[CR]L'Eroica 2007and Bob Freeman Journey

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From: "Charles F Nighbor" <cnighbor@pacbell.net>
To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
Date: Wed, 17 Oct 2007 20:22:10 -0700
Subject: [CR]L'Eroica 2007and Bob Freeman Journey

http://www.flickr.com/photos/8379107@N03/
>From Bob Freeman of Davidson Cycles,'' Buon giorno ai miei amici e famiglie! We had a great trip in Italy. We stayed strictly in Tuscany, as we didn't want to try to do or see too much. We traveled strictly by bike, no cars or trains, while there. We stayed in the Tuscan hill towns, usually right in the center of the old town in a small hotel or B and B. All were quite nice. The riding was quite extreme, up and down a lot, and steep. 12 to 18 % grades were not unusual, and of course it was always up at the end of the day. So 40 miles a day was about all we could do and still see the sights. At least we got to see a lot of scenery in depth that way. We didn't try to stay on the main roads, and rode a fair amount of gravel, and narrow paved back roads, which paid off by not having any traffic. There are interesting sights at every turn, and we were not disappointed. We did see some major museums in Florence, Volterra, and Siena. We drank a lot of Chianti and had plenty of Italian food and gelato and cappuccino too. When we landed in Florence it was pouring rain, and drizzly the next day while we wandered around the city, but after that, it was sunny and warm the whole time, so we hardly used the warm clothes we brought. Our last night out, we were just winging it, and ended up at a little hotel at the top of a 3000 foot mountain, the highest point around. We were the only guests in the hotel, but they had a dozen or so staying in their hostel, and we all had dinner together. A neat find. We had another night like that too, in an area the guidebooks didn't cover. We were having a hard time finding any place to stay, and then happened into this small one-donkey town of Civitella Marittima, a tiny walled city of 400 residents. After inquiring at the gelaterria at the edge of town "Dove Albergo in la citta?" Is there a hotel in the city? We were pointed into the middle of the town, and there was a small hotel, Locanda nel Cassero (Inn on via Cassero). The sign on the door said, in English, "If the door is locked call me." So I did, and Alessandro not only spoke English, he was a cyclist. He was out on his bike actually, and came right home to check us in. We were the only guests in his 4 very nice rooms, and one of 6 couples for dinner. He belongs to the "slow food" society, sort of the opposite of fast food, so it was our whole evening, and a very nice one it was. He and his wife run the small hotel and do all the cooking too. What a great little town. People out and about all evening, strolling, chatting, kids playing, the few small shops doing a brisk business until dinner time at 7:30. You could walk around the whole town in 20 minutes.

The L'Eroica, a one-day vintage bike rally, was a lot of fun. We were part of a group that included 34 Americans, many of whom I had corresponded with or met over the years through vintage bike circles. There were 2400 participants there, many of them old codgers, and most on old bikes like what I have on the ceiling of the shop. The day before was a bike swap and show. zillions of wool jerseys and vintage bike parts to trade, at fairly high prices. Next day on the ride, truly antique bikes, with the rarest old derailleurs, plus 3-speeds and fixed gears, were common. And they were riding up and down the steep hills, 40% of which were "strada bianca" - white roads (gravel). We had no trouble at all with our 1 1/4 wide touring tires and low gears, but most of these guys were riding sewups, with no low gears. It was tough for them. The atmosphere was fun and non-competitive, at least for us on the 75 km loop. The 205 km guys were probably a lot more serious. One fellow from California, Lindsay Crawford, a former hotshot racer down there, rode the long route, plus a little extra unplanned mileage, and still finished by 4:00. Oh, he's 67 yrs old by the way. He was riding 42-54 chainrings and 13-24 freewheel. The food stop was amazing. No powerbars or gatorade in sight. It was all freshly prepared food, bread with all kinds of toppings, Tuscan stew, fruit, juice, wine, meats, cheeses, tomatoes, grapes, olives. A huge amount of food to feed the hungry crowd. And coming at the 54 km mark, we were all starved.

Being in Italy, and trying to be as authentic as possible, few riders wore helmets. At least one rider probably wishes he did. He crashed 50 feet behind me with only a mile left to go, on a downhill stretch of gravel, and sustained one of the worst head injuries I have had the misfortune to see. I am told he is now out of danger and may recover just fine, but at the time I thought he was a goner. I will always wear my helmet.

Here are pictures of our travels. Click on each album, then slide show, for best viewing. You can hurry it up by clicking on the arrow on the right side. Or hit the fast button on lower left.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/8379107@N03/collections/72157602416016544/

There are several more albums I have yet to upload, so if you aren't bored by these, stop back for more later. You can skip by most of the sacred art if you want. It is great to see up close but a little harder to appreciate in small pictures. The cathedral in Siena though, was one of the most amazing things I've ever seen. I wonder if someone has tabulated how many people are represented there in its statuary, frescoes, floor mosaics, and paintings. It is just staggering. We couldn't take many pictures in there so we brought home a DVD, plus a CD of organ music, since we didn't get to hear the organ.

Don't ever take Air France to Europe by the way. Paris de Gaulle airport is a nightmare. They offload you onto a bus, drive around in circles for awhile, then you get off, go into the terminal, and come out again and get on another bus, which takes you to another terminal where you might get on a train, then you get off and RUN to your terminal where they put you on yet another bus and I swear take you right back out to where you got off the last plane. We got screwed up both ways and missed our connections. On the way back they couldn't get us on our plane to Seattle so sent us to NYC, put us up for the night, and then home the next day. We were in transit for 38 hours. And of course our luggage couldn't keep up. At least going over, we arrived only a few hours late, with all of our luggage.

We can't wait to go back (through Amsterdam this time!).

Ciao! and feel free to forward this to anyone you don't see in the send to list.

Bob and Deanna Freeman 402 Merritt Ave NE North Bend, WA 98045-8920 425-888-3577 work email rdf1249@aol.com '' Charles Nighbor Walnut creeek, CA