This was a very special Eroica. A few things set it apart from past editions:
- This year the organizers have restricted registration to ONLY old / vintage/ period / historic bikes (i.e. manufactured before 1980's with toe cages, brake wires over the handlebar and most importantly downtube shifters). Still, about 3400 riders signed up, suggesting that even in past editions at least 60-70% of riders were on older bikes.
- All the continents were represented, the biggest contingents of foreigners coming from Germany, France, England and as far as Australia and the US specifically for this event.
- The weather was ideal: quite warm on Saturday, a bit chilly at the Sunday morning start but it warmed up to comfy temps during the day, making the day picture-perfect.
- I rode the very pleasurable 75km route and I totally enjoyed it, getting off the bike only once to walk up a steep incline.
- Last but not least, I rode it from start to finish with my good friends Tony and Cugio - whom I hadn't seen since PBP 2007. This was their first Eroica, hopefully not the last. And I got to see Andrea again as well.
The 8:00 am starting time for the 75km ride allowed us to have a decent night's sleep, at least until 4:00 am when the riders on the 200km route started getting up and getting ready, calling each other out, zipping and unzipping tents and making all kinds of "other" morning noises… I got up at 6:45 am and didn't need a flashlight to get dressed, I got all my stuff in order only to realize that I had forgotten my water bottle at home, I went to the bar with Tony and Cugio for coffee and cake, bought a small bottle of water and stuffed it in my back pocket: it wouldn't look "period" in the bottle cage. The novelty this year is that the day before I had bought a pair of NOS 1970's cycling shoes at the Eroica open market, so this time I was going to be dressed up head to toe to reflect the time period of my bike. I stuffed my lightweight jacket in the back pocket and decided to weather the chilly morning rather than wearing it. The wait time at the start was endless: not only they would stamp your card before letting each rider through the gate, but they also checked that each bike complied with the new rules. We were finally off in a big group, the sun was up but hidden behind the trees, for the first half hour I had goose-bumps on my arms probably about 2 inches high. The route this year was planned with a detour through the Brolio Castle, owned by the Ricasoli family, because of the bicentennial anniversary of the
Iron Baron. I had visited the castle a few years back and I remember walking up the steep switchbacks leading to the top of the hill. You get a view of the castle only when you are over and down the backside of the hill, riding on a strada bianca flanked by cypresses. That's a sight that you don't want to miss: it opens up to the vineyards spreading on all the surrounding hills. I had to stop for pictures, and since I was ahead of Tony and Cugio, waited up for them.
Most riders sign up for this route, so we were bound to always be riding in a pack or within sight of other cyclists. Sometimes we were either followed or preceded by old cars with loudspeakers mounted on the roof, blasting Italian songs from the '40s and '50s, or by people riding old Vespa and Lambretta motorbikes, dressed to reflect the times. It certainly added to the ambiance, it felt more real and authentic than ever.
Tony was having bike trouble, his back wheel was shaking and constantly bumping into the break pads, and we had no tools to adjust it. We were looking forward to the ristoro, where I was sure there was bound to be help. Soon I finished my water and I didn't know how far still to the first and only ristoro on the route. I was getting worried that I wouldn't make it, I was thirsty and hungry and I hadn't brought any emergency food with me. After all, last year I hadn't needed it. (This is the only complaint I have about this route: I think that putting one ristoro at 52km is a bit of a stretch.) We rode down and then up on a strada bianca, I got off my bike to walk up one short section, and when I got on again for the last push I hear a loud bang next to me. My tire burst. I had never changed an old-fashioned tubular tire... I took the rear wheel off and as I was ungluing it from the rim Cugio shows up and offers to help. I got some glue from Tony and the whole process was actually faster and simpler than I thought. I didn't even need to pump it up: Cugio was hiding in his back pocket a few modern gadgets that turned out to be really handy. We learned that we were just 2 km from the ristoro, and that got my spirits up. We arrived very hungry and I dove directly into the food tables. I grabbed an empty basket and used it as a tray to pile up all the food it could take, then sat on the grass with Tony and Cugio for the feast: water, bananas, bread with oil and sugar, pie squares and cake slices, nuts, ribollita… I quickly regained my strength and my mood improved instantly. Tony got his back wheel fixed and soon we were off for the last 30km or so. I didn't carry a watch, I didn't have a cycling computer, I had no idea what time it was nor how fast we were going. But that was not important on this ride. We were just enjoying each other's company, a day riding in honor of the truly heroic cyclists of times past… We passed through the fortified town of
Volpaia, a little Tuscan jewel, and then it was Tony's turn to get a flat, on a paved section of the ride, a beautiful 8km downhill - go figure. Same routine as before, Cugio stepped in and saved the day again. Just one more tough section to climb, and tough it was up towards Vertine, it was so steep I thought I'd fall backward, but I was adamant not to give in, and I didn't. Some locals on the side of the road cheering me on also helped… Then Tony's shifter cable snapped and he was stuck in the small cog in the back, meaning that he would have trouble climbing hills. I think this is also the time when he started cursing me and the Eroica itself for his misfortunes. I jokingly told him this was my payback to him for having dragged me to PBP in 2007. What goes around comes around...
The final stretch into Gaiole was a breeze, I waited up for Tony and Cugio because I wanted to get to the finish line with them and the 3 of us rode into town together. Final stamp, our well deserved prize (Panforte di Siena) and another Eroica had come and gone. At least for us, many riders were still out there sweating it out on the long course. Tony and Cugio took off immediately to drive back to Rome, I heard from Andrea who was on the 200km that it would take him at least another 2 hours before getting in, so I took a shower, dismounted my tent, gathered all my belongings, put the bike in the car and went back to the finish line to witness the arrival of the truly, truly heroic riders. Andrea arrived at 6:30pm, 10 hours of saddle time, 12 hours after he had left. Very impressive. I waited for him to shower, went to have dinner together at the big tent, then after a little chat we said our good-byes. Till next year!
Lessons learned from this Eroica:
- don't forget your water bottle
- bring emergency food
- learn how to fix your own bike and never assume that others will be willing to help
- bring your own glue
- buy a bigger helmet
- get a better camera
