Dromedaries, Cyclists and Ferrets

It’s the weekend and I’m busy writing down all of the events that I want to attend over the next few months on my calendar. I’m excited to be getting some use out of the pen that I purchased in Dubai on my way home from Australia. For those of you who have never flown through Dubai before it is a Mecca for trinkets, both tacky and beautiful. Everything is also extremely affordable, so if you have a four hour layover like I did you can end up going a little bit nuts. My purchases included several stuffed dromedaries and the pen that I mentioned above that is shaped like a Muslim man in traditional dress. When you want to open the pen, you push his head down. It was either that or what can best be described as a sexy camel pen.

Anyway, back to my calendar. I have a lot of exciting events coming up over the next few months. There’s the car launch and carnevale of course in February. What I am also really looking forward to is the month of May. The month starts off with a three day Formula 1 test in Mugello followed by the iconic Mille Miglia, the Giro d’Italia (which this year finishes with a time trial stage in Milan!) and the Monaco Grand Prix!  It’s going to be an exhausting but fantastic month.

For those of you who don’t know, I follow cycling as well as Formula 1. Admittedly my passion for professional cycling doesn’t grip me in quite the same way that automobile racing does, but I watch the Tour de France every year religiously and manage to get quite involved in it. I love the skill and the daring of these mostly little men who climb the steepest mountains in the world for miles on end, only to hurl their bodies down the other side of them without hesitation. You can draw parallels between cycling and motor racing, as they share many of the same elements. It’s no wonder that many of the people who love automobile racing also find themselves drawn to the world of cycling. Ferrari's own Fernando Alonso is himself an avid cyclist and only a few years ago nurtured dreams of forming a professional cycling team with his countryman Alberto Contador. Italians too have quite a fondness for the sport and on any given day you see countless groups of riders speeding along the roads on their thousand Euro bicycles. Sometimes I even see the odd jersey that makes me wonder if I just caught a glimpse of one of the pros. I can’t wait to attend my first ever time trial and see cyclists like Contador, Cadel Evans and time trial specialist Fabian Cancellara right before my eyes!

As for carnevale, I managed to determine the date of this year’s Carnevale Ambrosiano in Milan (February 21^st) but Lodi is proving to be somewhat more difficult. I’ve heard rumours that the actual event will take place the first weekend of February, but there is nothing solid on the internet. What I did manage to find, amusingly enough, was a video on youtube for a ferret carnevale in Lodi. It’s so lame that it is in fact fantastic. Go check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEozvoqTGZg

My friend Alex pointed out to me that the event may be BYOF or bring your own ferret. If that is the case, I know a small child who carries his ferret around Lodi in one of those satchels that hippy mothers use to carry their babies in. I have no doubt that I could enlist his help in creating a garment for the glorified rodent that would enable me to attend this year’s event. Once again, I love these people!