Giro d'Italia races through Val Chisone

Tuesday saw the 100th anniversary edition of the Giro d' Italia stage come hurtling down Val Chisone, at the bottom of our road, past Bella Baita's perch up in the hills, on it's way to the Pinerolo finish line. Like the racers the race continues on for me as well. After the finish of one stage then it's on to the next. We've had a very active May and this years race brought us mostly cycling enthusiasts here to see the race up close and personal.
For those of you not familiar with the Giro d'Italia bike race, or more affectionately known as the "Giro", is Italy's version of the Tour de France, a grueling long distance series of stages, over 3,00o km long, that will test the mettle of even the fittest. The Giro has often been a warm up race for many Tour de France racers, although, many have shied away from it as being too testing and not enough recovery time between the end of this race and the French race. That was always the reason given for Lance Armstrong not competing in this race. So, this year we find Lance in the line up, working to support his team, in spite of a nasty fall just a few weeks back. I have to wonder if our enquiries for this time period have something to do with Lance's presence bringing the race to a broader audience.

We enjoyed the day at the finish in Pinerolo with some of our guests and friends. There was a variety of activities going on, the sun was shining, and so a good time was had by all. The big screen TV was great to be able to follow along the route, when there were so many great places to watch the competition and of course, we couldn't be in all of them.
Later on that evening it was entertaining to hear everyone's stories of the day and their various vantage points of the race. The Giro is almost half over, but you can still follow along or have a look at the different stages on Wandering Italy's 2009 map of the Giro. If you want to see what one of our guests had to say about staying with us during the Giro, or if you enjoy learning more about what all there is to do and see in Italy, Go Italy is a great place to start, or Go Europe for a broader view.

I have a lot of posts piling up with some recipes coming shortly, I promise.