Aprica

We spent summer solstice driving from Volterra to Aprica. I remember passing Carrara, looking at the mountains, and wondering why there was so much snow--until we realized we were looking at mountains of marble. Most of the rest of the time, I had my eyes closed to avoid sneezing. Our chipper E turned 13 that day and cheerfully put up with our failure to adequately celebrate his transition to teenage-hood.

We went to Aprica so that S could ride the Gran Fondo Giordano. After riding the Medio Fondo section (155km, 3600 height meters, over the Gavia and Mortirolo passes), the dude decided he'd had enough, and he skipped the Gran Fondo's last 20km and 1400 height meters.

A few of the 2000+ riders getting ready to start

And they're off! Can you spot S?

Atop the Gavia Pass. Hooray for professional race photographers!

Atop the Mortirolo Pass. Doesn't look like much in this photo, but it's one of the most strenuous passes in bike racing, with a gradient that maxes out at 18%.

Coming back down into Aprica

A band played at the start of the race. The players spent the next several hours hanging out enjoying drinks near the finish line; as the first, second, and third place finishers of each race (Fondo, Medio Fondo, Gran Fondo) approached, the band regrouped to play a few measures of celebratory music (the cyclists passed by pretty quickly--why play longer?).