I did my first bike ride in Milan last Saturday. It wasn't too far and thankfully, passed without any drama - well, apart from the tram that nearly ran into me!
Yes, riding around Milan's streets takes some getting used to. It's a little bit random. The road where I live has a cycle lane that is separate from the traffic, so you feel pretty safe in it. The only thing is it then suddenly comes to an end when you reach another busy road.
To get to the canal towpath where I wanted to ride involved going through the town centre. One section of road had tram lines on it so I made sure to give them a wide berth to avoid any mishaps. The only thing then is that the positioning of the lines meant that I was either riding quite close to parked cars so that made me vulnerable to folks opening their doors or pulling out. If I rode to the left of the tram lines I was practically riding in the middle of the road, which made me also vulnerable to traffic riding up behind or trying to overtake me.
I managed to find an optimuim position, but then went through a junction thinking I had right of way when a tram that was turning left in the on-coming lane almost ran into me. The driver didn't look too pleased and made one of those angry Italian driver faces, while I looked a bit embarrassed and sheepish!
Once past the tramlines, I then had to negotiate the cobbles. The weren't Paris-Roubaix cobbles, but medium sized old paving stones that are not neatly put together and jut out in random directions, so it still made for a bumpy ride.
So that was what I had to contend with, just the 10 minutes to get to the canal towpath, also known as the Naviglio Grande. It's a nice area for going out in a trendy bar. It's the type of place that was probably a bit run down and industrial previously, but has now become arty farty and hip.
There was a nice feel there on Saturday, and I felt tempted to stop off and hang out along the canal side (which is currently devoid of water at the moment). Instead I pushed on and followed the path to a small town called Abbiategrasso. Once past the Milan conurbation the area became greener and rural. The path is quite good for doing a training ride, and there were many cyclists out doing just that - as well as leisure cyclists. The route was also pan flat, which is good for me considering my very unfit state!
I plan to make this my regular quick spin ride as it is near where I am staying and easy to do - it is also traffic free, which is always good in a busy city like Milan.
Tuesday 20 March 2012
Wednesday 14 March 2012
First Day at Work
I survived my first day at the ad agency!
In true style I arrived and was immediately set to work on a pitch. After quick introductions to my colleagues I was given a number of clinical papers to read up on about diabetes and was told that I'd be attending a pitch meeting tomorrow morning. In fact, it later transpired that one of the main contacts from the company was in town and he wanted to have a meeting and teleconference with some key opinion leaders as a preliminary meeting. And guess what, the client services manager asked if I would attend this meeting - these meetings actually. One meeting was scheduled for 4pm - ok. The other meeting was scheduled for 7pm - one hour after the office hours officially finish!! Well, I'm not afraid of hard work, and I don't mind staying late to complete work. I had been forewarned of this at my interview anyway. But being asked to do this on my first day, when I'd spent the whole of yesterday travelling, and I woke up this morning half asleep, was a bit much.
I initially said that I would attend the teleconference at 7pm, but when 6pm came and I could feel the shutters going down, plus my other colleagues were packing up to go home I began to question whether there really was any mileage in me staying back.
Also, the pitch is tomorrow - first thing. So from 9am until 2pm I will be stuck in this client meeting and will have to sound like I know all about diabetes and the management of impaired glucose tolerance, when I haven't done this stuff in depth for a few years! Err, not ideal.
I therefore excused myself from the meeting saying I would rather prepare for tomorrow. I'm not actually preparing anything right now. Maybe I shouldn't be writing this blog and should be still swotting up, but I need to do something else to relax!
On a less scary note, I met some of my colleagues who are very friendly. We had a nice lunch in a local restaurant and my boss paid for us. The food was really good - just as well as it's the only meal I'm having today!
I walked in to work from my flat - something that is completely unheard of in London. It was lovely to walk there across the park and along the boulevard in the morning sunshine - something that put me in a good mood. It took 25 minutes, but that is all good exercise.
Also, I've got a couple of things to look forward to this weekend - the Milan-San Remo bike race is on this Saturday so I hope to get out and see the riders. In the evening I am going to a St Patricks Day celebration, which has been organised by work colleagues. Also, I am going to a client symposium in Rome on 29th March, and have prolonged my stay there so I can do a bit of sightseeing. And the best thing of all about my stay in Milan so far is that there is a wool shop, just across the square from where I am staying, so I can crochet happy in the knowledge that I have easy access to all the yarn I need! Things are getting better!
In true style I arrived and was immediately set to work on a pitch. After quick introductions to my colleagues I was given a number of clinical papers to read up on about diabetes and was told that I'd be attending a pitch meeting tomorrow morning. In fact, it later transpired that one of the main contacts from the company was in town and he wanted to have a meeting and teleconference with some key opinion leaders as a preliminary meeting. And guess what, the client services manager asked if I would attend this meeting - these meetings actually. One meeting was scheduled for 4pm - ok. The other meeting was scheduled for 7pm - one hour after the office hours officially finish!! Well, I'm not afraid of hard work, and I don't mind staying late to complete work. I had been forewarned of this at my interview anyway. But being asked to do this on my first day, when I'd spent the whole of yesterday travelling, and I woke up this morning half asleep, was a bit much.
I initially said that I would attend the teleconference at 7pm, but when 6pm came and I could feel the shutters going down, plus my other colleagues were packing up to go home I began to question whether there really was any mileage in me staying back.
Also, the pitch is tomorrow - first thing. So from 9am until 2pm I will be stuck in this client meeting and will have to sound like I know all about diabetes and the management of impaired glucose tolerance, when I haven't done this stuff in depth for a few years! Err, not ideal.
I therefore excused myself from the meeting saying I would rather prepare for tomorrow. I'm not actually preparing anything right now. Maybe I shouldn't be writing this blog and should be still swotting up, but I need to do something else to relax!
On a less scary note, I met some of my colleagues who are very friendly. We had a nice lunch in a local restaurant and my boss paid for us. The food was really good - just as well as it's the only meal I'm having today!
I walked in to work from my flat - something that is completely unheard of in London. It was lovely to walk there across the park and along the boulevard in the morning sunshine - something that put me in a good mood. It took 25 minutes, but that is all good exercise.
Also, I've got a couple of things to look forward to this weekend - the Milan-San Remo bike race is on this Saturday so I hope to get out and see the riders. In the evening I am going to a St Patricks Day celebration, which has been organised by work colleagues. Also, I am going to a client symposium in Rome on 29th March, and have prolonged my stay there so I can do a bit of sightseeing. And the best thing of all about my stay in Milan so far is that there is a wool shop, just across the square from where I am staying, so I can crochet happy in the knowledge that I have easy access to all the yarn I need! Things are getting better!
Tuesday 13 March 2012
Hello Milan!
Officially, this should be Milan chick's rambling notes as this is now where I am based, and hopefully where I will be for the next 12 months.
I arrived here just today. My impressions, I can't really say as I was just whisked from Linate airport to somewhere in the business district of Milan.
I got a quick glimpse of the Duomo and the Brera area, which look nice enough. I only really saw the cycling up close from my taxi.
What I noticed is that drivers don't seem to an enormous amount of attention when they go down the road, but they pay just enough attention to narrowly avoid a collision, or screech to a halt in the last second.
Cyclists aren't much better though. Even though it was getting dark when I arrived, hardly anyone was using lights, and a luminous high visibility jacket was a definite no no. People are dressed in civvies, even high heels - and no helmets.
It's a far cry from what you see in London where people like to don lycra and not just any lycra but club kit or replica trade team kit. There appears to be a hierarchy on the road, depending on how much you look like a "serious" cyclist. Here, everyone just rides their bike without any hang-ups.
I have noticed that they do Boris Bikes here as well. They are known as Mi-Bike. There's a station at the end of my road, so I hope to try it out maybe this weekend. Also this weekend will be the Milan-San Remo professional cycle race - the first of the Spring Classic races. I'm looking forward to going up to the start and seeing the riders and hopefully soaking up the atmosphere.
In terms of my club cycling I hope to get out at some point and do some cycling locally with a club - though I would like to train first and learn to look good while riding, Italian style before I venture into the world of Italian club cycling!
The other thing that the few Italians have spoken about is bike theft. So no change there from London. They have just said to not leave a road bike unattended for a few minutes - even when locked. It the thieves can't steal the whole bike then they will just steal bits off it until you come back and just find only your frame left.
Maybe I won't leave my road bike in the shed downstairs.
Overall, I am quite positive about Milan. My flat is nice, and I am even picking up more Italian - so I can't complain. I am looking forward to more adventures here.
I arrived here just today. My impressions, I can't really say as I was just whisked from Linate airport to somewhere in the business district of Milan.
I got a quick glimpse of the Duomo and the Brera area, which look nice enough. I only really saw the cycling up close from my taxi.
What I noticed is that drivers don't seem to an enormous amount of attention when they go down the road, but they pay just enough attention to narrowly avoid a collision, or screech to a halt in the last second.
Cyclists aren't much better though. Even though it was getting dark when I arrived, hardly anyone was using lights, and a luminous high visibility jacket was a definite no no. People are dressed in civvies, even high heels - and no helmets.
It's a far cry from what you see in London where people like to don lycra and not just any lycra but club kit or replica trade team kit. There appears to be a hierarchy on the road, depending on how much you look like a "serious" cyclist. Here, everyone just rides their bike without any hang-ups.
I have noticed that they do Boris Bikes here as well. They are known as Mi-Bike. There's a station at the end of my road, so I hope to try it out maybe this weekend. Also this weekend will be the Milan-San Remo professional cycle race - the first of the Spring Classic races. I'm looking forward to going up to the start and seeing the riders and hopefully soaking up the atmosphere.
In terms of my club cycling I hope to get out at some point and do some cycling locally with a club - though I would like to train first and learn to look good while riding, Italian style before I venture into the world of Italian club cycling!
The other thing that the few Italians have spoken about is bike theft. So no change there from London. They have just said to not leave a road bike unattended for a few minutes - even when locked. It the thieves can't steal the whole bike then they will just steal bits off it until you come back and just find only your frame left.
Maybe I won't leave my road bike in the shed downstairs.
Overall, I am quite positive about Milan. My flat is nice, and I am even picking up more Italian - so I can't complain. I am looking forward to more adventures here.
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