Finding My Inner Strength, Grado to Valdobbiadene

I hope I didn’t leave you feeling discouraged with my previous post, but I wanted to give it to you straight up. That evening, I decided that something had to change. I came to the realization that you have to expect the unexpected and be prepared to deal with challenges as they arise. Although we’d like to think that things will go smoothly, they most often will not. So, I began Stage 3 with a different attitude. I was cautiously optimistic about my knee pain, and was prepared to deal with the fact that I may not be able to complete the Giretto in its entirety.

Stage 3 was our longest ride with 198 kilometers. The day consisted of mostly flat riding with a little bit of climbing at the end. I decided that it would be better to use caution and play it safe rather than risking injuring myself more seriously. So, we started out with a slower pace that day, around 17-18 mph. I hung in there with the team for the first 40 miles or so but after that I started having intermittent knee pain. My Dad suggested that I ride in the van for a little while, at least until we were through the “grunge” miles (long, flat, boring riding). So, reluctantly, I hopped in the van where I spent the next 1 ½ hours. I made the most of riding in the van, yelling at our driver, Danielle, to pull over at every good photo opp (which was amusing since I spoke no Italian and he spoke no English), and waving to all the spectators on the streets who thought we were part of the Giro Caravan!

Gino Gets the Sprint Points!

As time wore on, I grew tired of being in the van, anxious to get back on the bike. Finally, we approached the foothills and I knew it was time. I had been massaging my leg regularly in the van and I felt that I was ready to complete the stage. Plus, it was going to start getting interesting!

I hopped out of the van, eagerly threw my gear back on and headed out with the team. As we made the first turn, however, we were met with what would be the steepest climb of the entire trip. I had a sinking feeling in my stomach as I didn’t have any warm up whatsoever and I thought for sure my knee was going to give out. I looked ahead and saw the van driving off in the distance, which meant I was committed. I had to climb it now. As we approached the hill I used as much momentum as I could, shifting as I went up. I tried to shift into the granny gear but couldn’t get it in the third ring so I was stuck in the middle! The only way I could get up the hill now was out of the saddle. There was a little pain at the very beginning, but once I really got into the climb that went away. Pretty soon I passed Jennifer, and then my Dad, and not long after I couldn’t even see them behind me anymore! There were HUGE crowds on either side waiting for the Peloton screaming Vai, Vai (GO), Forza (Strong), Brava! At two different points in the climb, spectators came out and decided to give me a little push which I was happy to have. The hill just kept going and going, not giving any reprieve from the steepness; but the crowds kept cheering, and before you knew it, I made it to the top! This was exactly how I needed to start in order to reestablish my confidence, and there was no looking back after that.



Mass Amount of People at Finish in Valdobbiadene

Life won’t always live up to your expectations

I am the type of person that sets high expectations. I set them high for myself, for others, for events and trips - basically for anything happening in my life. Throughout my life, I have always had to deal with these expectations being let down for some reason or another. Regardless of how many times I’ve been let down, I continue to set high expectations. I wonder if this is why so many people have little to no standards – for fear of disappointment?

This trip has not gone particularly as planned so far. On day 1 we were not able to bring out bikes onto Lido for the Team Time Trial. Lido is an island that you must take a ferry to, and the city of Venice absolutely would not let any bikes on the ferry; no matter how frequently we threw out Lance Armstrong’s name. So, disappointed, we rode back to the B&B, dropped off our bikes, and headed over on foot (by ferry). We decided that it may have been best that we couldn’t do the TT anyway since I had been feeling some pain below my knee – something that had started occurring just the week that we had left. Hopefully the next day we could make minor adjustments to my bike set up to see if that would help.

Today was day two, Stage 2 – Jesolo to Trieste. Because they only drink bottled water here, I was drinking less than usual and had a headache from being dehydrated, so before we set out I took a few Advil. I didn’t know it, but the Advil took care of any knee pain I may have been experiencing and I rode through the first 100 kilometers, unknowing. All of the sudden, it started; chronic pain right below the knee. I thought it may go away at first but it persisted and it grew stronger. I wanted to ignore it; I told myself it wasn’t bad and I should just keep riding and it will go away. I started over compensating with my left leg and was basically pedaling with one leg. I tried to press on but I couldn’t keep up. My Dad had adjusted my cleat but the damage had already been done.



Jennifer and Gino rode on ahead of me, while I suffered from behind and tried to maintain a reasonable pace. I thought that maybe if I changed positions and stood up for awhile that may help the condition, but when I came out of the saddle, the pain was so intense that my leg buckled from under me and forced me back into the saddle. Any type of pressure proved to be too much and even bumps in the road were starting to aggravate it.

As we came into Trieste, I tried to enjoy the beauty of it all but all I could think of was how it wasn’t fair. I trained so hard for so long and now, of all times, I have to get an injury! Now, when it really matters and I should be at the top of my game, hammering the hills and screaming down the descents, now, I get an injury??? It’s just not fair. I took a few more Advil as we reached the bottom of the mountain in Trieste which allowed me to finish the ride. I wish I had been living in the moment, appreciating the winding descents, the sidewalks filled with spectators on both sides, and the streets completely empty of any traffic but the three of us on our bikes; the LAST people on the road just minutes before the pro’s came through. But all I could think of, was, what if I’m hurting myself more? What if I can’t ride all the way tomorrow? What if I can’t climb the Dolomites? It took everything I had to hold back the tears and suppress the emotions I was feeling.

There were high points today, and there were low points. But that’s life. It deals you highs and it deals you lows, and what makes and builds your character is how you deal with the highs and lows. I don’t think that I should have to settle for less. I don’t think I should change my expectations just because things go awry sometimes. But what I do need to change is the mentality that things will always go my way. There are some things that are just out of my control and I need to be prepared for when things go wrong, and learn how to turn it around and make a better situation out of it.

I hope that I can learn from this experience and make tomorrow a better one; stay tuned…

Music Selector is the Soul Reflector

When preparing for a ride the night before, I have sort of a mental checklist that I go through: riding gear – check; helmet, shoes, gloves – check; tires pumped – check; fuel / hydration – check; IPOD charged – check. The last item may seem insignificant but it’s not. While I could complete our training rides without music, it’s much more enjoyable with it. Not only is it nice to have some music to break up the hours of riding, it really helps you to push yourself when you thought you had nothing left to give.

Being out on the bike in 85-90 degree weather for 6 straight hours, climbing hill after endless hill, is a humbling experience. I have a habit of building things up in my head, visualizing what an awesome experience will be – the thrill of it all – without thinking of the pain and sacrifice it will take to get there. The thing that excited me most about doing the Giretto was the opportunity to ride 415 miles in 4 days. Who knows what it will actually feel like on the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th days. Will I be as excited about it then?

At some point you need to prepare yourself mentally for the point when it gets hard, really hard. Just the thought of the next hill in the distance is demoralizing. Music plays a huge role in keeping me motivated. I always bring my IPOD with me on rides but seldom use it, reserving it for when I need it most; when my body wants to give up by I need to force my legs to keep moving. The rhythm of the music helps to improve consistency in my pedal stroke, rather than focusing all my mental energy on how hard and painful the climb is. It helps to get me through that last hill, or the last 20. It’s amazing how a change in your attitude or mentality will change the way you approach every hill.

My biggest concern on Saturday was that I wouldn’t be able to live up to the standard I set for myself the week prior. I felt great that week and was really attacking the hills at the end, but what would happen this week? Would I be as strong? Would I be able to keep up at a higher pace? We had upped the anty by adding 20 miles to the ride and were also going to try to maintain an average speed of 15-16 mph. All of this with 7200-7500 feet of climbing. The previous training ride left me confident, which is a great thing, but overconfidence can hurt you and you can be broken down easily. It’s important to stay confident but to remain humble at the same time.

I started to fatigue both mentally and physically towards the end but knew I had to keep going. I knew my body could do it; I just had to get my mind wrapped around it. And when it became too hard, and I started to break down, I threw in my ear buds and just enjoyed the ride.