Useful Italian For Foreign Cyclists Who Don't Know Any Better

So, I thought that seeing as I have been in Italy for such a large portion of my trip, and have been enjoying learning the language so much, I figured it may be a fun change of pace to blog some useful Italian terms for mountain bikers. It will also help me distract myself from the task ahead in a weeks time. Be warned that I take no responsibility for your own use of these expressions (or for their accuracy) and will not be held to blame if you are punched in the nose by an offended Euro when you use them... It is also worth noting that many words in the Italian language have either an "o" or an "a" on the end depending on whether you are male or female, so I also take no responsibility if you are a man and get laughed at for using female words.

Ciao... Means both "hello" and "goodbye". In the interests of being respectful, this should not be used with older people, or people who you do not know. In these instances, you can use "buongiorno" and "arrivederci".

Per favore and grazie... Means "please" and "thank you"

Pane... Means "bread"

Pene... Means a certain part of a man's anatomy. I only learned this word by accident when my pronounciation of the above word for "bread" was incorrect. I can imagine it was rather amusing for the waiter that I was asking for penis for my table.

Gara... Means "race"

Percorso... Means "the course". Combine it with the above to create the term "Gara percorso", meaning " the race course".

Cervello... Is not just the name of a bicycle brand. It actually means "brain".

Montagne... "Mountain". Where we ride our bikes.

Peluche... "Soft". This is a word you don't ever want to hear directed at you.

Dura... "Hard", as in "hard woman" (dura donna)

Bicyclette... Obvious right? This means "bicycle", or you can use "bici" for short.

Bambina or Famiglia... "Baby" or "Family". Used to describe the relationship of one's bicycle to it's rider.



SINISTRA and DESTRA!... LEFT and RIGHT! Used to warn slower riders that you are about to bowl past them "Veloce" (fast)

ATTENZIONE!... WATCH OUT!

Freddo... "Cold" (not a chocolate frog)

Calda... "Hot" (hmmm... confusing)

Dove` Grande Bagaglio... "Where is Large bag" (terrible grammar, but it helped me at the airport when I was trying to locate my oversize bike bag)

Gamba... "Leg".

Macchina... "Machine". Used to describe riders of immense strength or awesomeness.

Dove` la toiletta... Where is the toilet (most useful when you have pre-race nerves)

Scalare... Climb

Scendere... Descend. Take note that before doing this, you should have also completed the above scalare. The Italians don't have their own word for shuttle, and for good reason. If you must shuttle, you can ask for it in English. The look of disdain you will recieve is not because they didn't understand what you said, but is because they think you are peluche.

Irto... steep/difficult. Should be used to refer to climbs and descents.

Sgommata... Skid, as in "fare la sgommata!" (Do a skid!)

Sentiero... Trail

Figa... Slang, as in "figa sentiero" meaning "sick trail!". I am told this word in it's own right is actually quite offensive, but am yet to test just how offensive it is.

Bella... Means "beautiful". Can be combined with nouns such as "bicyclette" or "gamba" or "sentiero".



Acqua... Means "water".

Il Legge... Means "The Rules" which still have relevance regardless of which country you are in. Actually, the direct translation of this phrase is "the law", and let's face it, they may as well be the law anyway.

Chuidi la bocca... Means "shut the mouth". Handy for screaming children on planes if you are not concerned with offending anyone.

Venti Quattro... The number 24

Ore... Means "hour". Combine with above words for "Venti quattro ore solo gara" and see the expression on people's faces when they think you must have just messed up your translation (no, I actually did mean to say "24 hour solo race")

Bugiardo... Liar. Said to someone who claims to have done a 30min lap of the 18km course.

Cazzo!... Means "shit". The use for this one is obvious.

Fanculo... It starts with "F", just like it's English equivalent.

Maniaco... Crazy. Used to describe most riders.

Capo... Boss, as in "scendere la sentiero simile la capo" (descending the trail like the boss)

Ruota... Wheel

Brioche... The most amazing race food ever invented.



Caffe and Birra... Coffee and Beer (not necessarily at the same time)

Dolorosa... Painful

Areha!... Go!

Squadra... "Crew" or team... The most important component of a 24 hour race.

Carta Geographica... Means "map"... This is your ticket to heavenly trails.



Sudare... Sweating. If you aren't doing this, you aren't working hard enough.

Poco solo parla Italiano... I speak only a little Italian

Parla Inglese?... Do you speak English? Take note that this is the lazy person's way out of actually learning the language, as you should when you visit another country. Make sure you have a plan B if the person you are talking to says "no". This may involve playing charades until the person understands what you want or kicks you out for wasting their time.

And so concludes our lesson in "Italian for foreign cyclists 101". Maybe I will try and occupy my mind with using them for the 24 hours of the race next weekend. Or maybe use some subliminal tapes (I could be a fluent speaker by the end of the race!). Many thanks to my numerous Italian friends who have (unknowingly) helped me compile this list and probably now understand why I was asking them strange questions like "how do you say "do a skid" in Italian?"... SGOMMATA!!!