In Sicilia ... but where's our luggage?!

We made it to Sicilia! But on the way our flight from Frankfurt to Milano was delayed... and we just made the connection for our flight from Milano to Catania. And we arrived after our 18 hour trip... but NONE of our luggage made it! We hoped the next flight would bring our luggage, but Alitalia could tell us nothing. So we picked up our rental car and drove to Catania, about 1.5 hours from the airport, when you don't know where you are going. I was planning on returning to the airport for the 11PM arrival of the next flight to hopefully claim our luggage. I was afraid someone would walk off if the bags if they arrived. But it was too late and we were far too tired. We had a nice dinner and went to bed instead!
This morning we called the airport and they claimed our luggage would be there at 11:15AM. So we left for the airport. After a brief tour of the back of the airport to get past security, we found they only had 2 of our 3 bags! They had our regular luggage, but all my motogiro gear was gone. They had no track of it at all. We decided to stay to see the next flight from Milan, at noon. We waited at the carousel and again watched everyone else claim their bags but the motogiro bag did not arrive. We went again to the desk, and the attendants there were not hopeful. Sigh... I decided to wait a day and then to try and buy new leathers and gear in here. As we walked toward the airport exit, Lorraine noticed a couple bags standing to the side of the carousel... and there was my bag! We rejoiced!
So we are here, complete with all our gear and we are quickly recovering from the jet lag.
Our touring begins now, we have about 1 week before the motogiro begins...
Carl

Legs

First,
I must thank everyone for their pledges so far! I'm really happy to see the support for the LAF. It is a great organization!
I'm packing seriously now, as we leave for Sicilia at 11:45AM tomorrow! I think I have bought everything I need to replenish my supplies and tools. I also had one of my chronometers repaired and purchased a few new timing devices.
Importantly, I have heard back from my excellent mechanic in Spoleto! He has very thoroughly gone over the bike. He has replaced the rear rim that I bent last year (and hammered out to complete the event then!). And he has completely gone throughout the charging system and carburetor and done a myriad of other small repairs I requested. I'll only see the bike the night before the event starts, which is always makes me a bit nervous, but I'm hopeful all will be well with it. It will be like meeting an old friend!
I checked through the latest materials and I did find the actual mileages for each leg:

Kilometers/Miles
First Leg Sciacca - Sciacca 276/171
Second Leg Sciacca - Brocoli 334/208
Third Leg Brucoli - Brucoli 296/184
Fourth Leg Brucoli - Brucoli 220/137
Fifth Leg Brucoli - Sciacca 268/167
Total: 1,394/866

So soon Lo and I are off! I will definitely try to get some more posts in before the giro starts, and if there is good internet access during the giro I will post updates from there as well!

In Bocca al Luppo! (Into the wolf's mouth!)
Carl

Carl's Motogiro and the LAF

Last year I started a little tradition of making my ride on the Motogiro d'Italia a little fund raiser for the Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF).
I've always liked the LAF and their LIVESTRONG symbol. The LAF is about helping people bravely survive their battles with cancer and I appreciate this given that both of my parents died of cancer in the 1980's. The LAF is about LIVING YOUR LIFE TO THE FULLEST. That's a good thing for us all to remember.

Last year my efforts to raise money for the LAF were modest, but but this year I'm hoping to ask a few more friends to join me with a pledge.

I'd ask that you consider making a donation/pledge "per kilometer" for the distance of the Motogiro, estimated to be 1250km. Here' a simple chart to help with the math:

1 penny per km = $12.50
1 nickel per km = $62.50
1 dime per km = $125.00
1 quarter per km = $312.50
2 quarters per km = $625.00
1 dollar per km = $1250.00

You can donate easily and quickly using the link on the top of my blog!

Thank you for your support!
Carl

Mount Etna erupts!

Wow, check this out! Mount Etna, the volcano in Sicily is erupting! The giro will go right by this as our route goes up the side of the volcano! See incredible footage from the BBC here!

And more info and video here.

Guide to the Motogiro!

The last couple weeks I have been writing a guide to the motogiro for new riders. After doing the giro for a couple years, I started to think that a couple hints would really help some of the new riders. You can find it here:
Vintage Veloce's Guide to the Motogiro
If you have ridden the giro before and have any comments or good additions for the guide please let me know!

Prepping

Registration this year has been a little more complicated than I expected! To register in the Motogiro, you need to produce a bunch of documentation.
Some of that is documentation for the bike, like legal registration and insurance. Given that my Mondial lives in Italy and has never been to the USA, this can be a hurtle. The process is completely legal but complicated. I actually insure the bike in California where I live. This insurance is actually useless since the bike isn't here in California, but it is require to register the bike. Now, California won't register a bike it has never seen so I actually register the bike in another state! And then I get international "Green Card" insurance from a company in the Netherlands, though a broker here in the USA. The green card insurance is my real insurance for riding the bike in Italy. It's a real paper chase, and the company doing the registration lost the paperwork for a bit so things have been delayed and took repeated calls to clear up!
At any rate, I now have all the insurance and a fedexed copy of the registration, the real copy is "in the mail". Hopefully that will be in my hands early next week.
I also picked up an International driver's license from AAA. It's not strictly required, but I always get one and make sure they stamp the motorcycle authorization.
And the Motogiro requires a "Medical Certificate". I just go to my doctor who gives me a physical and then writes a letter saying I'm in good health and "medically qualified to do the participate Motogiro d'Italia".
I just scanned all of this stuff along with my passport and sent it to the organizers. The scans are also good backup copy in case of emergency and I carry these with me on a USB flash dongle. Dream engine has confirmed receipt of everything, so my paperwork should be all set!

Progress and the Itinerary!

I've been making slow but steady progress on my to-do list. That includes
- renewing the registration and insurance on my Mondial
- getting special international "green card" insurance, etc.
- ordering a new stopwatch
- breaking in my new boots, I'm wearing them right now ;-)
- ordered a good Italian made map of Sicilia

Speaking of maps, the organizer has put up simple maps of the route...
Here is the itinerary:

20th May 2007 – Leg 1:
Sciacca – Cattolica Eraclea – Autodromo Valle dei Templi (Racalmuto) – Milena –Chiusa Sclafani – Sambuca di Sicilia – Sciacca

21st May 2007 – Leg 2:
Sciacca – Porto Empedocle – Valle dei Templi – Favara – Caltanissetta – Piazza Armerina – Lentini – Brucoli

22nd May 2007 – Leg 3:
Brucoli – Siracusa (Teatro Greco) – Autodromo di Siracusa – Noto – Modica – Ragusa Ibla – Giarratana – Brucoli

23rd May 2007 – Leg 4:
Brucoli – Catania – Mascalucia – Nicolosi – Zafferana Etnea – Milo – Giarre – Acireale – Acitrezza – Catania – Lentini – Brucoli

24th May 2007 – Leg 5:
Brucoli – Grammichele – Caltagirone – Palma di Montechiaro – Siculiana – Sciacca (premiazione)