New Wine 2024

 And then there's the drinking part...

Eating well includes drinking well, right? At our house it does!

We enjoy this time of year as the new wines arrive. "Novello" isn't fancy, refined and certainly not aged, but it's FUN! We bought a box of assorted varieties, 2 from Sicilia (which if we like we'll get 6 more) plus one from Puglia, one from Veneto, one from Marche and for some real fun, a Lambrusco for the next time we get out a plate of what would be called "cold-cuts" in the USA.

Wait! There's some freshly sliced mortadella here, right!?

Cin-Cin!

Life is Good, part ?

 Eating well is the best revenge

Somebody once said that, and given the results of the USA election, what else can ya do?

We can try! That's what! Above is 20 bucks worth of fresh pasta..delivered to our front door last week. Someone left a flyer in our box and Heather called 'em up, that afternoon a guy showed up with all this!

Our guess is Il Messinese makes a lot of the fresh pasta served in ristoranti around here and was looking to pick up some extra biz? Prior to this any sort of stuffed pasta like ravioli was found only at the supermarkets and made gawd-knows-where. But now...how much would YOU pay to have someone deliver this to YOUR door!

Not delivered to our door, but just 5 minutes away by bike, we can get this fresh bread any day of the week. We think Pincio supplies bread to resellers here on the island but on Sunday when we're out for a ride a stop here is great to get a still-warm loaf for Sunday pranzo. Around $1.

There's now a running joke when Zio Lorenzo shows-up here. After showing 'em a photo of a $6 "ciabatta" in a Santa Barbara supermarket, they laugh while asking him to cough-up 6 euros!

And yes, we have a neo-fascist regime here too, but they won't be slapping any massive tariffs on anything good to eat!!

Buycycle?

 buycycle? Maybe not

What do you think when this arrives?

You can't watch much of anything cycling-related these days without seeing advertising for this operation. Makes it look easy to sell your bike, like they do all the work. Don't know what kind of commission they charge but new bicycle dealers use 'em as well to move dead-stock, close-outs, etc.

Zio Lorenzo wanted another Bianchi Impulso E-Allroad like the one he left up in Piedmont. With a few modifications it's turned out to be a fun bike to ride so why not have one in Sicily next to the fancy MV e-gravel bike? You know, something to get dirty and not care much about washing it all the time? Such luxury!

He found one on this site, made an offer that was accepted and handed over credit card info. Easy, right? The bike was at a dealer in Rimini, Italy so it should be quick to ship to Siracusa, one would think.

One would be wrong. They don't tell you up-front but for some reason 7-14 business days is their window. As soon as this was disclosed Zio contacted their customer service and asked WTF a new bike from a dealer, one that hadn't even been assembled (just hoisted out of the box for the photo) would take so long to be shipped?

Not sure if they're chatbots but a customer service message came back the next day - mostly blah, blah, blah, but saying they'd contact the seller to speed things up. They also provide a message system to the seller who replied they'd received nothing so it soon became each side blaming the other for the delay. Zio admits trying to end-run the entire process by dealing directly with the bike dealer, but they declined...so we were all stuck with buycycle, like it or not.

Nothing happened other than email exchanges for two weeks, but they didn't waste any time charging our credit card. That they're quick at!

19 days (close to their 7-14 business days) later the bike finally arrived in the box you see above. Yep, the box the shop had to wait-for (and pay-for according to them) was cheap and flimsy, especially when compared to the sturdy boxes e-bikes are typically shipped in. And they use Italy's worst shipping company, one Zio avoids even when shipping is free on anything he orders. He'll pay extra to avoid them!

Fortunately there was no real damage other than some issues with the battery system showing an error message that keeps the e-bike part from doing anything, but that can't be blamed on buycycle or even the dealer, who says everything was fine when the bike was packed.

We had similar issues with Heather's bike in Piedmont, quickly solved by an "update" performed by a MAHLE service center. Zio's currently looking into how to get that done here in Sicily*.

buycycle? Maybe not? For us, never again.

Ready-to-Ride, as long as you don't need any e-assist. Zio will ride it awhile before cutting the steerer tube to-length

*Update: Zio decided to DIY the MAHLE update since the nearest service center is in Catania, so what they call a "GCU" has been ordered. An update file has been downloaded from MAHLE's website. This is supposed to be loaded onto a thumb-drive and inserted into the GCU connected to the battery charger to update the bike's firmware they say. While waiting for the GCU to arrive Zio decided to ride "Stewie" on the bike trail despite the e-assist not working.

While putting his cycling shoes on Zio noticed the flashing pink "error" light had stopped flashing, but now the brain-unit indicated low-battery? Once we started riding it was obvious the e-assist was working while the battery charge indicator showed 89% charge. A bit later the low-battery message vanished as well so as of writing this all is well. Whether to update once the GCU arrives or leave well enough alone is the next question. Both of the X35 bikes Heather rides have been trouble-free with no updates so....

Wall hanging

 Wall Hanging

Newest addition to the decorations of our tiny house in Sicily.

Just back from the frame shop, a La Mitica souvenir jersey autographed by our late friend Piero Coppi, first cousin of Il Campionissimo.

We missed the event this year, instead seeing LeTour in Bologna but we did meet up with promoter Pietro Cordelli and his lovely wife while we in Piedmont. It was great to see them and we hope to be back at La Mitica 2025.

The jersey was a gift from our friends the Beurmans

who had it autographed when they rode the event with us a few years ago.

Grazie Mille!

Slippery subject - slippery salesman?

 FRICTION FICTION

Regular blog readers have seen posts about chain lubes and questions about waxing rather than simply oiling your chain. Zio's firmly in the oil camp and sees no reason to buy-into the claims of the wax-cult.

But someone who REALLY wants you to join the cult is the guy who runs what Zio laughingly calls "Friction Fiction"

Before you take the plunge you might want to read THIS. This huckster is a former cop with zero engineering, mechanical or bike industry background it seems?

Photo above is of Zio's "secret blend" chain lube. Nothing more than an under $20 jug of synthetic automotive gear oil. Thick enough to stay on but thin enough to get inside the chain rollers. He's used it off and on for years but is only now trying a test of how fast a chain wears while using this exclusively. 

Some oil gets dripped-on when the chain appears dry with a wipe-off after backpedaling a few times. When the bike gets washed a bit of diesel fuel is brushed on the chain and rest of the drivetrain, then washed-off with the same dish soap used for the rest of the bike. The oil left behind is usually good for a few rides before more oil needs to be applied.

So far, 2000 kilometers on a new chain with ZERO measurable wear. Note that unlike Friction's test this chain was NOT chemically or ultrasonically cleaned, the lube was just dripped on over the lubricant (grease) that was on the chain when it came out of the package. Since there's no issue mixing oil and grease (unlike oil and wax) why anyone using oil would spend time and money REMOVING the grease makes no sense to Zio.

KMC recommends replacement at .08 mm of wear but Zio will replace it before .04 just to make sure the cogs and chainrings don't get worn. Another bike we have here has 4000+ kilometers on its chain with just .02 mm of wear, so a simple oiling regimen (this time with various lubes including FinishLine green and Mobil1) seems just fine as chains are cheap, disposable wear items like tires, so why spend all the money and time pulling 'em off, cleaning 'em in ultrasonic gizmos and then boiling 'em in wax?

Hot, hot, hot!

 How Hot is Too Hot?

It was hot (almost too hot) in Piedmont back in July

How hot is too hot? Zio Lorenzo's using the "Over 65 years of age + over 32 C temperature = stay inside where it's cool." equation to keep him off his sporty bikes these days. He'll go out on the shopping bike in the morning but that's it for exercise, other than going up and down the stairs inside the house.

But what about racing? The UCI recently adopted some weather protocols calling anything above 28 C:

Red Zone – Above 28°C – High risk – Modification of start and finish times, possible neutralisation of a section or cancellation of the stage/race.

Yet the Vuelta's been running for a week in Portugal and southern Spain in temperatures around 40 C. WTF? Some changes HAVE been made, but they seem more like what's called-for here:

Orange Zone – Between 23°C and 27.9°C – Moderate high risk – Keep start area in the shade, protect officials, increase number of neutral motorbikes providing riders with drinks and ice packs, adapt the rules that limit hydration and cooling in during competition. 

Zio's no weather expert but a chart he consulted shows 40 C to be "extreme danger" for prolonged exposure or strenuous activity unless the humidity is under 50%. That "dry heat" they like to talk about I guess?

IS the humidity in southern Spain under 50%? Riders have commented on the extreme heat pretty much every day, yet the protocols observed seem to be just those for "Orange Zone" with temps maxing out at 28 C rather than something for the 40's reported. Is "wet bulb" temperature as noted in the UCI protocols all that different?

Where's the infamous riders union guy - the one who made so much noise about cold and rain earlier this year? Zio notes that one can always put on MORE clothes when it's cold vs the heat in Spain where the racers garb is almost transparent. What does he have to say about these extreme temps that seem to exceed what is allowed? He made a big stink about hookless wheel rims not too long ago but wrote this about racing in 40 C temps...

"It's borderline, but it's OK"

Zio can only scratch his bald head and wonder WTF? This fellow showed no fear of castigating the Giro d'Italia and it's organizer RCS over cold and wet conditions, saying this as recently as May:

“We need to make the Extreme Weather Protocol a bit more specific, It's too general,” he suggested. “There were two points this time: freezing rain and extreme temperatures, which was today. So we could have invoked the protocol, without all the debate and discussions.”

But "It's borderline, but it's OK" when it comes to 104 F in the sun? That's not an extreme temperature?

Could this have anything to do with this race being owned by the mighty ASO, who also owns LeTour, Paris-Roubaix, etc. vs RCS, owner of Il Giro? If the Giro encounters temps like these in the future (and it won't be the first time, I remember Stephen Roche complaining about heat in Sicily during La Corsa Rosa decades ago) will he say:

"It's borderline, but it's OK*"?

Zio wouldn't bet on it!

Update: Discussions are popping-up online about 

WTF the Vuelta is in August in the first place if it's too hot? You have to go back to the mid-1990's when that corrupt candy executive was the UCI boss. Back then the screwball idea was put to the Giro d'Italia organizer to move La Corsa Rosa to August and let La Vuelta have the May/June spot on the calendar.

RCS wisely said NFW so the Vuelta was forced (and later taken over entirely by ASO, owners of LeTour since it turned out to be such a dumb move) into this spot on the calendar from it's previous spring (before Il Giro) dates. Just another bad idea from the same guy who helped BigTex conceal his doping -  but are we stuck with it forever?

*Hansen claimed to have surveyed the riders at La Vuelta with few expressing any reservations (we'll ignore Antonio Tiberi dropping out because of the heat I guess?) but back in 2018 at the Tour Down Under, with racing going on despite 40+C temps he said this: "I had mixed reactions from riders about the heat. Yes, there were many riders who wanted to stop the race. But there were also other riders who wanted to race." He also went on to tell his detractors: "Get your facts right, not everyone shares your opinion!"

Zio would suggest perhaps he take his own advice?

Radio-controlled Racing?

 Radio-controlled Racing?

Nah, we're not talking about radio-controlled toy racing cars or airplanes, we're talking about radio-controlled pro cyclists. Equipped with radios similar to the photo.

Why? Because of the recent almost melt-downs by two of the biggest team bosses in the sport. Here's the first:

This year's Tour de Pologne is marked by UCI's test of racing without radios. For every supporter of the less controlled racing, there is a hater pointing out disadvantages. Today, there has been another incident fueling Richard Plugge's narrative against radio ban."It was chaos today, without radios. UCI cannot continue with this radio ban. It turns the race into a complete farce like we saw in the olympics where riders cannot call the car for basic assistance (in case of a mechanical)," Plugge complains on X."Today we saw Cofidis' Nicolas Debeaumarché crash hard on a descent in latter parts of the stage. The French rider clearly wasn't in a very good shape, however it has taken a substantial amount of time before he was treated. Hopefully no one was too badly hurt today," Plugge added.

Here's the second:

"I would like to conclude my column with my opinion on the discussion about earphones (race radios) in Poland. As is well known: the cycling association (UCI) is conducting an experiment there: only two riders per team are allowed to be in radio contact with the support car. If I am well informed, there were not even any earphones left in the past few stages.”

“I find this measure completely ridiculous and symptomatic of the lack of unity that still exists within the peloton. I have seen twenty emails in which the teams wrote emphatically: ‘never in our lives’. Now it is happening anyway. Not coincidentally in the Tour of Poland, with race director John Lelangue, the most flexible person in the world when it comes to the wishes of the UCI.”

Lefevere doesn’t hold back: “It is also a disgrace for the AIGCP – the umbrella organisation of the teams. I have come to know Brent Copeland as someone who always knows best at meetings, but as chairman he now shows little backbone. I wonder: what if there is a big oil slick on the road and the peloton is not aware of it? I hope that a number of people will then feel deeply ashamed.”

Zio Lorenzo has two words in response - the first is BULL. You can guess the other.

I'll point out to "Mr. Never in Our Lives" race radios were introduced by Motorola for their team in the early 1990's. I think the man was around back then, in fact a quick internet search shows he ran the GB-MG team back then and probably didn't much like Motorola having those radios until his team had them as well?

Zio was around then and remembers how the Motorola team touted these gizmos as a great advantage when racing. No longer did the DS have to drive the car up to the road captain and yell out whatever he wanted them to know for all to hear. Now instructions could be shared in-secret directly from the DS to the riders AND the riders could communicate with each other out of earshot. Seemed like a real advantage even when all the other teams had them eventually. They could all share secret instructions without the other teams knowing. 

I'd also like to know how/why you call the Olympic Games roadrace a farce, Mr. Plugge? I was there for both by the way.

When TV screens were introduced into the team cars the real era of "radio-controlled racing" began. I'd say the worst example was during the BigTex era on the infamous climb of Mont Ventoux. Tex' DS, watching TV images from the team car dialed up an infamous doping doctor who was watching the race on TV (one who worked with Tex) to sort of "compare notes" on the performance of Tex' big rival, Il Pirata.

Doping Doc told DS how long he thought The Pirate could go at that pace, which was then relayed to Tex via the radio earpiece so he could adjust his own effort accordingly. If that's NOT radio-controlled racing I don't know what is!  

Back in the pre-radio "fog of war" days Tex would have had to look the Pirate in the eyes and determine how much strength he had left with maybe at best getting some advice yelled at him by the DS from the car...which the Pirate might well be able to hear too.

The real hypocrisy here is the blathering about safety by these team bosses combined with the total avoidance of mentioning any tactical benefits of radio-controlling your riders. Is it just a coincidence that these two team bosses have two riders well-known for incredible watts/kg ratios but not so much for tactical racing smarts?

I watched a video clip asking riders their thoughts about radio earpieces and I don't think a single one of them mentioned anything about safety - it was all about tactics and the day's route, something that can be (and was) figured out well in advance before the introduction of radio communications. More than a few even admitted to yanking the earpiece out when the DS wouldn't shut up. How does that work for safety?

At least now the UCI has fired back:

“Hey Richard. You have been caught spreading fake news! The crashes in the Tour of Poland have nothing to do with the absence of radios and you know that. All riders have been helped according to our standards. The UCI’s priority is safety. You want to keep radios for instructions to your riders, not for safety”

Zio Lorenzo thinks these blowhard's bluffs should be called. If it's all about safely as they like to claim, simply connect all the race radio reception to the race organizer ONLY. Give the rider a "I've fallen and I can't get up" button to push in-case of an emergency but all the warnings about "oil slicks" and other dangers on the course would then be warned about by the organizers, no DS' required. 

Riders would have to communicate the way they did before the early 1990's and an experienced road captain might have to drop back to the DS' car for his instructions. No TV screens in the cars either...the occupants of those should be taking care of their riders and watching where they're going, advised by the race organizer via radio...the same instructions/warnings, etc. the riders and everyone else involved all hear.

What excuse could Lefevere/Plugge, etc. come up with to oppose this idea if SAFETY is the reason they so much want radio earpieces? 

Will we find out? Call their bluff UCI! Propose this solution rather than a ban/restriction on radio-earpieces.