2009 Giro Trip - Ready To Roll Out

Only 2 weeks till we'll be riding the Abruzzo country side.   After a few days in Roio del Sangro, we will head up into Tuscany for a few days that the molto bella Villa di Sotto. This bed & breakfast is located just east of Sienna in the small village of Villa di Sesta.  We will cruise some of the white gravel roads used in March's Montepaschi Strade Bianche - Eroica Tosana 1-day race.   These roads go for miles and are very well marked and easy to follow.  There are also some amazing climbs very close by.  We might even see some wild cinghiale, as they roam the surrounding foothills.  We will spend an afternoon sampling some of the local vineyards finest chianti classico.   We will also spend an afternoon in Siena, as well as San Gimignano and Montepulciano.  After Tuscany, our trip will head back down to our home in Abruzzo to catch 2 of the Giro's toughest stages in the final week.  Stage 17 might only be 80kms, but it's all uphill.  Starting in Chieti, it heads east to the Adriatic Coast in Pescara before heading back inland and upward down the famous dead-end climb to the Blockhaus summit at over 2000 meters.  They have just recently moved the finish from the very top, down about 4kms to Passo Lanciano. Where Ivan Basso won a few years ago.  Never-the-less, those last 4kms will be open to cyclists willing to test the steep grade and thin air.  The following days stage leaves Sulmona and makes a quick climb up to Roccaraso before make a flat run into Benevento.  We will ride over and catch the action in the town of Rionero Sannitico.  There is a sharp, steep climb right here that might lauch a winning move.   The following day we will head into Rome for some sight seeing before the final individual time trial through the cobbled streets and around some of the worlds most famous landmarks, such as the Coliseum.