Note: no internet connection here, so I used as little 3G as possible to send this via my iPhone. I’ll add photos when I find internet — hopefully tomorrow.

Perhaps my circadian rhythm is different from that of many other humans I know, but I am apparently relatively immune to jet lag. Oh sure, I get tired from having a 34 hour day, crossing an ocean (not that this involved any real work on my part other than pushing the button to put my upgraded airline seat into its horizontal nighty-night position), and lugging a huge duffel bag through airports, train stations and cobblestone streets, but I just don’t have trouble getting to sleep at the right time, staying asleep all night, or waking up at an appropriate local time. And today was no different.

I woke up at 8 AM this morning and was at breakfast by 9 AM. When I walked in, I met the first of my trip companions, Dave Nanian from Shirt Pocket Software. Dave and I had been trading tweets for the past few weeks as we prepared for, and shared anxiety about, this trip. I am also a user and fan of Dave’s MacOS backup solution, Super Duper which I think is, well, super duper! We had a nice breakfast and good conversation as we shared our life stories and anxieties about the week of difficult climbs. Dave has traveled with Ciclismo Classico previously and has nice things to say about the organization, the itineraries, and the guides.

While at breakfast, we ran into our two guides, Enrico and Massimo. Both are veterans of guiding trips for Ciclismo, natives of Italy (in case you were wondering where they got those Italian names), and both are experienced cyclists. They have excellent senses of humor, enjoy a good joke, but can also be serious when necessary. Their English is superb too, by the way.

Speaking of breakfast, for those of you who haven’t had the chance to get to Europe yet, a few notes about European breakfasts. Many hotels in Europe include breakfast buffets in the price of lodging or charge just a few extra Euros for the buffet. Don’t expect the typical American fare of scrambled eggs, hot smoked pork products, fried potatoes, etc. Instead, European breakfast buffets consist of hard breads and rolls, a variety of cheeses, fruit, yogurt, croissants, the occasional smoked salmon, and what Americans consider luncheon meats (ham, salami, prosciutto). Water (both with and without gas) is available, along with a variety of juices, but the glasses are usually so tiny that if you want more than a tablespoon-size sip, you’ll need to take several glasses.

And then there’s the coffee.

I am what many would call a coffee achiever (some, especially those with whom I work, might call me a coffee over-achiever). I love coffee. I have three coffee machines at home (a traditional coffee maker, a Keurig capsule-based machine, and a Nespresso espresso/cappuccino maker) and a little Nespresso gizmo just for frothing milk. The coffee in Europe, especially in Italy, is a good enough reason to hop on an Alitalia flight and come here. Well, maybe not Alitalia, but I digress. When you do come here, you’ll find out that people here are passionate about their coffee and that drinking it is an event, a national pastime of sorts. With that in mind, it is always curious to me when the waiters and waitresses at breakfast here always look at me askance when I ask for a second (sometimes a third) espresso at breakfast (as they did this morning).

After breakfast, I packed up and lugged Kitchen Sink 9000 the two blocks or so to the train station to meet the rest of my tour companions and our guides. Upon seeing Kitchen Sink 9000, the guides decided we were going to need a large shuttle bus. No, not really. Actually, someone else on the trip has a Kitchen Sink 9000 just like mine, except he hasn’t utilized its full capabilities as I clearly have.

We packed all of the luggage into Ciclismo’s van, while the participants got onto a mini bus for the hour or so drive to our first official hotel in Glorenza. During the drive we had a chance to introduce ourselves to each other, chat, and lie about our capabilities on a bike. Everyone is friendly and eager to get along, but we all think everyone else is a sand bagger. They’d be wrong in my case.

The participants in our trip are from the U.S., Canada and Venezuela (and yes, those were the Venezuelans I spotted at dinner last night). The North Americans are from British Columbia, California, Massachusetts, Colorado, Illinois, Texas, Florida and, of course, Utah. Including Enrico and Massimo, there are 19 of us traveling throughout Tyrol. The Floridians (5) and the Venezuelans (3) are pals, so while we are all friendly and talkative with each other, we seem to gravitate into two subsets (the Floridians/Venezuelans, and the rest of us).

Interesting side note: The two gentlemen from Houston have houses in Park City, where they like to ski, mountain bike and road bike. We’ve compared notes on home locations, bike routes, favorite ski runs, restaurants, etc.

Glorenza, the site of our first night’s hotel is a beautiful example of a walled medieval village, with intact 20-foot high walls with rounded turrets, wooden bridges, and a church dating to the 1400s with charming bells that chime every 15 minutes. We arrived at our hotel, checked-in, then dressed for cycling and met for lunch. Lunch consisted of a mixed green salad (with beets — good for athletic performance!) and Italian cold cuts, cheeses and breads. Lunch also included Proseco. Bienvenue a Italia!

Afterward, those who brought bikes (3) unpacked and built them, while the rest of us were fitted onto the Bianchi bikes that Ciclismo has in their rental fleet. Each is an aluminum frame with Campagnolo 10-speed in the rear and a triple up front. While everyone was getting ready, I installed my Cycleops wheels, Garmin 500 computer, speed/cadence sensor, and the handlebar mount for my GoPro Hero HD. Once the bikes were built, we went for a 17 km shakedown cruise that included a stop at a local bike shop for those who may have forgotten items, or whose luggage was lost by the airlines. Some of the group opted for an additional 5-7 km climb up the lower slopes of the Stelvio Pass. I passed (ha) figuring I am about to get plenty of climbing, thank you very much.

Dinner this evening was a 4-course affair (including wine, we are in Italy after all) back at the hotel and included a briefing by Enrico on the proper way to descend steep, technical mountain passes like Stelvio. Tomorrow’s descent will be long (about 25 km) and includes many switchbacks, so despite the obvious cycling experience of everyone in the room, the room was quiet during the briefing.

Think good thoughts and wish me luck on the Stelvio tomorrow. I expect to be the last one to the top, hopefully without making everyone else wait too long! In the meantime, Buon quattro di luglio di Italia!