Interesting piece of history about Gino Bartali:
http://italiancyclingjournal.blogspot.com/
Angel Garcia, wishing everyone a happy New Year Long Valley, NJ
snip: this is not to imply that life was easy in occupied France (or Britain or Italy) - it wasn't. If you read the interview with Paulette Porthault in Bicycle Quarterly Vol. 3, No. 1, you'll see that it was very, very hard, and many people didn't even have enough food. But cycling, and competition, provided an outlet from the hardship, a way to be with friends and forget the misery for a while.
Jan Heine
Editor
Bicycle Quarterly
2116 Western Ave.
Seattle WA 98121
http://www.vintagebicyclepress.com