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THE TOUR OF SICILY
2-13 May 2006
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Stage Nine: Giardini
Naxos - Villafranca Tirrena:
(96km)
By now we regarded
ourselves as seasoned road warriors. Our intrepid bunch remained intact
despite all that Sicily could throw at it. We had braved chaotic peak
hour traffic, cobbled roads in ancient towns, monster climbs, freezing
rain and worst of all, poor coffee in tourist resorts. As we set off,
we regarded this final stage as a mere formality. We confidently
threaded our way through the traffic of Messina paying scant regard to
the now familiar suicidal antics of the local drivers. We pressed on,
under sunny skies with the blue Mediterranean again sparkling on our
right shoulder. We had only 25 kilometres remaining as we headed back
along the road where we had taken our first tentative pedal strokes many
days ago, when it happened. Michael clipped the rear wheel of the rider
in front and fell heavily. To date, the road had been kind to us,
however this time it was not to be. Michael had shattered his elbow -
his tour prematurely cut short. We could scarcely believe his
misfortune and could only wish him well as he was evacuated to hospital
in the support vehicle. We had travelled only another five kilometres
when suddenly, unbelievably we suffered our second real casualty. David
South sustained serious facial injuries and all but destroyed his bike when he collided with a large
industrial waste bin that was lurking on the edge of the road.
Incredibly, having completed more than 1,100 kilometres and almost
within sight of our final destination, two of our comrades lay wounded
in hospital. Understandably, we were stunned by this turn
of events as the now depleted bunch finally reached what was our
original start point in the town of Villafranca Tirrena.
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| All smiles at
the start of the final stage. |
Taking in the scenery on the final stage. |
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Michael's tour is cut short. |
The
offending bin. |
The final coffee
stop. |
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