by Maureen | Jul 31, 2009 | Canals, Discoveries, Journal, Quips
With reports of 103 degrees in Seattle (!) I’ve been relieved that it’s “only” been in the upper 80s and lower 90s here in Milano. Both the weather report and the sky this morning spoke of coming rain, so I headed out early for a bike ride along the canal. The coming rain storm has been pushing a breeze all day, and gave me a head wind that prompted me to shift gears as if I were going up a small hill.
The usual fishermen were out trying to pull dinner out of the slow water with their long poles and long faces. Only occasionally will they smile as I ride by.
My new view of “sexy” and “macho” is a man decked out in serious bike gear: snug lycra printed with bold graphics, an aero helmet, gloves, and a crouch over a speeding, techie bike. Sweet! The athleticism stirs my imagination.
by Maureen | Jul 25, 2009 | Featured Articles, Journal, People
“Maureen, we’re still in Milan. Can we come crash on your floor tonight?”
“Better yet, my couch folds out into a queen bed.”
Erin and Pete, whom I had met in the morning along the canal bike trail, got sidetracked at the duomo and castello for the day. They hadn’t made it out of the city on their 6-month-total bike trek, so they were looking for a place to lay their heads for the night.
Sure! Why not? (Per ché no?)
I tried to put a twin bed sheet on the queen size mattress. It only kinda worked, but it sure beat sleeping in the bushes between two highways, which they HAVE done along the course of their trip.
They arrived in the evening and got showered up. They put on their cleanest clothes and I walked them over to the Antik Café alongside the canal for appetizers, while I headed to NABA for the End-of-Summer-Session party. An hour later, I brought Erin and Pete back to the school where they joined the loud music and danced ’til the late hours.
(When their day had started, I’m sure they had no idea they’d end up meeting someone on the bike trail and then sleeping on her couch after dancing in bare feet all night.)
Back at my apartment, we talked about their trip and their plans. We looked at photos. Exchanged stories. And then ran out of speed at about 2:00 a.m. Breakfast on Friday morning was an odd one, serving what I had available. Pete ate granola with yogurt and a cup of coffee. Erin was daring and joined me for a Mexican-seasoned stew of chicken, veggies and beans that I had cooked up a couple days earlier.
Next stop for Erin and Pete: up to Lake Como and into Switzerland. Buon viaggio!
by Maureen | Jul 18, 2009 | Introspection, Journal
Absolutely wild thunder, lightning and a drenching rain in the middle of the night last night, following several days of 100-degree, thigh-sticking, humid weather. When I looked out this morning, the pavement was dry(!), and the leaves were moving in a breeze.
Good day for a bike ride!
After my morning ablutions and a good breakfast of sauteéd veggies and eggs, I geared up, grabbed the bike and set foot out my door. Wow! Dramatically cooler than the rest of the week! The air was even chilling on my bare arms! Perfect.
My canal-side path had already become customary, a “safe” and known choice. As I approached the intersecting crossroads, I glanced to right and left, intrigued. OK. Today, I’d wander off and explore! What towns lay to either side of the canal? What did the front of a building look like when I had only been looking at its back side? I took an easy, relaxed pace.
From the south ring of Milano, the canal passes through or near Assago, Rozzano, Badile, Zibido and Binasco, going toward Pavia. At either side there are shopping centers, warehouses and office complexes. There are contemporary, glaze-bricked high-rise apartment buildings, and old, single-story dwellings with tile rooftops and flaking stucco. There are rice paddies (yes!) and corn, tasseled out and higher than my head. I smell lunches being prepared as I ride past open doors and windows. The scent of algae in canal water is the closest I get to a saltwater, low-tide beach. Fish school and swell, heads pointing upstream.
One little side road had a very official-looking sign pointing to an agricultural cooperative. That looked interesting! I followed the one-lane road for a ways but could see that the farm must be located on the other side of the parallel freeway, so I’ll save that for a later day-excursion.
Badile had an easy “off”, so I hustled my bike across the busy road, on foot, and headed east. Little pizzerie, photogenic old churches, more modern apartments, gardens, fields… and the sign for the local cimitero. I’m a sucker for a cemetery anywhere in the world. I marvel at the stories deduced and the empathy aroused when reading gravestones. Markers for war heroes and little children always get me, and I walk amidst the graves reciting the names. Always.
After three hours of strolling on two wheels, I headed back north to home. Two blocks from my apartment I had a close call with a car pulling out of its parking spot, its front end all of a sudden in my path. I left a black rubber mark on the pavement as I braked, and rode into the freshly-vacated parking spot… and then I kept on rolling homeward. Whew. That was enough of a ride for the day. I had had my excitement, my wonder and my exercise.
by Maureen | Jun 28, 2009 | Canals, Discoveries, Featured Articles
“Bici“, (bee-chee) short for “bicicletta“: bicycle! I borrowed a bike and have been for a couple of rides south from Milano down the Naviglio Pavese canal. It’s a nice straight shot used by lots of other bikers, both serious and casual. Decked-out cyclists, leathery tan from habitual riding in Italy’s sun, clustered in speedy packs, must have all been in their 60s and 70s. They were in contrast to the couples and families out for an easy Sunday stroll on wheels.
In some places it’s one lane, shared with cars; on other stretches, it’s bikes only. The canal fronts warehouses, apartments and office buildings…wheat, rice and corn fields and p-patch gardens. Quite a mix and it all makes for a pleasant ride. I saw a few p-patch cats at the path-side, and geese nesting in the tall grass along the edges. When seeing the intensely-green rice fields, I flashed back to being in the China countryside! Some of the scents were similar, too.
There are locks along the canal, and a very occasional boat. I saw these two twin boats heading up-current and wondered what-the-heck kind of boats those are! Any ideas? (Further north, in town, a few tour boats make short runs, and there are also some restaurant barges.)
Peering down into the aerated water just below one falls, there were big schools of big fish. A foot and a half long? I was told they were related to carp, but they had a pretty streamlined silhouette from above. The water is fairly shallow and murky for the most part, so it does seem like carpy habitat.
It felt good to ride. Good to get my heart rate up, get some exercise and fresh air, and see the surrounding area. Nice to know that the canal road/path is just a block away from my apartment and an easy-out-the-door!
