2010 FinKraft Italy/ Giro Camp May 22nd -31st

Well , the Tucson Camp is done and it is time to think "Italy"If you read the blog or you attended the AZ camp you know what it is all about!

I am happy to announce that a long time dream of mine will come true this2010 spring. FinKraft, in partnership with our friend Paolo Zenoni who lives in Bergamo, Italy will provide a fully supported cycling experience in Italy. Often called “the mother country of cycling” in many people’s eyes, we will be riding on legendary roads and routes that the Giro d’ Italia and other classic road races like Giro di Lombardy have passed through over the years. There is no other country with such a strong history in cycling and such amazing scenery. Cycling here is a culture and if you love cycling, this trip is a dream come true.We will leave in the evening from the US on May 21st and arrive in Milan the following morning (May 22nd). If traveling from a different destination all arrivals have to be on Saturday morning to enable a convenient airport pick-up for all clients at the same time. We will have a support van (Team bus) which will be our transportation during our stay. Each client is responsible for his or her own airline ticket and bike transport to Milan, but group discount for airline tickets might be available. Upon arrival at our base camp Hotel Cascina Belvedi (http://www.cascinabelvedi.it/) we will get settled and after a short nap we will assemble our bikes and go for a light spin before dinner. The personnel is English speaking and our accommodations include a big breakfast and a nice real authentic Italian dinner every day. The ride program will be flexible with weather conditions and logistics such as travel to and from different locations.
Here is a preliminary route schedule:

Saturday: arrive at the airport; bus transfer to the hotel; bikes assembly and short easy facultative ride.

Sunday: scenic loop, relatively flat and visit to the old city of Bergamo (Citta`Alta). Spouses take public transportation (easy) and meet up in Citta` Alta. Riding time: 4 hours

Monday: hilly ride, Passo San Marco. Spa day/hiking for the spouses (stores are closed Monday morning but open in the afternoon around 3:30pm so shopping not possible in the am). Riding time: 5 hours.



Tuesday: bus transfer to the beautiful town of Stresa and flat ride around Lago Maggiore. Spouses can enjoy strolling through the town and taking a ferry ride on the lake, visiting the isles and the enchanting gardens. Riding time: 6 hours.

Wednesday: hilly ride to Madonna del Ghisallo and visit to the museum of the cyclists and to the sanctuary of the Madonna del Ghisallo. Spouses take bus to Bergamo and train to Milano to shopping/sightseeing - full day for them and rest afternoon for us. Riding time: 4 hours.

Thursday: travel by bus to Bormio. Climb the Mortirolo and the Gavia passes. Spouses have the opportunity to see this alpine town, where the World Ski Cup is held every year and ride by bus to the ski town of Livigno enjoying breathtaking mountain views (1,5 hour by bus from Bormio) and tax free shopping. Riding time: 6 very tough hours.

Friday: easy ride around the Bergamo area. Relaxing in countryside for the spouses. (Idea: take local bus to either 1) horseback riding in Valle Imagna for a few hours, 2) visit to winery locally, 3) indoor swimming pool for fun with the kids, etc) Riding time: 3 hours

Saturday: Giro d'Italia day! Bikes will be left at hotel and everyone can have a fun day watching the hill finishing 20th stage of the Giro (Bormio - Ponte di Legno - Tonale) - bus trip to location to watch stage and back later to hotel.

Sunday: Nice ride through the rolling vineyards of Franciacorta; bikes packing. Wives bus to Bergamo, train to Lake Como for the day) Riding time: 4 hours. Monday: Bus transfer to the airport. Program may change due to weather reasons.

Monday: Bus transfer to Airport Total riding time: at least 32 hours with some extremely challenging climbs.

Deadline for sign up is March 31st, 2010. There are a lot of logistics for this trip , so the sooner the better.

Thanks

Last Sun rise in AZ

Last sun rise for us , early rise for the Shoot Out , the finally again for week # 3, the ride nobody really wants to do after riding 25-30 hours, but can not miss either after coming all the way out here ( bragging rights for the resume back home)

After some epic rides and climbs , sometimes walking up the hills ( just kidding) , laying down ( not kidding), wanting to turn around or just having a break thru ride this years camp is coming to an end and it is time pack up and get back to the east coast and start racing , again!!!!

Of course we have to take advantage of a beautiful afternoon and relax a little by the pool , before having pizza and beers to cap of a great week of training.

You would think my wife is Italian ,well she has been to Italy once ( does that count ??)

Every week we did the "Shoot Out " on the last day of the camp , a little race tune up before heading back home and an opportunity to ride with some of the Pros who are in town , Todd Well, some Garmin Pros and a bunch of Canadians that are not afraid to trow it down on this world famous group ride, you never know who you will see on this one !

Posing at Starbucks after some Latte's ( or what ever they call it ) , Tucson is such a cycling capitol in the states for the winter months and this is where a lot of guys put in their base miles while it is snowing at home !

This picture makes me hungry ! The food was just incredible every day , it was my wife cooking all the meals, even I eat the same food at home it just seemed like everything here is so much better???

Did I mention , we have full airport pick and drop of and if you sent the bike out with us , all you needed was a bag of clothes for this camp and you were good to go ( notice how happy these guys are 5.00 am )

Until next time , AZ in the rear view and onto some new things !!

Thanks for following us on our FinKraft Training Camp , hope to see YOU out there next year!

Roger

Living the Pro life

On top of the world with Kevin and the Power Cranks, big day " The Queen Stage " 115 miles to Kitt Peak and back with a nice finish over Gates Pass. The official finish line ( not our drive way)


Some R&R at the top ! These guys worked hard climbing up this thing , this is not a Touring Camp by no means!
It was an awesome effort by everybody , very impressive riding on a gorgeous day by this group, 6 hours plus in the saddle is a big day for any bike rider!

After a long day in the office , a nice out door shower is what makes it all worth it . Now we just need a Sauna and I would feel like home ( Finland )

We were pretty close to Mexico today and a we had a few Empenadas on he way , so what is better to finish off the day with some Mexican , Burritos with the works !!

.....and what is left?? clean up in aisle 2!!

Fun stuff and great training , the guys here are reaching some new heights and experiencing the Pro life or if not even better( no pressure here) !

Roger

More training Camp

Three Gringos in town , cold and windy ride to Bisbee via Tombstone with the new crew , what happened to the AZ weather we all came here for?


No , we are not in Italy yet ! Only Bisbee , but that is still a great stop!

Nice little cafe , Rob really enjoyed himself , felt like home at our rest stop ( just got out of the shower I think -:)

National Champion steering down some Bisbee pie at the coffee shop at our turn around!

It is an old mining town , so a few things is made out of copper! I do not know what Paul is pointing at though!

Traveling to the rides could be an experience , the Border Patrol took this one real well! We are about 8 miles from the Mexican border after all.

Nutrition is as important ( if not even more) as the rides or the rest we get here on the camp . You can never pack enough ride food into your jersey pockets , but nobody has bonked yet either, so that says something.


The boys from Italy were doing great eating the Barilla spaghetti " the right way" . The dinners are really what keeps this crew going , thanks Kimberly and the girls who are helping in the kitchen. More about the Menu here at the FinKraft Camp to come soon, that is my blog intentions for this week, besides keep "Marinating" the boys on their bikes :)

Roger

Power Cranks up to 9000 feet

When you ride the Cranks and as your ability improves you will always look for new challenges.

It could be as simple as adding time to your ride or just trying to keep a cadence above 85 rpm !

I have ridden them for over 10 years now and pretty much run out of challenges . I wanted to promote the Power Cranks here on our FinKraft Training Camp this year, since we are dealer for them now and it would be great opportunity to show our clients what they are all about.

I have never had them out here in Tucson , so riding up Mt Lemmon on Power Cranks was new to me and a nice way to show case them .

I had good company from James and Wayne and the pace was pretty decent all the way up , James said if we did not go all the way to the top to Ski Valley, we could not live with ourselves , I guess no choice there!

Some heckling and telling a few war stories at the cookie shack in Summer Haven before we had to plummet back down , another challenge for sure !

If you ever descended a 20 mile plus climb on Power Cranks you know what I mean!

Everything is big , big Mountain, big Cokes and big Cookies! Life is good !!!

This was pretty good day in the saddle , about 5 hours ride time on new grounds with Cranks !

If you want to keep it interesting and challenge yourself , get a pair of Power Cranks . Best training tool out there in my opinion , worth every penny!

Roger

FinKraft Camp update

A few adjustments for Anthony and Wayne and we are good to go , 115 miles ahead of us , so everything needs to be perfect , anything that is not ; will show up for sure . This camp is a testing ground for a lot of things , bike fit is one them !


Well , we made it abut 2 miles when the flat fest started , Cactus thorns galore! A test on tires and patience

We had a beautiful day ahead of us , but 6 flats in a six hour ride , what is going on ? It did not really spoil anything , we had all day and nothing else to do , we are here to ride our bikes and that is it , besides eating and sleeping. Speaking of eating; Burrito Night tonight!

Some rides could be really looooooong and haaaaaaaard !

AZ critters , all poisonous according to Steve including this Scram one laying on the road up Kitt Peak , so just look no touching !

I think I am a Kitt Peak member by now , 2 times up in 2 weeks . Great ride by Adam, Steve and Rich today , solid ride by all the boys today for that matter , close to 4000 cals burnt today and a few new Kitt Peak members today !

This is the best food hands down I ever had a on a bike ride , this empenada blows every bar, gel or any kind of sports food away ever invented !

On one of our flatter and some what easier day , if you can call a 4 hour with an 11 miles gradual climb in it an easy ride is to via Oracle to Mammoth and back to our starting point in Ora Valley .

We did this one the first week as well , but due to 40 degree temps , rain sideways and 50 mph winds , we chickened out and turned around in Oracle and missed the most amazing scenery , something that you could not ever imagine . Unbelievable back drop ( a drop from 4500 feet to 2300 feet) into a town of nothing , we saw maybe 4 people in the whole town almost scary! But .... we found Gold, a Mexican bakery ! Unbelievable empenadas right out of the owen . They were so good we bought 28 , yes she would not sell anymore to us after begging for some more!

A classic picture in a town of nothing but empenadas and a bike !

More FinKraft Camping in AZ

Yes , we do ride on these roads , this is the road up Mt Lemmon and we do this one twice each week. What a Breath taking ride -:) litterly!

If you like climbing there is plenty of it for sure , but on this one you ca catch a nice rytmen and really find your climbing groove or not ! Experience the altitude as well which is new to most of all.

It looks cold with the snow on the side of road , but it is really not for the most part!

This camp is very International ( 8-9 different countries ) , here we have our French rider David dancing up the climb. Now if we only had a bike like these the rides would be a breeze !

What goes up , comes down !One of the most thrilling decent around . Flying down without touching the breaks for an hour .

It could be a hair raising experience for sure , but who would no want that on a bicycle !

Believe it or not there is time for some breaks here and there , even though this guy will get a $ 50.00 fine later in the mail( he does not know yet)

At the end of the day a little soaking and just hanging loose is all it is about!


Now we just have to hope we all become faster bike racer , that is the purpose of this life style for all of us , we have to keep reminding ourselves of that :)

Roger

Camp update 2nd week

This is what it looks like from our house in the morning , not a bad view to wake up to !!

Since we are doing all the rides all over again ( man I have to ride up Mt Lemmon 6 times before this thing is over ) I am just going to update you guys on cool events that happens along the way .

Sunday , rain and cold all day!

Little antsy for the new guys, lots of snacking , getting settled and resting from travel ( means a little recovery for me and Kyle too) , you can sense the restless feeling and everybody wanted to get out for a ride . I would have ridden for sure , but it was just nasty out there all day . So we made the best of it and watched the Olympics , the 50 K classic style XC race , awesome race !! Way to go Nortug, amazing sprint ! Good time to get to know the guys and let them know will be on the menu for week .

Monday , perfect day . Not a cloud on the sky and a good day to start the 2nd week . Flat ( or some what ) Tombstone and Bisbee. Nice group and a very smooth ride , no problems at all !

Heading towards the OK Corral , once again.

Here comes the train !

Last hour a 11 man pace line at a 25 mph + , so drilling it ! Great way to go from Tombstone back to Walmart in Benson. ( remember to check out people@walmart.com sometimes) A couple of guys had some beans and rice in Bisbee , I never had that on a ride before??? , go figure !!

Clean all the bottles and
a great dinner, I will never eat out again , the food is just awesome ! After onto reviewing of some files and post ride talk on the screen to make sure we all started off on a good note ! The weather looks solid for the week , that is all that matters ! There is snow and sleet in the forcast for the east coast one guy said , oh well -:) We will see some snow tomorrow on Mt Lemmon , but it will be 70 dergees at the bottom.

Roger