Giro d'Italia -- Stage 9

First, the kids left for school, then Brad and Janice left for Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast, then Josh and I left too. We were going to see the start of a stage of the Giro d'Italia in Frosinone, and then visit Naples.

We picked up Stefano along with his friend and former professor, Charles. Charles is a professor at the University of San Diego, but lives in Portland, and is on his way to teach a summer course in negotiation at a University in Florence. However, as a cycling aficionado, he was first joining us to catch a part of the Giro. We drove to Frosinone -- only an hour away from Rome -- to see start of today's stage.

La Maglia Rosa -- Alexander Vinokourov

Stefano was able to arrange for all of us to have VIP passes so we could access the "insider" areas where the cyclists sign-in before the race, as well as access the VIP tents. To say that Stefano is well-connected in the world of cycling is an understatement. As a former team manager, he has personal relationships with many of the professional cyclists as well as the management of the Giro race itself. Josh was so "up close and personal" with the riders, it looked like he was going to pee his pants from excitement. But the surprise icing on the cake was when Stefano arranged for a VIP car to take us on the course for the entire race with the riders -- lunch boxes included. Today's stage was a long 187 km. We were able to drive just in front of, and then just behind the break-away group of four. We were also able to drive just in front of the peloton. The drive itself was crazy! Obviously, on a road closed to other traffic, you can pretty much do as you please. At various stages, particularly when we drove through the towns, it felt like we were part of a parade -- so many fans lined the roads; often waving to us as if we actually were VIPs.

The Peloton

But the harrowing drive on twisting streets had me feeling nautious by the end. Half way through the race, the weather changed and there was a tremendous downpour. This created small lakes on the roads. So far this year, it has rained for every stage of the Giro. Today is stage 9.

When we arrived at the finish line -- now ahead of the cyclists -- the car came to an abrupt stop, and the "Giro Girls" opened the doors to allow us to exit quickly. The sides of the road were packed at least 20 deep with fans. We simply walked up a set of stairs and into the mobile VIP lounge that was set up at the finish line. We were served prosecco, and sampled some antipasti or dolci, while we wait for the riders to come across the line. It turned out to be a very exciting finish. The last two riders from the break-away group of four, were caught inside 5km from the finish, and now it was anyone's race. The sprinters were too far back in the pelaton to make a surge for the finish. The leaders ground it out; and wild card, Matt Harley Goss from Tasmania won the stage! Afterwards we walked over to the awards podium to see the respective riders get their jerseys.

The Author all'Arrivo

While Josh, Charles and I had been riding in the VIP car, Stefano had driven our Peugot the 187 km from Frosinone to the finish, so we simply walked to a parking lot and drove out. Although, given road closures and traffic, this was not so simple. It took almost 1.5 hours before we arrived in Naples and Stefano's mother-in-law's house.

We hung out for a bit with the family, and then walked to local pizza place for the real deal -- Pizza Napolitana. I had an excellent meal of pizza alle melanzane. It was almost 10pm by the time we drove to our hotel to check- in. It was an unbelievably, windy, hilly drive to the Hotel Vesuvio. The gentleman at the reception desk was super nice, and showed us half a dozen rooms -- including the Presidential suite -- all with different decor, and allowed us to choose our favorite (excluding the Presidential suite). We settled in to our beautiful sea-view room with a view overlooking the Castel d'Oro. We were totally spent and exhausted from our day following the Giro -- and we weren't the ones on bikes.