|
Lecce Italy - December 2011 click here for slide show |
|
A business meeting with agricuture and construction equipment manufacturer Case New Holland brought me to Lecce in the south of Italy.
During some Saturday downtime, I rented a bicycle from the Hilton Garden Inn where I was staying.
As the slide show will clearly demonstrate, the rental put my my Boston Bikes to shame.
Sure, it was only a single speed, and yes, the seat was rusted in place far too low, and I can't deny that the tire pressure was inadequate, but then,
"melancholy IS incompatible with bicycling," after all (with thanks to James E. Starr).
Once I realized I wasn't going to reach my first objective (the Adriatic Sea to the east, about 20 miles round trip), I made a new plan, which was to find the soccer stadium where Lecce plays. As it happened, they were playing that very day ... but in Naples about four hundred miles to the northwest. (Naples ended up putting the hurt on Lecce 4 goals to 2. Lecce made the jump from Serie B to Serie A (Italy's top division) based on their performance in the 2010-2011 season. Early in the current 2011-2012 season, however, things aren't looking good for the home side. They sit at the bottom of the league table well into the 3-team relegation zone, meaning that if they don't improve, they'll find themselves back in Serie B for 2012-2013. |
|
|
Lecce's problem, I think, is self-evident. Where other sides have as their image a beautiful woman (Atalanta),  a fierce animal (Juventus),  or a classic traditional shield (AC Milan),  Lecce has what appears to be a dog peeing on a tree. 
|
|