20090426 – Rome to Montefiescone

I had a little trouble sleeping last night. I fell asleep instantly a little after 10:00 but something woke me up after an hour or so. After putting in ear plugs and forcing myself to relax, I drifted off. It was caused partly by jet lag. Tonight is the dreaded third night where jet lag is the worst. Vino rosso and Tylenol PM will help.

I was up at 6:30 and at breakfast at 7:00. We had the same buffet as yesterday – orange juice, bacon and eggs, breads, fresh fruit and yogurt. I checked out at 9:00 and joined part of our group waiting to load the bus. We did that a little later and then left for Montefiescone at 10:30. The ride took us through the uninteresting outskirts of Rome and then into the countryside past farm land and ancient villages. We arrived at our hotel shortly after noon.

 

After unloading our bags and checking into our room, we had the option of going to eat or putting our bikes together. I decided to eat first and went to a nearby trotteria with two couples in our group. I had spaghetti with meat sauce.  There were lots of Italian families there having their Sunday mid-day dinner.

After lunch, I went back to our bicycle assembly area across the road from our hotel. My Bike Friday went together really fast. I had to spend a little time adjusting my new brake pads, but it was easy to do. A few sprinkles got me slightly wet. Some of us were planning to take a “test ride” to see if our bicycles still worked, but the clouds looked too threatening. It’s a good thing we didn’t go because some heavy showers came down later. Tomorrow is supposed to be a better day with no rain.

My room is a single. It is small and has a bathroom with a shower that sprays the floor. It is comfortable for me with a window that I can open and a TV where I can watch Italian TV. It’s 4:30 and I am tuned into a bicycle race while I am writing this journal. I can’t tell which race it is because the broadcasters are speaking Italian. I think that it appropriate to watch bicycling while we are here to ride, too.

Our first official meeting is at 6:00. After that we are having a group dinner.

Later…..

We had our happy hour and enjoyed the famous local vino blanco called Est! Est! Est! and some local condiments. The condiments were sweet and went very well with the sweeter variety of the wine. After happy hour, we introduced ourselves and then had the rules and regulations given to us by Tom and Julie Leever, our tour directors. Tom also gave us a route rap for tomorrow’s ride to Orvieto. Dinner followed at 7:30. We had two pasta courses – lasagna and round noodles with sausage. This were followed by veal with potatoes and a green salad (small portions). Dessert was panna cota. We finished at 9:15. It’s time for bed.