Time to Rest

Today the plan was for 75k's with some speed work in the last half of the ride, but after three hard days of training, Mike & Ali were a bit "cotto" (cooked). That and the fact that it's starting to warm up here, mid to upper 80's with some humidity. Sooooo, we decided that being more rested for the races this weekend was more important that pushing it. We did a nice spin through Cornuda, took a few pictures of Market Day, then around the Montello (site of the 1985 World Championships) and back through Asolo. Along the way, we passed a young rider who decided to sit in with us and when we slowed a bit he wanted to chat...with Ali first of course! His name is Diego Bernardi and he's a 19 yr. old "dilletanti" rider who lives in nearby Fonte and rides for one of the top teams in the area (last year two of he teammates earned pro contracts). In fine Italian fashion he called his mother and told her he'd be late for lunch because he had met some Americans and wanted to chat with them. One of his dreams is to visit America and maybe race his bike there. He loves all things American. Funny how we're all so in love with Italy and all he wants to do is come and see how we live. Maybe we can help facilitate that!