It had been weeks on end it seemed since my last! Niggling in the back of my mind, the simple thought of allowing myself to such a moist delight was borderline unbearable. I craved the sweet involvement, similar only to a child’s obsession of colorful candy or cakes, my eagerness was over-flowing to a sickening point. Sitting agitated and twitchy of the nights, I persisted growing to slowly learn that absence does make the heart grow fonder. Reluctantly also, things being out-of-sight are not always out-of-mind.. You may ask yourself “What could it be?” I speak of. “Love possibly…”? No… Alas readers, I write of the Balun! The undisputed, undefeated king of pizzas. An object not only aesthetically gracious, but flavorsome and nourishing to those game enough to treat themselves. Solid culinary gold found only in Varese city a mere 6 kilometers from the beautiful Castronno, the place we riders have called home for five months now.

Pre- Balun I was an avid Pizza advocate. Yet in order to positively portray one’s changed opinion of pizza it is only correct for me to describe the compelling attributes of Balun. Picture this: A well attired waiter approaches holding what first appears to be a massive wooden bat (reminiscent of some huge table-tennis or beach tennis game equipment). He grins as all surrounding eyes are on his flexing arm holding the 10kg piping-hot object on-top. Approaching the table his smile is mixed with discomfort now as his arm lactates heavily under the huge dishes pressure. What next occurs is the beginning of battle… As if an artist painted a picture of a white Mt.Vesuvius spewing aromatic steam and hot tomato magma out the caldera, the Balun is it. An eruption!!! What is a form of double based calzone, the thin yet fluffy dough absorbs only a small portion of the rich sauce within. Almost a piñata of sorts yet not in the shape of a donkey, but baloon-esk, this delicate beast swells with lava inside. An exquisite mixture of egg, sweet pomodoro, mozzarella and ricotta formaggio, various local prosciutto, basil and a range of unknown spices unknown to consumers- akin to the Colonels’ secret spices of Kentucky Fried Chicken, yet tastier and a possible reduced risks of heart-attack!

As the (steak)knife pierces through the crusty lid and tackles the thick innards the explosion of delicious produce is simply amazing. Often conversation must be paused while the ’matador’ twists and turns to make way through the massive beast that collapses hurling edible debris amongst the bat-like object, table and surrounding condiment containers and adjacent restaurant -goers. Slowly growing more ambitious to deliver the final blows, the consumer becomes anxious and often questions his or her ability to finish the task. One feels the hot pressure build in the busy environment as amused children snigger at you attempting a pizza that could potentially feed the little one’s entire family, Nona’s included. At this point there is two approaches to potentially finish the monster off. 1: Pre-slicing the pizza may allow a more mathematical attack with smaller portions to be eaten separately. (Or) 2: Trying to slam the entire thing, hoping and holding on till the finish. From observation and personal experience the first of these two schools of thought boasts the most positive results. With time to breath and a small beverage break in between slices if needed, the portioned approach allows the consumer to set smaller goals in order to complete the major task at hand. The matador in this case goes-big but is calculated deep down. The ‘all out attack’ option may pay-off from time to time, however all to often ends in a buckled unit sitting slumped over the table with head-in-hands sweating on themselves, embarrassed as the rest of the restaurant’s clientele thank themselves for not trying the same pizza.

It is without question a fantastic dish, hidden quietly amongst the other dishes on the menu, only attempted for names sake originally. Having a dig at Balun presently is an event reserved for after a tour, solid race, or something of that nature. Having said this however, if traveling through the streets of Varese at some point in time, I would suggest the dish to anyone willing to bring their A-Game to dinner table. One simple mentioning of “Balun” will compel the local Varesite to direct you to where it’s at. No questions asked. Nothing but respect! Just a mature understanding of your ambitions.

As the S.A.Com-AIS team now embarks on the final eight weeks of international competition, it is my opinion a blessing to be traveling not only around Italy, but all over Europe. This happiness comes about through seeing some of the best places & racing so far this year, plus the knowledge that being away from such an impressive Pizza helps holster the potential to become extremely slow in the mountains. You need not guess what has unfolded in this time if the team appears allot bigger in photos or footage. Although! Discipline shown previously stipulates a reduced likelihood of this situation becoming a reality.

19/05/06

The SouthAustralia.com-AIS team  returned this week from Germany where we raced Thuringen Rundfart, a major race on the U/23 calendar. The team was all pretty excited with only one of our members having raced in Germany before. However after nine hour drive, by the time we got there we weren’t really fussed with what Germany had to offer - we were more worried about the comfort levels of the beds and what was going to be on TV!

When we arrived at the hotel we thought we could relax, but the hotel was like a maze and after such a long trip in the cars, showers and toilets were top of the agenda for everyone. It was  like an episode of "The Amazing Race" to see who could be first into the rooms. One member of the team was in such a hurry that when he got to the room his quick glance around didn’t catch the bathroom door, so he thought there wasn't one. He ended up searching the hotel looking for a communal bathroom and by the time he returned I had showered and was relaxing on the bed.

The next day we raced the prologue, a 4.3k TTT which we won - giving most team members their first win for the year. It was a good result after the coffees we were served at the local coffee shop before the race. Everyone was weighing in at least half a kilo heavier from the bucket of milk with a bit of froth on top that they called a Cappuccino! Not sure how we all got round without seeing it again.

We couldn’t have asked much more from the weather while there, although it would have been good if the wind was coming from behind us for a couple of kilometres not from the side all the time.

The last two days were wet and cold but the first four days were good summer weather, so overall it was pretty good. We finished the final day after another successful campaign. The last stage was wet and pretty cold so as soon as we had finished we jumped out of the wet kit and put the warm tracksuit on. A few members including myself thought that while in Germany we should take the time to experience one of the things  it's famous for so to help us warm up we indulged in a nice bratwurst sausage cooked in a little stall on the side of the road at the finish. We packed up and braced for the nine hour drive back to Italy to enjoy a nice week of recovery and a bit more relaxation before we head to Spain for another six day tour -  our third this month. You will hear about Spain from one of us in the not to distant future , with hopefully more interesting things to share and maybe some good results to report as well.

Gossy!        (Matty Goss)

5/05/06

Well I have to say its been a very successful ten days for South Australia.com - AIS, with great results in Vicenza-Bionde, Liberazione, Giro delle Regioni and G.P Asti. But I am sure there's enough written about "CYCLING" on all the other parts of our website. I am here to talk about every day life in the Gran Casa. The ground floor is inhabited by 'Disco' (Dan McConnell), 'Gosling' (Matt Goss) and 'Hugo' (Shaun Higgerson). At present I think the boys down there are doing research into penicillin due to the amount of mould on their three week old strawberries. On the opposite side of the ground floor is the office, jammed full of computers, phones and all types of office equipment used to run our team. On the back side of the house we have "I was goin'" (Simon Clarke) flying solo due to a training accident which caused James Meadley ('Fabio') to fly home to aid the recovery of his broken scaphoid, I am sure 'Fabs' is smashing himself on the ergo as we speak. The final two remaining units on the grond floor are Trent Lowe who rides for Discovery Channel, he's not here all that much, probally too busy riding Mr Salvodelli into the bottom of a climb. And then there's the man who makes it all possible Shayne Bannan with his wife Marilisa and daughter Nicole.

Now we move on to the second floor, "The big hitters". Firstly I'll start with 'The Family Man' (Peter Dawson) his nickname is due to obvious reasons with him making the journey to Italy this year with his family, wife Pauline and son Jordan. The novelty of kicking the football with Jordan was fun at the start but after five hours it soon wore off. Opposite 'The Family Man' is the room I like to call L' Albergo. The residents of that room are the two mechanics Nico and Stuart, then to round off the trio is 'D2' ( Dave Hayes) Ex-Military hard man turned Soigneur. But be warned when you enter into L' Albergo, you could hear anything from Dave Martin investigating the bell-curve ratio of the toaster heat output to Brian Mclean studying the positioning of the microwave and its potential for faster production of lunches and dinners. Then we enter into the room where men are men. First of all we have 'Mancebo' (Matty Lloyd, son of Ross Lloyd) then the one and only 'Saak' (Wez Sulzburger) and to round off the Fab three myself!!..........

Directly opposite our appartment is 'Mr Rossi' himself, Brian Stephens with wife Karin, who is the world's greatest physio. The duo provide not only the coaching and training guidelines from which the team works, but operate as a special needs unit in maintaining the highest levels of assistance and support in all of life's areas while overseas. Their room is appropriately positioned in order to prevent any late night security breaches.

Gracing the third floor of this humble temple the current Womens National Road Program.  Amanda Spratt, Candice Sullivan, Jenny Macpherson, Alexis Rhodes, Hannah Banks and to round off the talented squad Sally Cowman. I dont know much about the girls rooms so I'll leave it at that.

Well I am going to sign off, I hope I could put a fun and comical view on the serious world of cycling.

 Jonny Clarke

19/04/06

The South Australian.com/AIS team have arrived safely in Italy. We will be based here for the next six months competing in races throughout Europe.
The new base is in Castronno, a small town, situated on the outskirts of Varese. The change is a welcome one as the training environment is ideal for the team, close to the mountains and other major facilities, including the Mapei Sports Science testing Centre.

The complex in which the team lives is brand new with everything we need. We are housed in fully furnished apartments with 3 to an apartment. Each one is equipped with kitchen, lounge room , bathroom and bedrooms. The idea behind the accommodation arrangements is to allow us to be self sufficient and develop a greater level of independence.

Fellow Australian Professional Cyclists Michael Rogers and Scott Davis ( T-Mobile) live close by and have been training regularly with us showing us all the local routes. Today we rode into Switzerland around lake Lugano surrounded by snow capped Alps. Not only do we have to stop for the traffic lights but now we are stopping for border checks.

We have been training and racing seven days a week but we have taken up furniture restoration in our down time. The team has managed to acquire some tables and is in the process of restoring them for an outdoor barbeque area.

Racing is well and truly underway with the team competing every weekend in both national and international races. The boys are quickly coming together as our results show (refer to race reports section) and is looking promising for bigger and better things. Giro Delle Regioni is next weekend with all the team looking forward to it and expecting big things once again.

Ciao Shaun Higgerson