¬EROICA 2010
You’ve more than likely heard of the Eroica. It’s a unique event that takes places in the Chianti region of Tuscany every year, and has grown from a local niche event into one of the biggest challenges for classic bike riders in Europe. Classic bikes? That means anything before 1985, toeclips and straps, downtube gear shifters, exposed brake cables with woolly jerseys optional. Not only a nostalgia fest, the riders must negotiate a huge chunk of ‘strade bianche’ (white roads) around the Tuscan hills east of Siena. This year’s event was October 3rd, and probably 6 months previously my friend Malcolm and I thought it would be a good idea to wheel out the old crocks (bikes and bodies) and have a go. Maybe the bottle of Chianti had something to do with the decision making. So decision made, what was I going to ride? The only old bike I had was my first Peugeot I bought in 1985 to start cycling and do the PBP…now an old wreck with updated bits and rust rolling around inside the frame…hmmm! After a bit of looking around, I saw virtually the same Peugeot as my own but a year older on ebay and snapped it up for £75 – bargain. A little cobbling together of both bikes and a replacement 2nd/3rd/4th hand wheel from Ripley jumble, et voila!, a masterpiece of French bike building – 6 speed, 501 steel tubing, Sachs Huret gears, Weinman brakes, toe clips and a classic Rolls saddle, and only weighing 24lbs….they don’t make ‘em like they used to – thank goodness. Malcolm pulled a 1965 H.E.Green out of his garden shed (I think his dad made it) and somehow brought it back to life with an assortment of used goodies from God knows where. This very frame was what propelled him round Crystal Palace to sprinting glory from the age of seventeen, so why not both have a chance for more glory and a holiday in Italy?
FRIDAY
An Easyjet flight to Pisa, a hire car and a stay in a castle only 3kms from the start and centre of fun, Gaiole in Chianti, and looking forward to Sunday’s event.
SATURDAY
Down to Gaiole and the display of old, very old and ancient bikes and bits puts Ripley cycle jumble in the shade. Bianchi, Colnago, Legnano, De Rosa, Pinarello, Bottechia, Gios, Moser, Atala, Daccordi, Cinelli, Campagnolo in every shape, size and condition. Wooly jerseys by the hundred, some classic and pricey, some garish and cheap, loads of bits and pieces to get that rusty old heap into sparkling ‘as new’ condition. In fact nearly everything you could imagine brought out from the dusty old drawers and shelves of enthusiasts for a day in the sun and a chance to perform again. After signing in, a good look round, plenty of photos and a panini and coffee, we headed off to Siena for a bit of sightseeing, returning for a good meal and early to bed for the dawn start the next morning.
SUNDAY
Up at 4 for a 5 o’clock start (start any time between 5 and 7), dressed sharply in the oldest club jersey I could find, and a small drama rears its head. My bike was fine the previous day as I rode up and down from the hotel to the town and back, using all the gears, and now – crunch – the derailleur is stuck in the spokes of the back wheel! At 5 o’clock in the morning up a hill in Tuscany in pitch black is not the time to think about fixing a 26 year old bike, but I couldn’t give up now. So with the help of an adjustable spanner and taking the wheel and derailleur off twice, we managed to bend the gear hanger back in the light of a bike lamp, and off we went to start at 5.45 with my fingers crossed that nothing would go wrong again on the ride. Why that had happened I don’t know and I never will, but I didn’t suffer any more problems with the bike at all. At that time of the morning it’s still dark and we made our way along unlit lanes with a small group of chattering woolly clad Italians, just a cluster of lights and silhouettes to guide you along, until we reach the first strada bianca where an unmade track snakes upwards through black trees. This was a bit unreal and fairytale-like as we climbed silently in the dark with our route lit by small lanterns every 5 metres either side of the track…magic. Coming down the other side was a different story, completely dark and really rough with loose gravel and potholes – welcome to the Eroica! Onwards towards the south and Siena, dawn is breaking and finally we can see the road and the contours of the tracks, a nasty little hill and the first ‘resto’ at Radi. So far so good, we’re not racing and just enjoying being out in the Tuscan countryside, so why not eat as well, although the free chianti doesn’t look too appealing at this time of day! Soon we reach the turning point for the 138km or the 205km ride – no problem, we’ll do the long one! Then the first real hard hill crept up with some drizzle thrown in to make the track really sticky and hard going. Now we’re thinking the 138 may have been the easier option. Now the terrain was up and down most of the time, mostly on strade bianche and some smooth road as a relief. Malcolm had cunningly chosen fat cyclocross tyres for his bike which saw him flying along on the rough stuff, while I had thin 23’s on my mine to zip along on the roads. Three ‘restos’ on this section, much enjoyed, and one absolutely swine of a steep hill which I don’t think I could get up on a mountain bike, so walkies for us (and everyone else). It was here that we met a girl whose pedal axle had snapped and was managing to get along with one pedal…She got some sort of replacement at the third ‘resto’, but must have ridden around 50km with one leg! Back to the join with the shorter route, and it all seemed quite natural to be riding round the Italian countryside on ancient bikes with woolly tops on, the weather was warm but not hot and the views were a bit special. Along a road stretch, we were overtaken by a bunch of about 12 so we tagged on the back to get towed along for a while, and then – crash! – a touch of wheels and some poor guy in the middle went down heavily on the road. The bunch stopped, I stopped the traffic and 2 or 3 went back to help him, but no more than 2 minutes later an ambulance appeared that had luckily been not far behind us. I think the guy would have been OK with just cuts and bruises and a bit of concussion…OUCH! On we went with a bit of caution and a mental note to be careful what we’re doing around other riders. The last ‘resto’ before the finish gave us the chance to sit down and enjoy excellent ham rolls, cheese, cake and even a small glass of ‘vinsanto’ (for medicinal purposes only of course). Suitably fortified and getting back up to the last 30km or so we were riding with a Belgian guy with a bike from 1949 and going along tracks through woods on what seemed to be a long draggy uphill section then followed by ‘the final push’ of a pretty long hill up to Radda – the last hill, our friend tells us. Not quite, I discover as the road then drags up again (I am well and truly cream crackered by now) before the final fast descent into Gaiole for the finish. Started at 5.45 – finished at 5.45 – exactly 12 hours for 205kms. A bag of goodies including a bottle of Chianti, panforte(nougat & candy cake stuff), and a badly drawn commemorative plaque and ‘fantastico’….we’ve finished. Malcolm had finished really strongly but now decided he didn’t feel too well, so didn’t really want the celebration beer that I enjoyed. The climb back to the hotel was really hard – Malcolm walked most of it, followed by a good bout of being sick, so we really felt like we’d done a hard ride, even though it averaged out at only 17kph including all the ‘restos’….but not an easy jaunt through the countryside.
Monday
Packed up and back to blighty with memories of a unique experience…a mixture of night time magic, nostalgia, rough stuff, hills and Italian hospitality – all on a 75 quid bike!
*****recommended…look at: http://www.eroica-ciclismo.it/italiano/home.asp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lo-8wiJSks
Ken Dolman
