re going back to the same place tomorrow and I"ll take a couple of different roads. Lots of vineyards in the area.

Driving is exciting, particularly for my navigator. She needs to eat well before we take off again....:)

We picked up anther couple of bottles of vino...a Barbarra like we drink at Biaggi"s...and a Sangovese. We"ll see which is better later.

Post cards were posted today.

Still doing pretty good on an overall basis. Get lost regularly, but I have Sometimers anyway!

Thanks for reading. Life is good for LtPC and 2 in Italia.

BCOT

Thursday (I think)

ok. This will be my best shot on a Euro keyboard. Fortunately, 2 is at the next station and is providing guidance.

I won"t try to give trip details as life can be as boring in Italia as it can in the US of A. But for general info purposes, the trip over, while exhausting, was pretty much on schedule. It took a while to find the hotel as the streets are confusing at best. But we"re there, and the touristing business has begun. Already been through three bottles of wine, plus a couple of other glasses. Success!

No plans the add a lot here over the next few days, but I"ll try to give small updates.

Thanks for visiting. Ciao!

BCOT..in the New World.

Sunday

Today was the last trip to DeWitt for me for the year. (bcbison may find his way there without me a time or two on one of the remaining weekends.) Once back from Italia, I'll be training for the Turkey Trot and letting my bike rest until March. This pic was taken this AM after our breakfast at the Sunrise Cafe, right before we headed home. A great morning.

Departure now less than 48 hours away. Packing gets serious tomorrow.

Hope y'all have a great week.

BCOT

Friday

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BCOT

Wednesday

Enjoyed an evening ride with my pal Pete, and then a couple of beers on the deck at Gov's. Needed the exercise after a couple of days off the bike.

I've kind of figured that the countdown is now down to hours as opposed to days. Really, just three business days to departure. More than a little scary.

Not much going on here. Hard to concentrate on the blog.

BCOT

Tuesday

Pita.

I guess that this is the official End of Summer day. It's hard to further delay a project or resolution that a person said could wait until the end of Summer. No more wearing white to the social events.

So when most of you read this, it will be 09-09-09. And there's the possibility that shortly after nine in the morning, it could be 0909:09 on 09-09-09. Haven't got the interest to investigate the significance, or rarity of the string of identical numbers. How many superstitious folks will be buying funky lottery tickets tomorrow?

My RCL was a no-show today. I thought she was back in-country. I'll be gone on her next visit.

My Top Ten fears for my impending trip to The Continent:

1. Getting separated from 2.
2. Discomfort on the long airplane rides.
3. Losing money/ID's/passport.
4. Not being able to find a good bike to rent.
5. Lost luggage.
6. Client problems back at the office.
7. Rental car problems.
8. Mediocre hotel accommodations.
9. Failing in my attempt to get up the Galibier.
10.Client problems back at the office. (This is a big concern.)

Billy Mays is still on the tube selling stuff. How long before we read of the law suits from his estate for the residuals? (Why would anyone buy anything from a dead guy anyway?)

Sorry I'm not more eloquent tonight. Check in tomorrow.

BCOT

Monday

Here's 2 with her future new best friend. This was taken yesterday and she called the seller to put in a reservation this evening. Possession for the 27th or thereabouts (upon our return from Italia).

Let the naming begin. All of my suggestions were rejected as too stripper-like.

The Tour of Missouri started in StL today with a circuit race (10 times around a 7.5 mile track). The same guy who won several stages in the TdF this Summer won today. They gradually move across the state this week and finishes next Sunday with another circuit race in Kansas City. It could be interesting to go watch someday. Just not this year.

Then again, if the sponsor situation doesn't improve, the future of the race comes into question. The state had to step up this year, and my guess is that the legislators may not be able to meet the call again next year. The Georgia race ran into the same problems after some fairly successful years, and is now no more. There's just not a way to adequately produce income from an "Open to the Public" event. And the banks, insurance companies, investment firms, and auto companies are just not standing in line to write checks.

Golf with my pals today was a hoot. Great weather. Little traffic. I broke a hundred! Next time, ninety.

Off to bed to get ready for a busy week. Lots to do before departure.

Have a great week.

BCOT

Sunday

Some recent pics. Friday night at Biaggi's. And Saturday in IC.

I'm not sure if I would call Iowa lucky as much as the other team simply failed to close the deal. Northern Iowa could of/should of won, but needed one more play.

IC on game day is fairly out of control. I'll only go over again this year if I get the parking pass and can tailgate outside the stadium. The games don't interest me all that much. Click the image of the game to get the full effect of the stadium.

Rough ride coming home from DeWitt this AM. No legs. I'm taking a couple of days off.

BBQ tonight over at a friend's place. Golf tomorrow in Muskie.

Enjoy the holiday.

BCOT

Friday

Ugly incident at the conclusion of the Oregon-Boise game last night. (Not that I saw it then, but rather on ESPN News early today.) Thuggery. Don't people get arrested for those kinds of things?
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My Perfect Neighbor and I are talking about erecting a flag pole in our adjoining yards, right by my driveway. I've had the thought for some time, and when I offered the suggestion to him earlier this week, he ran with it. And his spouse, my garden out-sourcee, is fired to do the landscaping. I need to approve the design, but after that, I'm in check-writing mode. It will be lighted as well, maybe even with a solar cell. How's that for green-consciousness?

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I'm taking suggestions from the peanut gallery on, "Don't forgets", for our Italy trip. My latest epiphany in that space was a list of usernames/passwords for Internet sites of importance (credit cards, etc.). Special bike gear, drugs and camera paraphernalia are also on my list. (Notice that "paraphernalia" in this usage is in reference to my cameras, not the drugs.)

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2 and I are headed over to IC tomorrow with @bcbison to take in the Iowa-UNI game. Meeting our friend/client Dr. D. from DM, so we'll actually be going into the stadium for the game. Don't have my pal Roy's parking pass, so we'll end up trekking from afar. No serious tailgating, but we'll take along some provisions to address our needs for the post-game hanging-out.

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A little vino tonight to plan the weekend. Enjoy! ...but,

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BCOT

Thursday

Another in a string of really nice days here. My sump pump is rusting.

2 and I met up last night with the local couple whom we met in June at the bar in Galena on TOMRV. These are the people with whom I was trading Jagermeister shots! I wanted to ask him some specific questions about the route to follow for the ride that I will be taking in the French Alps. (He had been on a guided ride up that pass a few years ago.) We had dinner at a place called It's On The River in Port Byron. Another fun evening.

I also elected to purchase some Euro dollars today at Wells Fargo to give 2 and I some pocket money when we hit The Continent. Wells has no problem in charging a fee for the exchange. I'll be curious when all is said and done where we have the best luck on the exchange rate.

Opening night in college football. Erin Andrews is in the house at the NC State-South Carolina game. ESPN forked over the big dollar and has a musical intro montage with Kenny Chesney (a la the Monday Night Football intro sung by Hank Williams Jr.). They say the Clones are playing tonight as well.

Lots of activities these next three days for the holiday weekend. I'll try to add entries here as time permits.

BCOT

Tuesday

The new Home Page photo was taken at lunch today with my NSSP from a picnic table on the levee near downtown Bettendorf. It really is amazing the quality of pictures that can come from a feature that is really just a "throw-in" for cell phones. Chicago style "dogs" from the Riverfront Deli. Suite!

It's definitely a Top Ten day here in River City. Cool on the early bike ride, but perfect by late morning. In another lifetime, a return to the office wouldn't have even come under consideration for the afternoon.

After several years of delay, I went through the process this AM to receive a "military" exemption/credit for the real estate taxes on my house. This is just a little "bone" that the state of Iowa has thrown the way of honorably discharged veterans. You need to provide a Form DD 214 to the local assessor to receive the credit. The DD 214 being the paperwork documenting a soldier's separation from service. I have long since lost my DD 214, signed in September 1974, so I had to write the Office of Records to obtain a true copy. Which I did last week, on-line, and then timely received the form by snail mail yesterday. (A surprising result on it's own. My bet is that that process is 100% automated.)

It took three re-routing's within the local courthouse to get to the right office, and the girl there had me go to a fourth office to properly "record" the document that she needed to then authorize the tax credit. It took something along the line of two hours from the time I left work, to the time I got back to my desk, which doesn't include the 30 minutes that it took to go on-line for the DD 214.

The credit, that I will begin receiving on the bill due in September 2011 should be around $65 per year. Whoopee. I'm not saying that government bureaucracy doesn't work, but the analysis of marginal benefits/opportunity costs on this one isn't pretty.

More later.

BCOT