Adventures of Sigs

Gerry "Sigs" Signorelli shares his adventures as a pro motorcycle racer, nomadic traveler, and seeker of unique experiences.

[gerrysignorelli]

Laguna Seca Raceway, Monterey, CA - Last week at work I had the chance to coach one of the new up-and-comers in the sport. Meet Jay Newton. I must admit it was fun ripping around at an enthusiastic pace, but even better than that, Jay was an awesome student to interact with. He was aware, could listen with focus and apply changes with intention, and hungry to improve his weaknesses rather than gloat about his strengths. It's a pleasure coaching somebody like that. You mix that with a bit of talent and a thoughtful group of supporters and the outcome is usually successful. Things are looking good for you Jay. Nice job dude. I only wish that this pic showed him in front of me rather than me leading. I spent 90% of the day following him to observe his riding. Still, a cool pic from Bob at eTech Photo. #CaliforniaSuperbikeSchool

[gerrysignorelli]

Ionian Sea, South Italy - I'm not in this spot anymore, but man was it good while I was. A good way to relax is to get naked, drink wine, and look out at the ocean. 😂hahaha. #tushytuesday

[gerrysignorelli]

Smithsonian Museum, D.C. - Amelia and I held some bugs this weekend while exploring the Smithsonian Museums. We both held the hissing cockroach. She is a brave little niece. The museums are packed full of stuff and free!

[gerrysignorelli]

Arlington National Cemetery, VA, USA - Friday was an intense day watching my grandad be laid to rest. This group of individuals and others not pictured work together with care and precision to honor the men and women who give more than most for our beautiful country. We walked behind as they pulled him on a horse drawn carriage while the band played. After he received the honor of a 21-gun salute, we said our goodbyes. He served in WWII, the Korean War, and Vietnam. He also raised my mom and I love her. Taking a walk through Arlington stirred emotions I'm happy to be aware of.

[gerrysignorelli]

Vatican City - Like it or not, the impact you feel from the art and buildings in the Vatican is unbelievable. (at St. Peter's Basilica)

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Pizza Navona, Rome, Italy - Rome has more of this than I could have imagined. I had a couple days in Rome to finish off the trip and I spent most of those hours walking and exploring. I checked out basilicas, the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, Vatican City and the Vatican museums, the Colosseo, many squares, castles and buildings. There is a lot of art to be seen there. Shit I felt like a romantic guy just walking around haha. There is something breathtaking to see around every single corner. It's one of the most enchanting cities I have been to in the world.

[gerrysignorelli]

Pompeii, Italy - This city was bustling 2000 years ago. Mount Vesuvius erupted and buried it and its 11,000 citizens or so in lava. It was discovered though and continues to be uncovered piece by piece. I spent a few hours walking around the entire city and man it was cool imagining the life they had there. On another note, as I post this pic I'm sitting in a parking lot after traveling for 24 hours, waiting for a key unlock service to come let me in my van. My key was stolen in Spain but I have a spare inside. As I'm sitting on this curb in the middle of the night, there has been a skunk roaming around for food here, inching closer and closer to me.

[gerrysignorelli]

San Floro, Calabria, Italia - Yesterday was an exciting and emotional day. I trekked all the way to the bottom of Italy to feel some family ties. My grandfather grew up in San Floro. I am eligible to receive my Italian citizenship but will have to track down some documents. This is the first of many needed. It is my grandfather's birth certificate which I received after visiting the local "comune". That was fun trying to communicate those needs to the man who helped me. I'm standing in front of the church there where my grandfather was baptized too. It's special because before losing my dad five years ago, he too visited this spot to trace in his father's footsteps and he commented on how good it felt to walk where his father walked. I also felt good there. After walking around the small town a bit I checked out the cemetery and found relatives buried there. Whoa!!!! The south was good to me. Heading to Roma now.

[gerrysignorelli]

Toscana, Italia - I had a short time in Tuscany so I wondered what I should do. Well it's famous for making Chianti so I thought I should drink some. Here is how I got to this moment pictured which was unbelievable......1) Drove in the country looking for grape vines. 2) Found some and drove up to a home I saw on the vineyard. 3) I saw a cute old Italian man on the front step putting on his shoes so I asked him in my poor Italian, "Can I drink wine here?" 4) He told me yes and took me to a basement filled with barrels of wine. 5) I tasted some, asked if he had food and provided some great cheese. 6) I noticed this table looking over the countryside in his back yard and asked if I could sit there to eat, drink and relax. He said yes. True story. It was a pretty cool moment.

[gerrysignorelli]

Pisa, Italy - Wow this beast really is leaning a lot! The pic doesn't do it justice. It's a big beautiful tower made of pretty stone. (at Leaning Tower of Pisa)

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Finale Ligure, Italy - Couldn't stop smiling as gelato was dripping down my arm. I rode my bike fast with friends this weekend in the final #EnduroWorldSeries enduro of 2015. After so much effort, it was time to chill on the beach and eat! It was beautiful here and the trails were fun, challenging and offered so much variety. We rode steeps, rock, dust, and sloppy wet mud!

[gerrysignorelli]

Enduro World Series Practice, Finale Ligure, Italy - I woke up excited to ride my bike today instead of shuttle! It's race day! This picture is of us on practice day when we had to shuttle every run. With weather threatening the second day of practice, the EWS suggested we practice every single stage in one day. The only way we could do that was to shuttle, but every shuttle company was sold out so we collected our own vans and rental cars to helped ourselves. It took us 13 hours nonstop to get the chance to ride every stage just once. Needless to say I'm happy to pedal today. And no I wasn't driving and selfie-ing... This is Edward Kerly and Meggie Bichard getting us to the next stage in their van, driver on the right.

[gerrysignorelli]

Finale Ligure, Italy - The day before they opened the trails to bikes for practice, a few of us hiked them a bit to look. Oh my some of the sections are steep, loose and rocky! The views are beautiful of the sea but I will not be able to look haha. If I take my eyes off of the trails at speed for even a moment then I might fall off the mountain and land in that sea!

[gerrysignorelli]

Finalborgo, Italia - I arrived in Italy and connected with new biking friends to have a look around town. These old towns in the Mediterranean are so cool. And the Italian language is fun :)

[gerrysignorelli]

Parque Nacional Ordesa, Aragon, Spain - I said goodbye to Spain earlier this week by driving through this national park, finding a bench in front of the view and drank a bit of local wine while eating some dark chocolate. I'm not in Italy and will get pictures posted soon!

[gerrysignorelli]

Zona Zero, L'ainsa, España - Racing on this landscape just south of The National Park of Ordesa and meeting friends from all over the world has been one of the best weekends on my bike ever. Thank you to the Ainsa community for welcoming us so hard and coming to every stage, checking out the race and yelling for us racers. How cool was that! #enduro

[gerrysignorelli]

Ainsa, Spain - The prologue stage last night in the castle was kept fun. #goonriding