The first time I heard the word La Bicicleta was in Italian class during my 2nd year in college. I figured, “what better way to meet a ‘nice Italian girl’ than in Italian class?” It didn’t work (with the girl), but I fell in love with the word and object, La Bicicleta.
La Bicicleta (pronounced “be chee clet a” female gender in Italian) = the bicycle; my love, passion, obsession with my bicycles is a gift given to me by my mother and encouraged by my friends. No wonder that the Italians made the word female gender!
4, 5, 6, 7, 8 hours of rhythmic syncopation of my pedal strokes provides a pleasure inducing consistent, low level discomfort that reminds me that I’m alive. And once that I’m done, I’m already thinking about tomorrow and which bike should I ride!
Aside – I built an additional bay onto our garage to hold athletic stuff, especially my bikes even though there are several hanging in the other garage bays, in Florida, AND in our basement bike shop.
I owe several things in my life to my bike, not the least of which is my life.
Aside – Suddenly, one day…
Aside, from aside – Un giorno all’improvviso (Suddenly, one day), the title of one of my two favorite tifosi chants of my beloved, SSC Napoli, see YouTube
…last fall, I had trouble breathing while riding; no breathing problems at other times; only when riding (or running). 4 months of continued riding, being unable to breathe, and being treated for allergies….
…I was talking to the surgeon as he prodded tubes and wires through my heart. Yes, I talked while having my blood artificially pumped. I was terrified…so, unlike the “normal” me, I talked…
What did we talk about? Running and bicycles, of course, which the surgeon did both! In between, he stated, “if you’d not cycled, we’d probably not found this, and you’d likely be dead!” And, as I was being wheeled out, he encouraged, “You’ll be riding by the end of next week.” I DID!
Diagnosis date = February 25, 2020 – I’m neither religious or spiritual. It was beat out of me by Sister Tarsisius and rendered illogical by Father Martin, Mr. Paluse, Prof. LoBello and my understanding of Newtonian, Non-Newtonian, and particle physics…but c’mon, really?
Ma, Perche, La Bicicleta – Part 1
La Bicicleta is one of 3 or 4 gifts given to me. I plan to explore them one at a time in the future, but right now it’s cycling. Ma, perche, la bicicleta (but, why, the bicycle)? Unknowingly, the gift was bestowed upon me, and unwittingly, I took it.
None of my relatives as we grew up cycled (but likely, one’s I don’t know yet, do!); we played American football, while women, still culturally suppressed at that time, really didn’t do sports.
I had started running after my football knee injury because I really liked pizza and beer. The more I ran, the more I could eat. It was some time after that I found cycling. But, I can point to one specific event in my life that got me on the bike, for good and for my good.
L’evento, 25 Febbraio 1990
I remember as if it were yesterday. It was Saturday, February 25, 1990 at 4pm. That date again!
On Saturdays at 4pm, ABC broadcast Wide World of Sports. I’d watched it since I was a very little boy given that sports, other than math, were one of the few things I’d figured out, even though I was pushing 30 at that moment.
The escape that sports provided is palpable for me and especially now! Wide World of Sports in those days. “The thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat.” I remember watching the broadcast of the “agony of defeat” ski jumper and thinking “wow, there’s some crazies out there!” Little did I realize, this was hidden within. I just needed something to shake it out.
The broadcast that precise day February 25, 1990 and time, 4pm, was the 1989 Ironman Hawaii. Many fringe sports were taped delayed then, and ABC would typically broadcast that event in winter to make us in the Great Lakes jealous of the Hawaiian weather; Hawaii tourism was always a sponsor!
Also, precisely at the same time Saturday, February 25, 1990 at 4pm, my mother passed away in her bed adjacent to the room with the TV where I’d just sat down to watch THE Ironman.
The 1989 Ironman Hawaii is still considered the classic. That event jump started the “I gotta’ do an Ironman” rush that continues today. I was first on that list! Without the tools and unable to process my mother’s death, I jumped head long into “I gotta’ do THE Ironman by the age 30.“
“THE” Ironman
I had just started racing triathlon the year prior. My mother saw me race once at the Kinzua Triathlon. I can plainly remember her bellow, “Oh di, oh di mi (Neapolitan shortened for, ‘oh God, oh my God’)!” As I stumbled, near last, out of the water.
And her shriek, “OH DI! OH DI! OH DI” when I finished, and she’d noticed that I’d ripped my shorts and was bleeding badly from my hip, knee, and elbow. Why?…a bike wreck, of course!
I was only worried about my bike because that old Kinzua Tri was “point-to-point,” and they threw our bikes on the back of a truck to bring them back to the finish. It was my first “real” bike, a Cannondale r700. Kinzua was my 2nd race on that bike, and the 2nd time that I’d wrecked! But I worried that the volunteers would ruin my bike even though I’d just wrecked!
A little while later, it was stolen from my house in a “good” neighborhood of the City of Rochester. Obviously, that bike had the maloik (Neapolitan shortened for Malocchio). It’s only saving grace was it’s aquamarine color, kinda looked like the famous Bianchi color!
Friends thought I was crazy to want “THE” Ironman; not any triathlon, or even a different Ironman, THE Ironman
In my mind, I’d hear my mother “perche, stunad (Neapolitan shortened version of stunata)?” Despite her protestations to the contrary, she’d routinely return to the “peasant’s language.”
“Exactly! Why was I crazy?” I’d reply to myself.
My buddy Dennis had recently completed THE Ironman. In his case, Dennis was a collegiate swimmer and HS runner (although the good part of him allowed him to play HS football 🙂 !) Despite his swimming and running background, and National ranking, it took a few years for him to get to THE Ironman.
He counseled (a consultation that continues to today, as late as yesterday!). “Do you know that you need to qualify for Ironman Hawaii? You just don’t sign up and go!” I had no idea.
“Well, he advised,
- You’ll be 30 in a few months, so, you need to get there this October
- You needed to find, then compete in an Ironman qualifier race
- You needed to place, very high in your age group.”
BAH FUNGOO (not you Dennis, the situation….)! Given that the qualifying races had already started, and that I’d never finished high up in my age group, I needed to adjust. So, though still obsessed, I do have SOME control!
And, “oh, by the way, you better get on your bike” before Kilauea AND Mauna Loa explode! (emphasis by me.) That was how low the likelihood of me qualifying for Kona (THE Ironman, Hawaii Ironman); both needed to explode at the same time. I thought, “luckily, Kilauea was already exploding…only needed one more! Ah, La Bicicleta!”
GPS #15 and #16 – Pizza, August 2
One word – GREAT!!!!!!!!!
As I mentioned in my last post, my dough is very active.
The dough and crust – I used my new cast iron pizza stone. It’s fabulous!
Still learning how to slide the pizza off the peel. As you can see from the one on the top, it had a indent where the dough stuck to the peel when trying to slide it off onto the stone.
Despite this, the curst and cornicione are still fabulous (still have some left over since the kids haven’t been over to take it!); thin, light, fluffy, held a fold, and a bit of crunch throughout.
I can’t get a Neapolitan bake at home since I don’t have the equipment (today?), but this was incredible!
The sauce – this is getting dialed in. Sweet, tangy, a little bite of red pepper, and the other secret stuff of Aunt Theresa!
The cheese – fresh ground parmagian and fresh buffalo moozedell topped with C’s fresh basil! C’mon, other than directly in Napoli, what else can be better at home?
Did you say “Napoli at home?!“
Special thanks to Will
My cycling buddy in Scotland for encouraging me to write a blog post about cycling. Will said to me via What’s App, “Mike, looked at your blog expecting cycling exploits. It’s mostly about food!! Loved it though.”
Left/1st image above – Will, and other new friends, in yellow jacket. He’d still beat me up the mountains despite him being on a E400 bike and me being on a E12k bike
Middle image above – my rental bike! Invariably, I’d get separated from the group as I’d wonder around each town we rode through in the mountains of Campania. I’d be showing my family’s tree to villagers in town squares while trying to ask in Italian if they knew my family as our group rode off! BTW – I was once told by the Lazio Women’s soccer coach in perfect English, as he recruited my daughter to leave the USA to play in Roma, “Michele, stop trying to speak Italian, you suck!”
Right/bottom image – riding along the Amalfi Coast! Checked off the bucket list!!!!!
Will, can’t wait until we get to ride the Scottish highland together! How about after harvest fall 2021 or spring 2022?
There’s a good story about Will’s and my walk with our wives while being lost in the Quartieri Spagnoli at late night; a supposed “bad part” of Napoli. Although lost, we still found Gelato and some of the friendliest people! For the future! BTW – I LOVE Quartieri Spagnoli!
Full set of photos here – My ride with new friends in Southern Italy
More about this passion to follow!
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