Its 5:30 AM in New York and I am wide awake still living on Tuscan time
where it is 11:30 AM and way past my time to be up. Got back last night
after a trip to L'Eroica, Tuscany, and south to Todi in Umbria.
Needless to say my wife Brenda and I had a wonderful and adventurou
s time during our 12 days or so in Italy. We arrived a few days before
L\u2019Eroica and checked into a house we had rented out in the country on
strada bianche 10 or so klicks outside of Gaiole. Although we were not
officially traveling with the \u201cgroup\u201d we were taken in tow and Bob and
Rita Frietas made sure we made it to the big dinner on Friday night. It
was great sitting with Peter Johnson and Jan, Mike Schmidt and Robin and
reliving old racing days, old bikes, and the upcoming EVENT, which seemed
to loom large on everybody\u2019s mind, especially those who had not had the
pleasure of meeting the strada bianche face to face before.
Saturday, registration and swap meet. I won\u2019t rehash what
others have already reported on. I will say that that since I began doing
L\u2019Eroica in \u201904 the swap has continually gotten bigger and more
interesting and the show/exhibit smaller and less interesting. If this
had been the t-town swap I might have bought tons of stuff and a few bikes
but as it was Italy with all the problems of getting stuff home in
addition to my own 1978 Albert Masi GC that I was to ride on Sunday I just
had to pass. I satisfied my collecting habit with a pair of Campy Shield
hoods (original I think and NOS for 25euro a pair), a t-shirt, and a bit
of jealousy over Dave Martinez\u2019s mid 50\u2019s Bianchi Campione del Mondo,
in his size and in original condition, that he got for a nice price
considering the value (or lack thereof) of the dollar. A new wrinkle this
year was that bikes that wanted to be part of the \u201cvintage\u201d contingent
had the opportunity to have their bikes inspected by Irio Tommasini and
crew, photographed, and logged. This process took some time and cost $20
Euro for which one will receive a picture, a commemorative head badge, and
an entry in the book they are now compiling of vintage steeds. Given the
talk I heard from listers some thought it worth the trouble, some a waste
of time. I paid my money, lined up, and look forward to see what comes of
it.
Anyway, I and a friend who is an expat living in Italy lined up on
Sunday morning at about 6:20 AM in the dark with lights on for the start
of our day of \u201cfun\u201d in the Chianti sun on the 135 K middle distance
course. As racer types we were not out to see the sights and blasted off,
both of us on Masi GC\u2019s-- we actually only saw one other the whole day
as they seem quite rare over there \u2013 (BTW, Peter and Jan were also on
Masis doing the 80K loop) Some klicks into the ride we saw Rita and Paul
Lee having a good time at the side of the road just relaxing and taking in
the views\u2026at least I think there were views. My friend and I pushed on
through a number of checks both of us feeling good and climbing well\u2026espe
cially my friend who, at 6\u20193\u201d --to my 5\u20196\u201d -- one would not expect
such prowess. Whomever we saw ahead we chased. Please don\u2019t ask
why\u2026that\u2019s just the way it is \u201cres ipsa locuitor\u201d. At a bit over
half way we turned left outside of the little town of Asciano and stopped
at our third feed station and ck point to have our Carte stamped. My
friend Marco, who speaks fluent Italian, asked what lay up the white road
ahead of us. They smiled and said it went up and down. UP & Down!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!! If any of you have seen the movie A Sunday in Hell about Paris
Roubaix, then you\u2019ll know. We were about to enter our equivalent of the
Tranchee d\u2019Arenberg\u2026the Arenberg Forest but with hills. This stretch
of Strada, used two days later by the pros in their Monte Pasche Eroica
race (which BTW we watched from this spot on Tuesday with Mike Schmidt and
Robin), went both straight up and straight down as it made its way up to
the high point of the ride at Monte Sante Marie. To put it mildly this
was knarly, sketchy road with deep ruts and no purchase on the 18%++
climbs and equally steep descents that scared the living hell out of me.
By the time we had exited what I think was this 11K section of Stada
Bianche (the longest on our loop) I knew that I was in trouble. Left leg
starting to cramp. The rest was pretty ugly; my friend broke the wind and
stayed with me as I tried to hold off the cramping until we reached the
bottom of the climb up to Radda in Chianti. There with both legs now
cramping on the climbs, he rode up into Radda himself and waited. Gave up
and rode to the finish. I trailed in a few minutes later I am told, But
he of course has stopped for 15 minutes in Radda for a coffee and then,
thinking I had passed by, continued in by himself.
I could go on an on and on. In spite of the cramping, staggering
in covered in road dust, I was happy as hell and happy it was over.
Marco\u2019s first comment to me as I got my Carte stamped was \u201cnext year
we do the 200.\u201d Yea\u2026\u2026right.
We had a week left of our trip but I will cut to what is relevant
to the list. On our way out of Chianti on Thursday, we stopped at the
Bartoli Museum on the outskirts of Firenze. PLEASE GO. I believe this
museum to be both undervisited and underrated. It was a joy. The
Directore and force behind its founding, Andrea Bresci, took Brenda and I
under his wing. We got a private tour and, in spite of the fact he spoke
little English and my Italian is atrocious to say the least, we were able
to talk \u201cbicycle\u201d with ease. The museum has some great stuff and I
will post pics as time allows. He was so welcoming and so impressed that
an American was so interested in his hero Gino Bartali that before we left
he presented us with two autographed photos of Bartali. I said \u201cno you
cannot do this\u201d these cannot be \u201coriginale\u201d he kept repeating
\u201coriginale, originale\u201d What a gift to a pair of strangers. We left
feeling that whatever else happened on this trip, and it had its moments,
his warmth and passion made the whole thing worth it. Please visit the
museum when you are in the area.
A final note: Bizarre occurrence #1,234. Six degrees of separation
. We spent one of our last days in Orvieto in Umbria doing \u201ctourist.\u201d
We had found one of the few free parking lots below the Duomo and
squeezed our Renault station wagon into a space suited only for a Fiat
Polo. After hours of walking and sitting we headed back to our car. As
we approached we saw getting out of a car right next to ours someone I
thought looked familiar. As I approached I had a senior moment unable to
remember the name of the person standing next to my car. All I could say
was I hope you didn\u2019t dent my car getting out. Who was this familiar
face? Josh Berger and his wife Fay. Josh, of course, is a CR listmember
and member of Mr. Pergolizzi\u2019s BVVW who lives twenty or so miles south
of me in the Bronx. Blown away\u2026\u2026Things just get stranger and stranger
don\u2019t they.
Edward Albert, glad to be home again in the familiar in,
Chappaqua, NY, USA