Alfredo is exactly right about the feel of the ride, its the Participation . I was quite happy I did not have to walk any of the hills in 2007, my only stretch afoot was trying to coax an Italian rider who had already called his wife to pick him up at about 60km . He soldiered on for a little while but once she showed up that was it. The bike he was on was particularly unsuitable being a kind of 70s gas pipe model with close gears. My hat is off to all the riders who completed the ride on bikes that had no low gear to speak of (or in many cases no gears to speak of) I am impressed they were able to get as many riders with On Topic bikes. My only question is were the Gran Fondo teams of the past editions still there with matching jerseys(Velociraptors etc..) but this time with Vintage bikes? There were big groups that rode out together, pace lines and everything.
BOB FREITAS blue sky day in MILL VALLEY, CA USA
Already planning for L'EROICA 2010