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Posts Tagged ‘Chianti’

l’Eroica’s early season inspiration from the pros at Strade Bianche

Posted in The Ride, Travel, tagged , , , on March 2, 2013| Leave a Comment »

If you are looking for some early season inspiration for your l’Eroica training today’s race through Chianti is your best bet. Not only is the race run over many of the same roads as l’Eroica, but today’s winner hails from a family, a tradition, of Italian cycling greats. Moreno Moser stood atop the podium today, but the real story for l’Eroica participants is the beauty and the beast of the strade bianche. The race, appropriately christened Monte Paschi Eroica when it was first contested, has become a preview of the northern European spring classics. But, it is really a story unto itself and a reminder of what racing was like in earlier times, even though today’s bikes weigh a fraction of what those early ones did. Even so, the sterrati are great equalizers, forcing carbon-bike perched pros to adopt tactics and the grit that today’s winner’s uncle and his family had to endure.

For some photo inspiration along with race highlights, go to Steephill TV Classics.

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Is it too soon to be dreaming of L’Eroica?

Posted in The Ride, Training, tagged , , , , on March 5, 2012| Leave a Comment »

I suppose the question answers itself if you are reading this blog. I think my dreams began as early as 2009, but certainly became vivid in 2010. I became aware of the ride while researching and curating links for a Facebook Group, Brooks Saddles. They have been a sponsor of the ride for a few years, though I’m not sure if they are now. (If you have a Facebook account, this link will get you to the Group: http://tinyurl.com/BrooksFB.)

Upon learning about L’Eroica, my interest went from the merely curious to the “I’d like to do that someday” to the “I’ve got to do this soon” to “I need to set a bookmark for the registration page” to sitting up at night to log in and be registered for the 2011 version. It all happend pretty quickly.

Grapes dreaming of their transformation into Chianti Classico.

The beauty of the dreaming was that it turned quickly to a sort of nightmare. I hadn’t ridden a single bike any distance greater than a few miles for the past ten years. Most of my riding was on a tandem with my wife, sometimes over great distances and on tour. That’s not the same because the handling, the effort, everything would be different, not to mention that everything I read told me that this is a very difficult ride.

If you are aware of L’Eroica and it seems like a ride that you must do, now is the time to start dreaming. If you are registered for it this year, your dreams must now shift to wide awake training. My own training last year began in earnest in January with several months in the gym until the weather became conducive to road riding. More on that later . . .

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L’Eroica registration opens in just a few hours

Posted in The Ride, Training, Travel, tagged , , , on February 29, 2012| 1 Comment »

Registration for L’Eroica 2012 opens at 3:00 Pacific time for those followers in the western United States, or midnight in Italy, which is GMT or UCT -1 hour. Hell, I suppose it is only right to say Greenwich Mean Time when we’re talking about something as traditional as L’Eroica. Regardless, if you plan to go, get your mouse ready and login here at the official site here.

The best part of the ride

The organizers have expanded the registration limits for non-Italians. I’m not sure why, but there are now 800 slots open compared to my experience of last year where the limt was 500. No matter. If you have any inkling that you plan to attend, register and pay your fee. It’s not enough to compel you to go if you have a conflict or a problem. But, it’s one of those motivating factors that sticks with you when you are deciding whether to add a few more kilometers to your daily ride.

You might choose to skip registration on your own because you’ve decided to go with a tour company. If you’ve made the decision, or even thought about it, there is one that stands above all others and is a relative newcomer, In Gamba, or “in the know” as the idiom goes. I met these folks last year. We shared a village home base in Lecchi-in-Chianti. I’ll have more to say in other places about that experience.

They offer a range of tours in Italy and elsewhere that really have no comparison. Led by a former Cervelo pro, but focused as much on culture and community as riding, they give the serious cyclist everything and a great deal more. They also hold registrations for L’Eroica that clients use and the vintage bicycle is provided.

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