Tri-State Velo

I sitting here the night before the Gran Fondo, Marco Pantani in Riccione, Italy. The Hotel Gran San Bernardo is right across the street from the Adriatic Sea. The night is perfect and the anticipation of tomorrow's ride is on everyone's mind. I hope to have more to write tomorrow or the next but safe to say that one of the climbs tomorrow features a section of 18% for 1 kilometer. The total ride will be 130 kilometers and that is the short version. Now imagine doing this with 11,000 registered riders!. We arrived on Thursday and the riding, weather, food and companionship have been fantastic. Our group includes myself, my wife Mary, Maria Collazo, Steve Lee, Michelle Suplick, Dana Diefenbach, Bun and Sally Gladieux, Ron Fetters, John and Pat Capaldo and of course our fearless leader and tour organizer, Steve Lehman and his wonderful wife Sandra. The weather report for tomorrow is cloudy with a chance of rain but nothing will dampen our spirits...more to come and photos soon.