Paso GranFUNdo, Part III

WHOA. I need to recollect my thoughts and reconsider how I should write about this California adventure. I am overwhelmed from the entire experience.

Great people, great rides, wine tastings, late afternoon presentations, incredible dinners, and grappa nightcaps. It was, in its own unique Californian way, an opposite-side-of-the-planet "Ben Vivere" (the Good Life) which was chronicled by Buzz Yancich in 2009:
Ben Vivere, Part I
Part II
Part III
Part IV

The 2010 Paso GranFUNdo is finished. I am already looking forward to next year's.

Over the next few days I'll organize photos and stories.

Photo: Cross Canyon Road scene near San Miguel (Droid cell phone photo)

Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are very welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 1,300 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog and there is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.

Paso GranFUNdo, Part II

April 10, 2010: Beautiful 60 mile ride with 2800 feet of climbing today to Lake Nacimiento and Lake San Antonio, followed by Hare Canyon Road and then 10 miles into a very strong headwind for 10 miles along Indian Valley Road before reaching the city limits of Paso Robles. The day never really warmed up, remaining in the high 40s/low 50s, and and with the wind and some light rain in spots it wasn't "California Dreaming" for me. Especially since I packed T-shirts...what was I thinking?

Each morning begins with a rider assembly at 8:50 a.m. and we depart at 9:00 a.m. Today we also had the the rider introductions, which came from all parts of the USA, one Canadian, and Eros Poli from Verona.

Being a training camp the ride rolled along at a steady pace. There isn't time to stop for the best possible photos, unless you don't mind riding by yourself. The hills are still lusciously green and lush, it won't be long before they turn golden.

Back in time for quick shower and and a change of clothes and then off to a wine tasting.

Photos: coming in a few days

Next: Not a Granfondo but the Paso GranFUNdo

I'm off for an adventure. Not sure how much blogging I'll do over the next days but stay tuned for some surprises!

Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are very welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 1,300 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog and there is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.