Paolo Zenoni

In memory of Paolo Zenoni

Paolo Zenoni passed away on Sunday October 3rd, 2010 doing what he loved so much; riding his bike. Cycling was in Paolo's blood and it was only natural for him to go out for a bike ride Saturday morning, the bicycle was part of his everyday life. Growing up in Italy how could it not be.I got to know Paulo through cycling. I met him in our local bike store one day and at the time he was living in the US , practically next door . He started to race for Westwood Velo. Training and racing together became a weekly routine for us. Our friendship grew and our families became really close friends as well. After all we had so much in common, both Europeans with cycling as our passion. Paolo was just a great person to be around and I know we would have been friends even if we had not been riding bikes. Paolo was full of life and had a very positive attitude towards everything, never having a bad thing to say about anyone.Life went on and Paolo and Marni started a family. Shortly after their first son Tyler was born they decided to move back to Bergamo, Italy. In 2007 we went over and visited them and after seeing where they lived, I was so happy for them. This part of Italy is very beautiful and cycling on those climbs and roads was a dream. Ever since Paolo moved back to Italy he had this idea of me having a Cycling Camp there with him. The dream became reality this past spring and Paolo and I had our first Italy/ Giro Camp. Our small group spent 10 days with Paolo guiding us around the most amazing roads you could imagine. This really showed the great person Paolo truly was, he made this camp a life-long memory for all of us by taking us on these dream rides everyday and organizing everything else to make sure the camp was succesful and to ensure its growth for the years to come.I know that he was enthusiastic about making other people happy, something that seemed like a very natural thing for Paolo. He liked to share what he loved and enjoyed it with his family and friends, something I think that is one of the most important things in life. I am very fortunate to have known Paolo and to have become a close friend to him.

It deeply saddens me having to cope with the reality of his passing at such a young age leaving the most beautiful family behind, something that I will never understand or cannot ever come to terms with the fact that it had to happen to a wonderful person like Paolo.My prayers each night will be for Paolo's family to stay strong and may Paolo rest in peace.

I will never forget you my friend!


My dear friend - I will miss you ,

Roger

Final Day at the Italy Camp

It was not fare , Kevin's bike was so light at these altitudes that he had to hold it down , otherwise it would have floated away!

Ok, the Giro is over ( well so are the other two Grand Tours ) and we have one more day of the camp left . Since we were not able to climb Passo San Marco in the beginning of the week we decided to give it an other try , but from the other side . Little overcast and the roads were slightly wet from some rain over the night, but no big deal this was not a 3 hour ride to the base this time and I personally think this is a very cool ride through the Brembo Valley .


Slight uphill the whole way to the base of the mountain and then a good hour of pretty serious climbing . The race was on right away , I think everybody was feeling pretty good after a rest day and some motivation from watching the Giro stage the day before.


I could only imagine how hard it would be racing up this thing for real , it was relentless . I had done this climb in 2007 , so I kind of knew it , but I do not think it helped much. Paolo has ridden this thing numerous times as well . We get to the top , there is still snow and we can look down the other side where we had to turn around the other day .

It felt like a great accomplishment that we made it to the top and it was a great closing to the camp , we had now ridden everything we had planned .



There is a small lodge just below the summit ( I stopped there as well in 2007 to warm up after climbing in the freezing rain for 2hours) , so we rolled down and we had a great lunch .

Laughing about the adventures we had gone through during the week and more Coke of course!

. The ride back was nice , pretty much all down hill except for the drive to the hotel. Kevin even thought about offering us some motor pacing. A great 4 hour ride to end the camp .

A very successful week , something like 35 hours of ( mostly climbing ) riding on awesome roads with the most spectacular views. The sad thing was; now it was time to put the bike back into the box ! If Mark only could figure out why the bike box seemed smaller than it was when he came here.There is nothing I would change about this camp and I hope when you read the entire blog about our week in Italy you get the same idea and sign up for next year . This camp is quite demanding and you need good fitness and skills , but it is also the ride of your life time everyday .

Thanks to Paolo who made all these rides possible. He also took care of the travel and lodging logistics in Italy which was perfect . Paolo was no doubt the "Man" of the camp and I really hope we can have him as our guide again next year , he even gained some fitness for himself during this week . I am very fortunate to have a friend like him , thanks again!

Fabio and Matteo at the Cascina Belveldi Hotel treated us like family . Great guys and I can not thank them enough for what the did for us.

The service was absolutely phenomenal and I would not stay anywhere else in the future when we go back.

Then the food and wine they served just makes me hungry thinking about it . I rode and raced a lot this year , but it is save to say these were the best days on the bike in 2010 and I am really looking forward to do this camp again next year . Plan ahead , there will be maximum 8-10 spots available. The camp will be held last week in May again with an epic ride schedule on tap right around the Giro di Italia.
Pappini breaking out his special lemonchelli , the hotel care taker and former bike racer , quite a character

Thanks for reading and hope you will be able to experience all this next year .

Ciao

Roger

Giro di Italia

Hi again,

I apologize that I have not kept up with the blogging lately . With traveling around the world and I do not even know where all this time went . Cross is here and the road season is over . The last Grand Tour( Vuelta ) is almost done . I really want to finish our 2010 Giro/camp blog so you can read about it and decide if this is something you should put on your calendar for next year, since we are already about to send out the flyers for our 2011 camps I feel bad. Well anyway , were I left off was our trip up the Gihsallo , next day was an early rise , but not to ride .

A 16 passenger bus with a driver picked us up at 7.00 am from the hotel and we were on our way to the Giro. A nice day of recovery from riding and a very exciting day for us . Today was stage 19 and a very decisive stage in the race .

We would be able to to Basso and CO. twice on the roads we just rode a couple of days ago . We had a little extra time , so once in the Valtalina Valley , a very well known wine region in Italy , we made a stop at the Rinaldi Winery

The owner happened to be someone that Paolo went to school with , so they gave us a nice tour and some " wine factory outlet " discount on their fine wines .

A nice experience and unbelievable good wine . After our stop we continued to Tirano where we would see the boys come thru the first time .

This is right on the boarder to Switzerland , so we just got off the bus and walked across the boarder. A perfect spot to watch , front row seats for sure .

The race goes by quick even it is on a climb,

but as a cyclist you feel the chills run down your spine when the caravan of police ,advertisements and the riders of course and then all the team cars come by. The guys you read about in Magazines and see on TV is right there, a few feet away.

Back on the bus and a short drive over the mountain ( Aprica , where they finished yesterday after going over Mortirolo which we also rode the other day ) Our next spot was on the slopes of Tonale where today's finish would be after climbing up Gavia from Bormio and then a hair raising decent down to where we were in the rain .

We found a nice little bar and since it was raining a little now and it was lunch time , a perfect spot to have a bit to eat and watch the race on TV until we had to back out and see the real action. We bought our Giro souvenirs and took our spot on the road up to Tonale .

Boy , was this race shattered by now .First the guys in Pink

Then the Groupetto ,these guys had a hard day behind them and you could see that in their faces . There was a lot of people here at this spot and we could feel the real Grand Tour athmospher , we were the 'Tifosi" today ! A very different day , but a great memory and motivation to ride again tomorrow . Marco Pinotti , a friend o Paolo had a good Giro .

One more day of the camp and we will get to spend that one on the bicycle again. An other great dinner was waiting for us the hotel and a nice way of ending a perfect day .I love riding my bike , but taking one day off to experience the Giro was well worth it and I hope we can do this again next year.

Ciao

Roger

Ghisallo

Friday, Ghisallo

It has been a while since we did this ride, but I wrote a bunch of notes each day while we were in Italy on our FinKraft Camp, a trip that you do no forget anyway. I have not had time to post everything, but I will finish off the whole camp, so you guys can see what it was all about and if interested next year you can sign up.
Today was a pretty nostalgic ride to Ghisallo. A ride we all were looking forward, scenic, but nothing crazy climbing. Uphill for sure and an hour to the base in Bellagio along side Lake Como, we are feeling good and really enjoying the view. The Ghisallo climb is about 12 K , we took the Super Ghilsalo , since it is a little longer , isn't that what you supposed to do anyway , no short cuts ! A few rain drops, but nothing that would spoil the day. Legs were good today and if it was a race, I think I would have had a chance! At the top there is the very famous Madonna del Ghisallo , a bike sanctuary filled with nostalgic bike from way back , some thing you would never see some where else . This is bike “heaven “ with a museum next door and a restaurant, which we picked over the museum, it was lunchtime and the boys were hungry!
We had a quick lunch and then back on the bikes, we took the back way, around the mountain a nice route were the Giro di Lombardi goes as well on October, fare amount of climbing, but nice roads and not much cars. We ride by all the lakes around the Como region and after a nice 4-hour loop we are back at Cascina Belvedi. A perfect ride, perfect timing to watch the Giro while having some cheese, bread and wine. Big day at the Giro, Mortirolo and finishing at Aprica. We were just there 2 day ago, familiar grounds and even more exciting to watch. Tomorrow is our off day and we get to watch the Giro live 2 feet away from Basso and the rest of the crew. A relaxing night and more great food !

Ciao

Roger

De Rosa

Thursday, De Rosa

Recovery ride in the rain and then off to the De Rosa factory, that is the plan for today, well not the rain, but we were just so lucky that it only rained today and not on any other day of the camp. We slept in (big day yesterday) and after the standard breakfast onto a nice and kind of special ride to the old part of Bergamo. To be more exact; Cita Alta. Some round stone covered streets, not exactly easy to ride on in the rain and uphill, thru the famous gate where the Giro and the World Cup Race; Tour of Lombardi has passed thru so many times. Quick stop at the town square and by now it is raining pretty hard. Enough of the sightseeing and time to head back towards the Hotel, we passed some slopes with wine yards and some really old building all surrounded by a wall, with the road snaking along the wall in between some really cool old houses, what a great place to live. Paolo takes us by his property he bought and intends to start an apple orchard on in the future, a really cool hidden location right in the middle of history. The rain just picks up and it is a couple of inches of water on the road by now and it is starting to get cold. We are soaked to the bone by the time we get back to the Hotel, but no big deal. 2 ½ hours in the rain is not the end of the world. Little lunch and a good clean up is next on the menu. This afternoon we have a visit at the De Rosa factory scheduled.
We have to do a short drive into Milan where the Factory is located and by now the sun is out again.
The pace is pretty old school, but still high tech at the same time. We get a nice tour through the pro shop where they have all different models and a lot of De Rosa clothing. Then into the actual factory where the bikes are made. Yes, they are made in Italy and they were very proud of that. We get to see the step-by-step procedure and a great explanation of the actual manufacturing of these sexy bikes. They are very open, no secrets here! These frames go through pretty stiff testing and the Italian craftsman ship is very is not compromised at any stage. Now if we only could sneak one out. This one was actually presented as a gift to me at the end of the visit ( sold it already on e-bay , sorry) Many Pro Teams has ridden these frames and still do today.Riders like Pettachi and De Luca and Garcelli have all been on these bikes . De Rosa has always been a bike that competed with Colonago and Bianchi, in other words the big league! Some souvenirs and we are on the way to a clothing company call Rosti . The Italian version of Verge . Cool to see how the cycling clothing is made and designed. We bought a few pieces to see what Paolo's Team clothing is like .

A lot of drooling and dreaming today , not enough money in the bank though to bring home one of these ( I am talking about the Ferarri) , next year we will be more prepared !A fun day and now we are recovered and re-energized to do another epic ride , I am thinking Ghisallo!

First more R-5 and some Cassancelli and we will be ready to go!

Ciao

Roger