MY 2016 L'EROICA!

Well, that's that. The 140 course is just long enough to be painful and worth the effort and just short enough to allow me time to get back to the market and make some last-minute deals with new friends. More on that later...


I set a 3:00 alarm to ensure I woke up with enough time to eat, dress and make the hour-long drive to Gaiole. It didn't matter... I was up at 2:00 and even had time to shower, pack up and depart early. I'm glad I did. It rained all night where I was staying. It rained hard on the drive over, which may be some of the most treacherous roads in all of Italy. Not one meter is straight, loads of blind curves and when you add in the rain and fog... I couldn't see anything. I won't say where I stayed, only because it  is hidden, almost unknown (at least to my French navi-system!) and may be the most perfect place in all of Tuscany.

Anyhow... 5:00 start went as usual, and that is to say the atmosphere was ELECTRIC in the square in Gaiole.

As you can see, I'm awake, dry and full of energy and optimism! As is usual, that would soon change, as it started to rain fairly hard on the way to Siena. It didn't last long, but was enough to turn that long sleeve wool jersey into an anchor, and eventually would take the pig fat I rubbed on that saddle two years ago (yes, you read right) and make what looks like either an unfortunate gastro accident or an external black chamois on the backside of my pants! I guess the cycling pioneers didn't care as much about appearances and just went on with their business, as I did!

As for the ride, I did my usual spinning along the flats, pushing hard downhill enough to pass all those silly 80's bikes with gears, straining up the climbs as far as possible before dismounting and walking the rest of the way. All that means my average speed isn't at all anything to brag about but when you consider the number of single speed, 30 pound bikes that were to be found out of the 7000 entrants, you start to get the idea that I was a bit of a unicorn - at least as far as blond, fluent Americans on 100-year-old bikes goes. There are now l'Eroica's to be found all over the world and for me, this is still the greatest day you can have on a bike.

I rode a decent stretch with Cristian, who organizes a three-day vintage Milan-San Remo, which is now on my list of must-do's!

Ribollita at the Asciano ristoro, where we added a few unaccounted for km's. I also had a nice confrontation with a young gal in a car who really couldn't understand why all these cyclists had the nerve to slow down her day!

These gals are either saying how much of a hero I am on that old bike, or "Look at that black mark on his ass!" I'm guessing the latter. BTW, this is how you fix poorly-made replica pedals that have been smashed by standing on them so hard.

The sight of Cypress trees takes me back here...

Evidently, I fell asleep for ten minutes at Castelnuovo Berardenga again. This is where I absolutely die every time, only to rise up Lazarus-style and finish strong.

Oddly, the most exciting part about this l'Eroica for me was that in doing the 140, I had time to come back and negotiate the trade of the century. I just may be bringing this 1920's Maino home with me. I know, that means something to about 200 people in the world, so just go with me on this one!

So that's one more l'Eroica in the books. I can't thank enough my Italian family, Maria Theresa and Daniele (who shot all of these photos, BTW), for hosting me at their 13th century castle (yep, my wife has some amazing friends who have become yet another amazing Italian family for us!).

Monday, post-ride, I spent in Grosseto at the Tommasini factory/store and ended up having lunch at Irio's house. I'm saving that for another day though, as it was yet another fantastic day for me in Italy.

l'EROICA SHAKEDOWN

Today was the shake-down ride on the 1919 Touring just to make sure everything worked, including my legs (una sgambata). All went well, other than breaking the bands that hold the bottle cage to the bars. Quick fix - zip ties!

In the captions, some Italian lessons!

La faccia del'Eroica, Luciano Berruti!

The face of l'Eroica, Luciano Berruti!

From Communist Russia, with love, il grande Alessio Stefano Berti!

Si parte! 

The start.

e mi alzo sui pedali

'and I stand on the pedals' is the name of a song about Marco Pantani, who could actually climb!

il mio cancello

My "gate". A better phrase we have would be my Iron Horse.

l'Eroica, Steampunk!

Castello Brolio

strada sterrata (strade bianche)

Gravel roads (white roads)

2014 L'EROICA PHOTOS (A LITTLE LATE)

I'm responding on a forum about what I'll ride and wear in Gaiole this fall. Seems like the right time to upload these photos from 2014, when I failed to complete the long route on this "cancello" due to a dangerously out of adjustment front hub with a less-than-functional cup and cone assembly that prevented further attempts on the road to fix it! It's a 1919 Touring model made by Bianchi. Wood rims one usable gear, heavy, glorious!

To the point, I'll be riding this...

And wearing this...

This photo was actually the background image for the l'Eroica website for most of 2015!

Cicli Masini Welcomes New Sponsor Challenge Strada Biancha Tires!

A business friend from way back in the Saeco days when his Oval TT forks and bars, Morgan Nicol is another one of those really connected guys in the pro road team world. He was the one who introduced me (and Cannondale at the time) to the 3M team in Belgium as well. Now with Challenge, Morgan and I were discussing all the latest team movements at Interbike when I noticed the Strada Bianca on display.

"If you're going over to l'Eroica again, why don't you try these," said Morgan. And just like that, I was trying to talk my way out of the show with a pair of tubulars wrapped around my neck. Good thing I had an exhibitor badge on (from a competing tire company, no less). So with that, I'm proud to announce that I'm "officially sponsored" by Challenge tires for l'Eroica! Thanks, Morgan!

I told him about my trip to Italy after the Tour this summer where I found my new wooden rimmed wheels in a potato-chip like state. I jokingly asked if he had any super-curvy tubulars in the warehouse but fortunately, Challenge tires has a bit more production control than that!

The one thing you need when you have wide wooden rims is a set of fat, strong tubulars with wide tape (you don't want the tire casing to be glued down or rub on the edge of the rim). These should work perfectly, if only the guys who threw tacks down in 2012 decide to give it a rest this year.

Hen's Teeth & Four-Leafed Clovers

Saturday we loaded up the boys, Daisy and the Iver Johnson for a quick trip to Philadelphia. I have some parts waiting there for me, and needed to deliver the bike for some fairly odd cable routing. It was the first big road trip for the boys, who did great even in the Jersey Shore holiday traffic.

Our destination? Probably the greatest bike shop in the world for a vintage bike fan, Via Bicycles. This place is full of old bikes and parts! The only problem is that access to the 'good stuff' on the second and third floors requires a bit of an introduction or recommendation. Luckily, I had both. I first stumbled upon these Joel and Curtis while building up my first old bike, the Legnano. Joel quickly found the parts I was in need of.

This time, I had a couple of crazy requests. Basically, I emailed and asked for what amounted to a pair of limited edition hen's teeth, in original packaging, uniquely hand-painted and signed by their creator. Oh, and do you also have a four leafed clover, also 'New Old Stock' in original packaging? Their answer was a quick and resounding 'yes'!

I was in search of a set of old brakes to morph the Iver from a path racer to a road bike. I know, old American vintage doesn't really scream 'road bike' but I can't see doing a 150-mile ride with a coaster brake and nowhere to rest my hands! Joel found a set of Philco's that pre-date Campagnolo Delta brakes by about seventy years! They weigh a ton and require a double-headed brake cable (with the proper length housing, naturally). Talk about hen's teeth! A lot of the collectors on the message boards I troll don't know much about Philco's, and they know EVERYTHING - just ask 'em!

Part of my crazy l'Eroica replacement ride involves a stop in Torrington, CT. Of course, I was looking for Torrington spokes for my Lobdell rims and a pair of Torrington Star road pedals. Once again, Via came through for me. Four-leafed clover... found! Not only do they have Torrington spokes, but they have a couple dozen boxes of them in any length you need! These things haven't been made for decades, yet here is their selection as if they were DT butted spokes.

And finally the kicker - Iver Johnson hubs. I won't go into detail on this one other than saying that to call a shop and ask for a pair of 36 hole IJ hubs borders on the insane.

My box of hen's teeth and four leaf clovers. Hard to believe all that rust is worth hundreds of dollars!

My trip up to the third floor was what made my day, however. Imagine the show Hoarders, but in a good way - you know, filled with bicycle parts! The third floor was packed to the gills with turn of the century bikes, wood rimmed wheels, and everything else you would need to restore that old rust. In the workshop were a handful of Gormully & Jefferey bicycles - rare enough to mock my hen's teeth, and yet there they were, with a couple of G&J 'parts bikes'. Columbia's, Hartford's, you name it. Anywhere else and we'd be in a museum setting.

Evidently, some movie production team had called and requested the G&J's for a film they're planning. The only issue is that they wanted a matching set... painted BLUE! Oh, the horror! In these circles, you barely touch bikes that old, let alone repaint them! For those not familiar with G&J, here is a link to the Copake Auction we went to, where this G&J sold for $16,000!

So that was Philly. In a couple of weeks, the Iver will be ready to ride. Of course, it'll be heavier due to those brakes and my wallet will be lighter. But, it will finally be rideable and ready for my US vintage epic ride that I'm planning. Now if I could only remember what riding a bike is like...

American Vintage

Remember the scene in Breaking Away at the end of the movie when Dave says to the new French co-ed, "mon dieu, ze French riders, zey are ze best!" Something close to that at least! At this point, post pump-in-the-spoke, he has totally given up on the mystique and sex appeal of being Italian and has found his new muse.

Greatest. Movie. Ever.

(Oh, be sure to check out this page and this page if you ever visit Bloomington! How many spots are still there?)

I can't say I've gone that far, but after relocating back to New England, it seems there are far fewer Italian vintage bikes to be found and I need to change nazioni. Fortunately, there's plenty of American bike history to be found here in Connecticut, once a hotbed of bicycle production.

The town of Torrington, for example, started as a wool mill town but quickly progressed to brass, sewing needles and eventually bicycle production. Torrington pedals are the standard for vintage American lightweights of a certain period, and the Torrington Company (the former Excelsior Needle Company) was once one of the largest bearing manufacturers in the world. The company at one point worked on the needle bearings for the Cannondale Headshok... 147 years after the formation of the original firm!

This American vintage wormhole has led me to 'new' brands like Iver Johnson, Persons, Lobdell, Torrington, New Departure and Mesinger. I ended up getting a couple Mesinger saddles and much to my surprise, one of them is stamped "Bethel, Conn."!  Hey, I work there!

New Lobdell wood rims for my Iver Johnson

Mesinger saddle from Bethel, CT!

I'm not sure where this will take me. Hopefully I'll be so enamoured with riding my Iver Johnson path racer that it will just end there... but I doubt it!