Greetings from Catania, Sicilia

Ciao, cycliste ed amici,

This is the first of several in-country scouting reports for the Loose Chippings Giro di Sicilia ride beginning March 28.

Three plane flights and 20 hours after leaving Seattle, I arrived in Catania on a sunny, clear afternoon yesterday with temperatures in the low 60s. Excellent cycling weather. The view from the air suggests that riding near or around Mt. Etna will be challenging. Centuries of volcanic activity have left this portion of the island crumpled with ridges, gullies, steep climbs and long drops. Coastal routes, however, are flatter with circuitous secondary routes and little auto traffic.
Per instructions, I texted Gianluca, the proprietor of Gianni & Luca's B&B, from the airport and took the No. 457 (one euro, Dino!) directly to the B&B, which is housed in a crumbling, 19th century building in the historic center of the city. (Much of Catania, by the way, is crumbling.) Gianluca, a lanky, bearded fellow who told me he competes as a triathlete, arrived on a Vespa as I rang the doorbell. He conducted me upstairs where I checked in, paid 45 euros for the room and breakfast and then sat down with him for a brief explanation of the city over a map from the tourist bureau.
Shortly afterwards, exhausted and sleep deprived, I nodded off in my room and slept nearly till dawn. The room is an odd one. It retains some of its 19th century features, a ceiling at least 15 feet high with the decorative plaster artwork for a chandelier that no longer exists. At the same time, there's an odd pillbox of a bathroom set up in the corner of the room that looks both like an afterthought and a guard station. My window opens onto a balcony obscured by scaffolding and the plumbing makes occasional gulping gasps as if gagging with stuff we're told not to throw down the toilet. The piccolo shower is a tight squeeze.
Gianluca is aware that seven of us will be rendezvousing here the last Sunday of the month to begin the bike ride. A cyclist himself (he owns two road bikes), he offered to talk with his bike mechanic about rental possibilities in the city. I mentioned the online rental place in Acireale, but that is 10 miles away. So I'll update you when I know more.
Ci vediamo pronto,
Spazio

Location:Gianni & Lucia's B&B in Piazza Stesicoro