Training Log Archive: CharlieIn the 1 days ending May 1, 2013:
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Wednesday May 1, 2013 #
2 AM
cycling 3:21:06 19.88 mi (10:07 / mi) +846m 8:56 / mi
ahr:103 max:160 slept:10.0
Out from the beach at Qeparo and the biggest climb of the trip heading north toward Dhermi. At one point I was following Rhonda up a 15% section and she got off to walk. I thought I would pass her, but she started pulling away, so I walked that pitch, too. We stopped after the big climb and had lunch at a spot where we saw whole lambs being roasted on a rotisserie powered by a generator. Wonderful. We sat on a patio next to a rushing spring coming down the mountain. Then the last few miles to Dhermi, where we had another swim in the Ionian Sea, the end of the cycling.
Armand was admiring my shoes and offered to buy them, which I said would be ok, but then it seemed like the right thing to give them to him as a gift, and he was quite pleased.
Then a long bus transfer over the Llogara Pass, which would have been a beautiful ride, but very, very hard, and we were pretty done. Eventually we got to Berat, to the most beautiful hotel of the trip, and walked up to tour the old castle at the top of the hill. Another steep climb, thankfully on foot.
Armand was admiring my shoes and offered to buy them, which I said would be ok, but then it seemed like the right thing to give them to him as a gift, and he was quite pleased.
Then a long bus transfer over the Llogara Pass, which would have been a beautiful ride, but very, very hard, and we were pretty done. Eventually we got to Berat, to the most beautiful hotel of the trip, and walked up to tour the old castle at the top of the hill. Another steep climb, thankfully on foot.
6 PM
Note
When we got to Berat, Rhonda sent me to the little market next door to buy her a beer. Good Albanian beer, 100 lek for a 500ml bottle or about $.93. I picked the bottle out of the cooler and went to the counter, where the guy was talking to be animatedly in Albanian and making gestures. Seeing how dumb I looked, he asked if I spoke Italian, and then asked me in Italian to return the bottle when I was done, except he couldn't remember the Italian word for return. Ritornare? I asked, and he was satisfied. Then he asked me if I was Indian. Not sure what made him think that, but guys in Berat may not get around much. No, americano, I told him, and he seemed to think that was quite remarkable. And very happy when I showed up 15 minutes later with the empty bottle. Now that I think about it, ritornare was not the right word anyway. That is more like go back. I think we were both looking for restituare or perhaps rimettere or ricambiare. Hard to get some of these things right under pressure. All's well that ends well.