It's getting cold

The first snows of the season have powdered the tops of the mountains that rear up in front of my apartment and the days are getting short. Riding a bike is dare I say it, becoming less enjoyable in such conditions.

This is the time of year when many riders in the Northern Hemisphere furrow their brow in contemplation over how long they keep persevering with frost-bitten fingers and icicled beards before wrapping up their pride and joy in cotton wool until the sun starts working again.

In Australia I rode the whole year round - even in chilly Canberra - with not much issue and went without a car for three years but here is another thing entirely.

I will press on as long as I can, but it's only a matter of time before the paddock stands and trickle charger come out and the Mille goes into hibernation for the winter. Perhaps this weekend if the weather is kind I will let her gorge herself on some freshly laid asphalt to build up her constitution before she goes into stasis.. yes, that sounds like a good idea :)

One track mind

On Saturday some friends and I got up long before the sun and made our way to Vairano, a small town in Lombardia with no redeeming features except for a sinewy, roughly three kilometre long stretch of asphalt that has taken up residence there.

The previous night's sleep was fitful and hardly replenishing - my mind was bombarded with images of approaching apexes and vanishing braking markers while the infernal cacophony of a legion of barely muffled bikes haunted my dreams.

A three hour trip in the fully loaded van was managed thanks to copious amounts of caffeine, sugar and the ubiquitous pre-track chatter which ranges from weather forecasts to tyre pressures and everything in between. A few bum steers from the GPS aside we were trackside, geared-up and good to go before we knew it.

My first trip out on the track with my new bike went quite well - I was quite rusty but generally happy with my progress throughout the day. It has been so long since I've been able to chernobyl a bike around a track and I was surprised that I managed to get my knee down on the tall RSV after only a few laps.

The only hiccup in an otherwise perfect day was when I apexed way too early on a left hander which put me way offline on the exit and into the kitty litter.

The only damage in the end was a few scratches to Allegra and some cracked ribs, a twinged neck and a bruised ego for yours truly. A fair trade for a day spent crawling over a gorgeous bike on a kickarse track don't ya think?

Here are some atmospheric pics from the day.. and perhaps a link to a vid or three soon :)