I have been on a business trip in Northern Italy since last Wednesday. It took me 18 hours of travel to get to my first hotel and worked 12 hours on Thursday and 14 hours on Friday. I was invited to go skiing on Saturday and Sunday so I jumped at the chance. No biking time so needed some exercise. This is my sixth trip to Europe since January 07 and only the second time I had some time to do something on my own. I haven’t been skiing in 23 years but this was a good opportunity to give it a go. We drove up to Ponte di Legno, Passo Tonnale Saturday morning. A friend lent me skis and ski clothes and I rented a pair of ski boots. I got about 10 minutes on an easy slope and then we went straight up the lifts to the intermediate and advanced intermediate slopes. One of my companions was an Austrian business man living for a long time in Italy. He has been skiing almost since he could walk. Under his tutelage I was able to have a fun day skiing without spending to much time on my bottom. On the last trip down the slopes I screwed up a turn, caught a tip and just before my knee snapped, my binding let go. I got up assessed the situation and felt okay so I skied to the bottom.
Today, Sunday, I woke up to a tweaky knee and some screaming quads. On the last trip down my instructor told me I was staying to low after the turns and spent to much time with my legs flexed low.
I found muscles I haven’t used like that in a long time.
Tonight I am back in my hotel room in Brescia, writing reports and preparing for another couple of long days. There is no hotel gym to workout in and I won’t be back on the bike until next weekend.
I then have one week before Solvang Century. Oh well, what are you gonna do? Here are a couple of pics.
After a couple of Runs on the Alpa Alta Runs
Alpa Alta
Passo Tonnale
Looking for a biking vacation place to stay? Ponte di Legno
Ponte di Legno
