Matteo's Previous Adventures

Cycling in Scotland

2005-08-09T22:05:00.000-07:00

Last year I spent 8 days in Scotland travelling just with my bike and a tent as home. The idea for a long bike tour was a dream of my childhood and last year was the right one to make this dream comes true... I landed near Glasgow at mid-May, the weather was fresh and windy and I've been lucky for it 'cause it was mainly sunny just with few rain showers for all the time I spent there. My plan was to visit some western islands, so with my bike I cycled to the seaside where I took the ferry for the beautiful Isle of Arran. For all the time I was there I camped free, near lakes or sea... it was unbelievable to sleep under the stars with the voice of the sea singing just for me all night long... no traffic, no pollution, no crowd: those islands were amazing for a biker!!! After the tour of Arran I reached the Mull of Kintyre and then the island of Islay, home of the best scotch whisky distilleries... On Islay I had very good times; cycling in the middle of that glorious nature was cool and when tired I was never too far from a world-ranking whisky distillery to visit (Caol Ila, Lagavulin, Bruichladdich, Ardbeg, Laphroig)... great fuel for a lonesome biker!!! After a funny night in Port Charlotte I moved to the wild Isle of Jura... Only few persons live there, Jura is a wild and beautiful islands and it was the one where Orwell wrote his best books. From Jura I went to reach Gigha island: peaceful and quiet... lovely!!! Then I went on the Isle of Bute where, on the ferry back to the mainland, I broke (...and I still don't understand why and where...) a wheel... I had to walk for some kilometers to overnight close to the sea. My bike was broken but it hasn't been a big problem... In a motorhome in front of my tent I met a cheerful and kind couple who offered me some beer and brought me to the train station, where I easily reached the airport... I had just half a day left before flying back home, so I had enough time to visit some Scottish pubs for tasting the quality of their products... Nice!!! And after 550 km of fun I flew back home.

Milano Marathon 2000

2005-08-09T22:02:00.000-07:00

Running a marathon has been another one nice experience for me. I decided to try it after a bet with a friend of mine... I wasn't trained for running the 42,195 meters that distinguish the length of a marathon but I wanted to participate the same. The result was quite obvious: after 20 km of marathon my knee began to hurt as I never felt before, and continue running it has been a terrible suffering... For my luck I talked with a man who decided to run with me to support my pain and to reach the end together; if I was alone I'd have never reached the finish line. The pain for my knee was really hard to endure and still running meant a great proof of will for me. I remember the last 10 km as the most terrible in my life: it was a rainy and cold day of December and I wasn't able to run anymore, I was walking fast but in a such condition 10 km require a lot of time... When I entered the very center of Milan after 5 hours of running, I was completely exhaust and I wasn't able to bend my leg... The man beside me said: "...and so you're going to finish your first marathon!". I was really happy for that, it was great and unbelievable, but in my mind there was one only thought: "First and last... never more!!!". I was wrong... The next year I'd have been there to run the half-marathon, and I bet in the future I'll try a marathon again!!!

Hitchhiking in Ireland

2005-08-09T13:34:00.000-07:00

This trip was crazy and beautiful... I spent in Ireland two weeks hitchhiking on the wonderful western coast. It has been really funny, a crazy experience and an unforgettable adventure; during that journey I took around 50 lifts and that gave me the chance to get in touch with real Irish people and culture. It was cool and various... I went on Aran islands where I rented a bike to tour them, another bike trip was done in Donegal county where I followed the advice of people working there... I slept in an original Irish cottage with a straw roof for few euros: lovely!!! I climbed the Slieve League cliffs, the Europe's highest cliffs... and then county Clare, Mayo county, Achill islands... and the crazy funny pub-hopping nights all over the country, unforgettable!!! ...and Northern Ireland... and the people met on the road... there are so many things to say about that journey I cannot resume it in few words!!! Highly recommended.

Mountain bike competitions

2005-08-09T13:28:00.000-07:00

I'll be always grateful to my trusty mountain bike for the fun I had running up and down my hills, for the relaxing and quiet off road tracks I usually cycling on, and for the teachings I learnt during the competitions I ran. Bike races allowed me to be a better person and they have been useful to build my half-dime philosophy about life... Yeah, 'cause maybe it seems a stupid stuff but there aren't too many differences between a bike race and the life race... In our lives, like in a cycling competition, there's a start line and a finish line: a lot of things could happen on the way between these two moments but our only work is keep on going... One cyclist among other cyclists, everybody's there together for the same event... We must be strong on uphills and if we're falling down the road, never give up but take the bike to continue as soon as possible... even if it's hard... faster than before... no reason to participate at this competition, and no matter if you'll be first or last: happiness is reaching the finish line in the best way you can...

On the summit of Europe

2005-08-09T13:27:00.001-07:00

Mt. Rose is the second highest mountain in Europe, only few meters less than Mt. Bianco. I climbed two different peaks from the Italian side of Mt. Rose: the Gnifetti's Peak at 4580 mt high and the Parrott Peak at 4450. Reaching that altitudes is really impressive but also very exhausting. The view from glaciers up there, if weather is good, is unforgettable but I definitely must say I prefer the way to the top than the summit itself... It's also possible to have good views over the Alpes from planes, but it's impossible to see from a plane all the beautiful landscapes crossed on the way to the summit. It's very exhausting reaching that altitudes 'cause there is few oxygen over 3000 mt high and climbing become a terrible activity; the heartbeat is faster than normal and also breathing seems an hard work to do... that's why usually a climb on high mountains is considered a "spiritual" experience more than a physical one: when you're completely exhaust, while breathing is getting hard and the frozen wind is blowing on you, you're alone only with yourself and if you wanna continue to the top you must manage your mind to motivate yourself each minute, each second, each step... Exactly how it happens in everyday's life.

Milano - Sanremo 2000: the myth of "Classicissima"

2005-08-09T13:27:00.000-07:00

It's the oldest and most well-known cycling competition in Italy. Each year the best professional cyclists fight to win the "Classicissima" (literally: the "most classical" race) that connect the cities of Milan to the seaside center of Sanremo, located close to Monaco's French border. The race is 300 km length and there are several uphills on the route... Those years I was fond of running mountain bike competitions and, for that reason, I was very well trained. When I've started thinking to run the Milano-Sanremo, that race mainly represented a challenge within myself, in fact, I never tried to run before so many kilometres, neither in race nor in training. Maybe for recklessness, maybe for the desire to discover my limits I decided to participate to the amateurial Milano-Sanremo in October and I had no idea about what I had to face for the following months... I had to train myself especially during the cold season but I felt very strong at the end of May, with more than 4500 km cycled from January and a 64 kilos weight. When the day of the race arrived I felt too excited, the moment I was waiting for many months was there, but I wasn't sure to be able to cycle for 300 km... During the race I was ok, I felt no pain and I had no cramps: I easily climbed the uphills on the route and kilometres passed by and by quickly under my wheels... After 260 km of race I understood I was close to reach the finish line, that my challenge was near to be won. In that moment, when some people from the edge of the road clapped to us I felt an happiness feeling I tried just few times in my life; I was too happy, I betted on myself for an extreme race and I was there to reach the finish... I understood that everything would have been possible in my life and fighting for my own dreams they sooner or later would have become true... That feelings gave me the strength enough to cycle for the 40 km left, with the tough uphills of "Cipressa" and "Poggio of Sanremo". Up on the last climbing I had no more water and I became dehydrated; my average speed have fallen down but I managed the same the finish line where I met the eyes of my mom and dad. I covered the 300 km in a total time of 9 hours and an average speed of 32 km/h. It was an exceptionally good result for me, and the cup I received on end keep my memories alive to that experience which I consider one of the best in my lifetime.

Hiking into the Finnish wilds

2005-08-09T13:26:00.000-07:00

Two years after the glorious ride to North Cape, it was time to come back again to our beloved Scandinavia! This time, we decided for a 3 weeks travel to Finland by car. This was another one exceptionally cool journey which I have great memories of. We left from Milan and we passed again through Switzerland and Germany, then we headed to Sweden, Stockholm and finally Finland. Like a compass do, we pointed the wheels of our car North and we easily reached in a few days the Finnish side of Lapland. Once there, we putted on our shoulders the backpacks and we entered the Oulanka National Park, an amazing wilderness area on the Finnish Arctic Circle, near the Russian border, for a couple of days hike. Our plan was to follow the wild "Bear Trail" (so called 'cause of the many bears living there...) and to do that we brought with us our tent, sleeping bags and all the other stuffs indispensable to be self-sufficient. It's useless to say the backpacks were truly heavy, but the beauty of that region was enough not to feel us the toil... I've still clear in my mind - it seems as I was there yesterday - the images of those rivers, lakes, hills and all the majestic landscapes we've seen... The total distance of the hike was approximately 60 km and we covered it in two beautiful days. After that "wilderness experience" we had other great times during the journey, we spent four days in Saint Petersburg (Russia) and a couple of days in Tallin (Estonia) before coming back to Milan. At home, I wrote an article on our Finnish hike (which was published on the magazine "Drakkar") and, even if all the tour we've done has been great, I still consider our stroll into the wilds as the main highlight... What else to say? See you soon Finland!!!

Milano - North Cape - Milano

2005-08-09T13:24:00.000-07:00

I keep a lot of good memories about this trip; it was my first travel abroad and I consider it as one of my favorites. We travelled by car from Milan to the northernmost point of Europe - through Switzerland, Germany, Denmark and Norway - for a 25 days trip. Reaching North Cape under the soft light of midnight sun it has been a real pleasure and the gorgeous landscapes crossed were absolutely astonishing... We passed through great vast forests, islands, mountain passes, deserted tundra, incredible fjords and romantic wooden villages. Weather was obviously windy and frozen and we used to sleep in camping sites with bungalows. The weather situation was quite hard but the beauty of that nature worth definitely a visit!!! Big empty spaces rule in Norway even if that doesn't mean is a boring place, it offers many different sceneries and I consider it - together with Iceland - one of the most impressive and unforgettable country of Europe. On the road back to Milan, in fact, we visited mainly Norway: from the cold Varanger peninsula situated on the Barent Sea, in the northern side of the country near the Russian border, to the wonderful Lofoten islands up to the Arctic Circle, from the historical city of Bergen to the capital Oslo... Lapland is a deserted area and it was incredible to drive for hours through the bare tundra without passing each other cars, just with the companionship of thousand reindeers! And when the travel was over I immediately missed greatly the smoked fish fragrance found everywhere there, the explosion of colors in the sky at sunset or the fresh wind disarranging my hairs... while the car was charged for more than 14000 kilometres...