iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

jbarry881.bsky.social @jbarry881.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Fifth and final time up San Luca. Davide Piganzoli is clear of the chasing peloton, and the Italian fans are going absolutely crazy. Visma | Lease a Bike have ridden a flawless race — controlling the climbs, applying the pressure, and finally launching Piganzoli when it mattered most. 🇮🇹🚴🐝🔥

San Luca is much more than a climb in Bologna. For centuries, people have made the journey up through the portico to the Sanctuary of the Madonna di San Luca, one of the city’s great symbols. In cycling, that same road has become almost sacred ground — brutally steep, lined with the historic arches and packed with tifosi. When an Italian rider is alone at the front on San Luca, the emotion is something else. 🇮🇹

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jbarry881.bsky.social @jbarry881.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Giro dell'Emilia Fourth time up San Luca, and Matteo Jorgenson attacks near the top — giving me an incredibly close pass as he launches his move. After Visma controlled the earlier ascents, Jorgenson finally lights it up. 🇮🇹🚴🐝

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jbarry881.bsky.social @jbarry881.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Giro dell'Emilia Third time up San Luca, with Davide Piganzoli on the front and Visma | Lease a Bike still firmly in control, setting the tempo as the race begins to tighten. The peloton grinding past Bologna’s historic portico makes quite a backdrop. 🇮🇹🚴🐝

The Portico di San Luca runs alongside the climb, forming a covered pilgrimage route from Bologna to the Sanctuary of San Luca. Built mainly in the 17th and 18th centuries, it stretches for nearly 4 km and is made up of more than 600 arches.

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jbarry881.bsky.social @jbarry881.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Giro dell'Emilia, Second ascent of San Luca, and Visma are in total control. Setting the pace at the front and dictating the race all the way up the climb. 🐝🇮🇹🚴

The Giro dell’Emilia dates back to 1909, but since 1999 this brutal climb above Bologna has become its signature finish. Just 2 km at around 10.8%, with ramps hitting 18% — and the men have to do it five times

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jbarry881.bsky.social @jbarry881.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Giro dell’Emilia. First time through the Arco del Meloncello and onto the climb to San Luca. The whole peloton still together, pouring through the arches. What a place to watch a bike race. 🇮🇹🚴

the riders pass under an almost 300-year-old arch and immediately begin the San Luca climb. The Arco del Meloncello was built in 1732, designed by Bolognese architect Carlo Francesco Dotti. It isn’t simply a decorative gate: it carries the Portico di San Luca across the road and marks the transition from the flat approach along Via Saragozza to the climb toward the sanctuary.

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jbarry881.bsky.social @jbarry881.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Current location Bologna, Giro dell’Emilia

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jbarry881.bsky.social @jbarry881.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Bologna’s Fontana del Nettuno — commissioned by Pope Pius IV in the 1560s. Papal power, Renaissance art, a giant naked sea god, and four sea nymphs squirting water from their breasts. 🇮🇹

in 1563. The Sicilian architect Tommaso Laureti designed its architecture and the rather sophisticated hydraulic system underneath it. The spectacular bronze sculpture was entrusted to Jean de Boulogne — Giambologna, the Flemish-born sculptor who became one of the great artists of the Italian Mannerist period. He worked on the sculptures from roughly 1563–67.

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jbarry881.bsky.social @jbarry881.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

The road to Il Lombardia. 🇮🇹 Woke up to this sunrise on a hilltop above Tortona in Piedmont. Found the spot on Park4night — and somehow, views like this still come free. 🌅

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jbarry881.bsky.social @jbarry881.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Heading to the Race of the Falling Leaves and came across this guy in Tortona. Fausto Coppi. 🇮🇹🚴 Couldn’t ask for a better start to the trip.

Fausto Coppi was born just outside Tortona and became one of Italy’s greatest cycling legends. He won Il Lombardia five times, including four consecutive victories from 1946–49 The perfect person to stumble across on the way to the Race of the Falling Leaves.

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jbarry881.bsky.social @jbarry881.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Menton France The old town grew around this hillside in the Middle Ages Menton belonged to the Grimaldis of Monaco from 1346, broke away in 1848, and became part of France in 1861. Fishing, olive groves and especially lemons shaped the town

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jbarry881.bsky.social @jbarry881.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Today’s adventure: replacing a €3 Shimano derailleur cable It took to long and at one point required a Prosecco wire basket to be repurposed as a precision bicycle tool. The derailleur now shifts. There’s also a mysterious Phillips screw left over that may or may not belong to the bicycle🤷🏻‍♂️

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jbarry881.bsky.social @jbarry881.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Ventimiglia 🇮🇹 Spent the afternoon wandering through Ventimiglia Alta — weathered buildings, hidden lanes, beautiful old churches and 2,000 years of history stacked above the Mediterranean. Sometimes it pays to get off the bike and just wander. 📷🇮🇹

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jbarry881.bsky.social @jbarry881.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Today’s ride along the Ligurian coast 🇮🇹🚴‍♂️ Old railway tunnels, beautiful coastal roads, Sanremo and out to the foot of the Poggio.

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jbarry881.bsky.social @jbarry881.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Yesterday’s ride: steep climbs, tiny villages, a galette and cider, and a little more gravel than I bargained for. One descent was so steep and rocky I had to walk it—basically a dry riverbed masquerading as a road. 🚲🍺🇫🇷

Tourrettes-sur-Loup
above the Loup valleys, and the medieval settlement was fortified by the 11th century

Galette au jambon, champignons à la crème
Buckwheat galette with ham and mushrooms in cream.

Val de Rance Brut, a traditional Breton cider from Brittany. Dry, crisp and lightly sparkling, with fresh apple flavor, a little earthy/tannic character,

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Reposted by @jbarry881.bsky.social

Steven Goldsmith 🦋 @stevengoldsmith.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

I truly believe that everyone gets what they deserve. I really hope that Trump gets exactly what he deserves.

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jbarry881.bsky.social @jbarry881.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Credit to Lufthansa—their app/customer service was excellent. Free hotel booked before I even got off the canceled flight.

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jbarry881.bsky.social @jbarry881.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

One-day trip to the Netherlands. What could go wrong? 🤷🏻‍♂️ The plan: fly there, take care of business, fly home. The reality: 4 flights, 2 trains, 4 Ubers, 1 bike ride, 2 delays, 1 canceled flight & an unexpected night in Frankfurt. Hadn’t flown in 5 years. Can’t say I missed it. 🤷🏻‍♂️

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jbarry881.bsky.social @jbarry881.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

Watching the La Vuelta stage 8 replay 😳😳😳 Can’t believe they were going to let him back on the bike!!! Poor judgement🤬 And the the La Vuelta camera director! 🤬

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jbarry881.bsky.social @jbarry881.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

Rode to Latte, Italy for a coffee. ☕️🇮🇹 Somehow ended up in Ventimiglia eating pizza by the sea. 🍕🌊🤷🏻‍♂️ Navigation may have been questionable. The outcome was not😎

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jbarry881.bsky.social @jbarry881.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Been off the bike for a while, but I’m back 😎 Riding down here is different—shorter distances, but the elevation adds up fast. Hard to complain about climbing 400 meters when Èze and the Mediterranean are waiting at the top

Èze Village is a dramatic medieval "eagle's nest" perched 427 meters (1,400 feet) above the Mediterranean Sea on the French Riviera.

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jbarry881.bsky.social @jbarry881.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Funny how the guy I caught off the back of the peloton, looking like he was sightseeing, ends up winning the stage. 😄 Matthew Brennan — Team Visma | Lease a Bike early in La Vuelta Stage 2

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jbarry881.bsky.social @jbarry881.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

The peloton on the Moyenne Corniche, clinging to the cliffs high above the Mediterranean. La Vuelta Stage 2 — 214 km from Monaco to Manosque.

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jbarry881.bsky.social @jbarry881.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Early in La Vuelta Stage 2 Visma–Lease a Bike’s Wout van Aert with INEOS Grenadiers’ Ben Turner and Josh Tarling, emerging from the Tunnel du Cap Roux high above the Mediterranean.

That road is the Moyenne Corniche (RM6007). Around Villefranche and Beaulieu it runs like a balcony across the steep limestone slopes, several hundred metres above the Mediterranean, with views over the Baie des Fourmis and Cap-Ferrat.

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jbarry881.bsky.social @jbarry881.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

The peloton rolls through the century-old Tunnel du Cap Roux, carved into the cliffs high above the Mediterranean near Beaulieu-sur-Mer France A spectacular stretch of road on La Vuelta Stage 2 (Tap the photo for a little history of the photo location)

Construction of the Cap Roux tunnel was underway by 1913. A contemporary report from June 28, 1913 says crews were boring it from both sides of the mountain simultaneously and describes the gallery as approximately 160 metres long and nearing breakthrough. World War I interrupted construction of the wider road project; work subsequently resumed, and the complete Moyenne Corniche finally opened to traffic on October 15, 1927.

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jbarry881.bsky.social @jbarry881.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Current location stage two La Vuelta

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jbarry881.bsky.social @jbarry881.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Sepp Kuss, the Eagle of Durango, tucked in and flying through Monaco. Visma | Lease a Bike at La Vuelta.

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jbarry881.bsky.social @jbarry881.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Tadej Pogačar, UAE Team Emirates-XRG, at speed through Monaco. Sharp rider, spinning wheels, blurred Mediterranean backdrop. One of those shots where the panning came together exactly how I wanted. La Vuelta.

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jbarry881.bsky.social @jbarry881.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Primož Roglič, Red Bull–BORA–hansgrohe, carving through Monaco on a piece of the famous Formula 1 circuit. La Vuelta in Monaco

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jbarry881.bsky.social @jbarry881.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

Wout van Aert Visma | Lease a Bike. Eighth-place finish today in the opening time trial of La Vuelta in Monaco.

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jbarry881.bsky.social @jbarry881.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

Mads Pedersen, Lidl-Trek, nailing the apex at the Fairmont Hairpin in Monaco. Love the team car chasing him through the corner. Think this might be my favorite shot of the day.

The Fairmont Hairpin in Monaco is the slowest and one of the tightest corners in Formula 1 history. Drivers drop their speed to about 45 km/h (28 mph) and must lock their steering completely sideways to clear the near-180-degree bend.

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jbarry881.bsky.social @jbarry881.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

La Vuelta stage 1 Josh Tarling of INEOS Grenadiers. An emotional ride for 3rd place

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jbarry881.bsky.social @jbarry881.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

Tadej Pogačar UAE Team Emirates flying through Fairmont Hairpin in his adopted hometown of Monaco.

7 The Fairmont Hairpin in Monaco is the slowest and one of the tightest corners in Formula 1 history. Drivers drop their speed to about 45 km/h (28 mph) and must lock their steering completely sideways to clear the near-180-degree bend.

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jbarry881.bsky.social @jbarry881.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

Current location 😎 Monaco - Monaco — La Vuelta first time photographing a time trial little nervous 😬

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jbarry881.bsky.social @jbarry881.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

La Torréf de Fersen in Antibes — a proper little Mediterranean roaster and coffee shop. Great coffee today, heading home with a bag of Lady Bob-O-Link beans. Looking forward to getting these in the grinder. ☕️

La Marzocco Leva S — a striking spring-lever espresso machine combining traditional mechanical extraction with modern temperature and pressure control. Its exposed levers and transparent side panels put the workings on display, almost like a giant mechanical watch.

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jbarry881.bsky.social @jbarry881.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

Lunch today at Chez les Gourmands in Villefranche. A proper Breton galette with ham, mushrooms and cheese, washed down with a bottle of cold Val de Rance brut cider. Simple and very, very good.

Val de Rance Brut — a crisp, dry Breton cider with bright apple character, gentle bubbles and a slightly rustic finish.

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jbarry881.bsky.social @jbarry881.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

Saturday market in Villefranche, then a walk around the harbor. Fresh fish, ridiculous tomatoes

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jbarry881.bsky.social @jbarry881.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

Tour de France Femmes — Stage 9 Lotte Claes of Fenix–Premier Tech rolls alongside Puck Pieterse of Fenix–Deceuninck in the polka dot jersey, just 2 km to go in Nice. A quiet moment near the end of the Tour.

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jbarry881.bsky.social @jbarry881.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

Tour de France Femmes — Stage 9. 🇫🇷 Célia Gery — FDJ United–SUEZ. After a day’s of working for Demi Vollering, Gery rolls past the cafés of Nice on the final lap. A quieter moment after a difficult couple of days.

Mediterranean café life in Nice — tables spilling onto the pavement, afternoon light, and the Tour de France Femmes rolling by.

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jbarry881.bsky.social @jbarry881.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

Chasing Isabella Holmgren down the Col d’Èze Berthet, Longo Borghini, Blasi, Niedermaier, Niewiadoma-Phinney, Fisher-Black, Kerbaol and Vollering Stage 9 Tour de France Femmes

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jbarry881.bsky.social @jbarry881.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

Stage 9 Isabella Holmgren 🇨🇦 — Lidl–Trek, flying down the Col d’Èze with the race to herself. One lap to go in the Tour de France Femmes.

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jbarry881.bsky.social @jbarry881.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

Demi Vollering — FDJ–SUEZ. Stage 9 winner and 2026 Tour de France Femmes champion. Yellow in Nice. 💛

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jbarry881.bsky.social @jbarry881.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

Heading home after Stage 9 of the Tour de France Femmes. A very pleasant ride from Nice to Villefranche. 🚲🌅 Race photos coming soon…

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jbarry881.bsky.social @jbarry881.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

Tour de France Femmes stage 9 Another extremely hot day Nice

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jbarry881.bsky.social @jbarry881.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

Elisa Longo Borghini — UAE Team ADQ 🇮🇹 Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney — CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto 🇵🇱 17 seconds behind Demi Vollering, chasing her to the finish in Nice on Stage 8 of the Tour de France Femmes. #TDFF2026

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jbarry881.bsky.social @jbarry881.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

Demi Vollering — FDJ United-SUEZ. A devastating late attack into Nice to win Stage 8 of the Tour de France Femmes and takes the yellow jersey. Eight seconds now separate her from Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney. One stage to go.

Shot at 1 km to go, standing on a concrete block above the barriers as Vollering charged toward the finish in Nice.

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jbarry881.bsky.social @jbarry881.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

Current location Tour de France Femmes Stage 8 Sisteron › Nice (171.9km)

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Reposted by @jbarry881.bsky.social

Mrs. Betty Bowers @mrsbettybowers.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

Today’s Civics Lesson Dr. Fauci honoring a congressional subpoena and then taking the Fifth Amendment: an example of someone respecting both Congress and the Constitution. Jim Jordan ignoring a congressional subpoena: an example of someone showing contempt for Congress. Lesson over.

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jbarry881.bsky.social @jbarry881.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

Uncropped version of my best photo of the day… and it just happens to be the winner. 📸🏆 Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull–BORA–hansgrohe) on the Erlaitz climb at the Clásica San Sebastián. #RideCookCapture

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jbarry881.bsky.social @jbarry881.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

Remco Evenepoel 🇧🇪 putting the power down on the Erlaitz climb at the Clásica San Sebastián. The rainbow bands, the gold S-Works, 🔥🚴‍♂️ #ClasicaSanSebastian #RemcoEvenepoel #RedBullBORAHansgrohe #CyclingPhotography

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