Marco, Queen and I showed up for the Columbia ride this morning. It was yet another day of fabulous weather. The sun was bright and the trees are just starting to show their colors this fall. Meanwhile, the remaining corn is dry and brown and the soy is a brilliant yellow. Fall is the best time of the year for riding.

We followed a route that I had mapped out earlier this year but never managed to ride. It turned out to be a nice route up to Waterloo via a route we never take, then looping back to Nieuw Hanover and then south along D and then Hertenberg before looping back around on C and through Nieuw Valmeyer and dropping down to the flats. We skippped one last climb back up to Nieuw Hanover because Marco was feeling sluggish.
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Supposedly, next year's Giro will go over Mt Vesuvius for only the third time in history. I have no idea what the climb is like but let's hope it does not decide to blow it's top.

Time for some video of recent races in Italy. First up, the Giro del Lazio. Check out the tiny little streets that they are racing through early in the video. Length 9:12

Next, the ultimo chilometro of Coppa Sabatini. Length 2:18

Lastly, the finish of the Giro dell'Emilia. Length 6:10