Vive il sogno!

Yup, I'm "living the dream" for the next ten days, reporting from the Giro d'Italia for Pez Cycling News (www.pezcyclingnews.com).

The first stop...Reggio Emilia. I need a couple of days here to get my act together and get rid of the jet lag. I've spent the last 24 hours wanding around the town, not sleeping much, and falling in love at every turn.

Maybe it's just my perspective, but every woman I see is better looking than the last. But...and this is a BIG but...they all smoke. Without exception. Forget it! I'll just keep my distance and look, thankyouverymch.

Oh, and the sign above? The direct translation is "to come down from the bicycle." I think it means "don't ride your damn bike here!"

But, in truth...this is a very bike-friendly town. I think that at birth, everyone here is handed three things:

1. A bicycle

2. A cell phone

3. A cigarette

Too bad only one of these things is actually good for you.

Watch this space...more to come.

Ivan Basso...why did you lie?

From VeloNews:

Ivan Basso on Monday confessed to the anti-doping prosecutor of the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) that he was involved in the Operación Puerto blood doping scandal.

CONI said the 2006 Giro winner came to them of his own accord and offered to cooperate with their investigation and clarify his part in the scandal.

The 29-year-old Basso now faces a ban from cycling of up to two years and an additional two-year exclusion from riding on ProTour teams. If his doping is connected to his 2006 Giro win, authorities could also strip him of that title.

"He wasn't feeling good and he wasn't calm, and he wanted to lift a weight off his conscience," said Basso's lawyer Massimo Martelli. "During the interrogation he was shaking, but then he regained his composure to show great character."

Ivano Fanini, owner of Italian cycling team Amore and Vita, was happy to see Basso come clean.

"I knew it would finish this way and it could be a great chance for things to change," he said. "Basso has shown his intelligence and understands that this is the right road to take.

"He mustn't only think about saving himself, and I hope that what he has done proves to be important."

Basso, last year's Giro d'Italia winner and a pre-race favorite for the 2007 Tour de France, is one of dozens of riders implicated in the Puerto investigation.

The scandal erupted before last year's Tour De France when Spanish police uncovered an alleged blood doping network run by doctor Eufemiano Fuentes.

Police discovered bags of blood and doping products on a raid on Fuentes's laboratory in Madrid, along with codenames of cyclists and documents which suggested the doctor had been paid to manipulate and store blood.

Last year, Basso's implication in the scandal cost him his place at the Tour de France.

UCI president Pat McQuaid expressed his dismay at hearing the news.

"Most of all I am very sad that a talented rider like Basso seems to have been involved in some illicit practices," he said. "On the other hand I'm trying to look at this news in a more positive light. Our constant efforts, with our other cycling partners, to put cyclists under pressure are paying off.

"Right now it's not easy to break the rules," he added.

Last week Basso parted company with the Discovery Channel team after CONI had called him to a hearing to answer doping charges.

Up until now Basso had protested his innocence. He was initially acquitted by CONI of any involvement in the scandal due to what Italy's governing body for sport described as insufficient evidence.

But CONI reopened its investigation after German officials matched blood seized in the Puerto raids to 1997 Tour winner Jan Ullrich.

Until now, Basso had refused to submit to DNA testing, but in recent weeks the pressure to do so was increasing.

Before there was Lance, there was Greg

Greg Lemond is the first American to ever win the Tour de France. But his victory in 1986 was overshadowed by a serious hunting accident in April of 1987. He came back from that incident even stronger, winning the Tour again in 1989 and '90.

His eight-second win over Laurent Fignon, in the time trial that ended on the Champs Elysees in Paris, is still one of the all-time great moments in sport.

So, anyway...Greg was in Yountville on Sunday for the Tour de Cure. It's a fund-raiser for the American Diabetes Association, and Greg is the national honorary chairperson.

For a stud athlete, among all of these bike-wankers, he was amazingly gracious. He shook every hand, posed for every picture, and generally made himself available to any and all who wanted to chat.

He especially liked the girl with the pink hair.

Nice.

Auf wiedersehen, Europa

This was my view as I walked backed to my hotel from the get-together/dinner at the Carbon Expo in Cologne.

The food was good...the view is better.

I've been told that this is the most-traveled railroad bridge in the world. No wonder the Allies blew the hell out of it in WWII.

Back home tomorrow...then back in Europe for the Giro d'Italia on May 17.

I can't wait.

Today's version of "Where's Waldo?"

Can you spot this intrepid reporter amongst the gaggle of bikes at the starting line of Sunday's Liege-Bastogne-Liege race?

Hint: I'm wearing black.

What`s the deal, Dave?

Michelangelo's classic sculpture of David is one of the great works of art in the history of mankind. It signaled the beginning of the Renaissance in Italy. The clean lines, semi-erotic form and unmistakable power were unlike anything the world had ever seen before.

So, what the hell is this? A full-size version of The David stands in Cologoen, Germany, between the Cathedral and the Rhine River. It draws crowds like files to...well...honey.

But...a pink David? Somewhere, a great artist is spinning like a lathe.

Alone in Cologne

Those of you who know me well know that I'm not a ig-time religious guy. It's my feeling that religious beliefs should be a basically private affair, so many of the trappings of modern-day religions (regardless of denomination) kinda give me a rash.

But...I could not helped but be awed by the giant cathedral in Cologne, Germany. When you exit the main train station in Cologne, the church is right there...BANG...in front of you. It's pretty impressive.

I did a bit of research...apparently, construction was begun in the mid-1200s, and wasn't completed until some 600 years had passed. And I was pissed that my contractor couldn't get my carpet installed in two days!

Apparently the allied bombers that pretty much wiped-out Cologne in WWII had specific orders NOT to hit the cathedral. The building did sustain some collateral damage, but no direct hits.

Pretty amazing.