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THE TOUR OF SICILY
2-13 May 2006
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Stage Four: Trapani -
Selinunte:
(122km)
Although another hot sunny
start to the ride, we were soon to appreciate just why those local
riders always wore cold weather clothing. After a 25 kilometre flat
coastal ride to Marsala, we again headed inland to turn our attention to
some serious mountains. To date, the climbs although steep had been
short. However we now faced our first real challenge of the tour - a 15
kilometre climb into the town of Salemi. As the road went up, the rain
came down in torrents and the temperature plummeted. The initial 15
kilometre climb to Salemi was followed by a dangerous, slippery descent
before a further 10 kilometre climb in freezing rain to the mountain
town of Santa Ninfa. By now we were thoroughly soaked and shivering.
The sound of chattering teeth was a clear indication that the local
riders did indeed know something that we didn't. Although the damage
was already done, we belatedly donned warmer clothing for the final 20
kilometre descent from Santa Ninfa to our overnight location in the
southern coastal town of Selinunte. Fortunately, the rain eased as we
descended from the mountains, however the wind chill during this final
descent sapped any remaining warmth from the shivering bunch. We
naturally used this as an excuse when we realised we had overshot the
turn-off to our hotel by 15 kilometres. When we stopped to check our
bearings, David Crampton succumbed to the cold. We believe he was
bluffing, however he claimed hypothermia as he abandoned and sought
refuge in the support vehicle. This was in direct contradiction to
David's assertion during the planning phase of the tour that he would
never, under any circumstances, retire to the support vehicle. As the
remainder of the wet and cold bunch backtracked 15 kilometres to the
hotel, David was last seen in the vehicle, teeth still chattering but
safe in the arms of his partner Sue. Later, whilst David soaked in a
warm hotel bath, Sue was seen washing and preparing his bike for the
next stage. The cold had obviously sapped his pride along with his body
temperature. It was noted that Sue, also our videographer, failed to
film this shameful episode of David's life. He subsequently had a lot
of scrapping and bowing to do in order to regain the respect of his more
hardy comrades who stayed the course. We were now nearing the halfway
point of the tour and were looking forward to tomorrow's rest day.
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Dave Crampton
muscles-up.....before the rain! |
Oh! Oh! Dark clouds. |
And down it came. |
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